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FTC Disclosure: I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on covers or links here may result in monetary compensation.

Tour: 106. Last to Die by Kate Brady...

September 9, 2010
Today, drey's library is participating in the blog tour for Kate Brady's newest offering, Last to Die.


About the author:
Kate Brady began writing fiction when her doctoral research became tedious. For years, she wrote in the closet, penning several novels that—thankfully—remain there. Now, she leads a double life. Some days, she’s a choral conductor and professor of music education. Other days, she plays with imaginary people on her computer.

Kate lives in Atlanta with her husband, two children, and an array of furry, feathery, and scaly things. When she has time to read, her nose is most often found in a police story or gourmet cooking magazine! She is currently working on her next novel.

Kate on writing romantic thrillers:
Writing romantic thrillers is like a roller coaster ride: ups and downs, twists and turns, sometimes cranking slowly uphill and other times flying around curves. Occasionally, sadly, the ride jumps the track and I have to go back and try again, to find the right route and speed and context for the story.

The easy part is climbing on—that is, starting the story. For me, all I want is the germ of an idea (What is the villain up to?) and a man and woman who aren’t a couple yet but who will ultimately beat the bad guy and fall in love. The ideas can come from anywhere—-something I read, someone I see in a parking lot, something I hear on the news. My favorite way to write is to simply sit down at the keyboard and see what happens and what characters say. But that can take longer than figuring a few things out ahead of time. So, in the interest of time, I do try to think through some basic character traits before I write: What are the emotional issues driving each of the three main characters? What makes the villain tick?

Then, I dive in. Plotting, I’ve found, isn’t useful for me. In fact, it can be paralyzing. (I have come to accept this as a basic lack of skill on my part: When I have characters in a room and can let them do or say whatever they want, it’s not difficult. It’s when I try to manipulate them or control what happens in a scene that I find myself struggling.) Because I’m along for the ride and rarely know what’s going to happen next, I do find that the first round of edits is pretty substantial. Once I’ve gotten to the end of the book and found out what it’s about, I have to go back and rewrite accordingly. (In One Scream Away, I never knew what was in the bag Chevy Bankes carried until he showed the heroine at the end. Then I went back and threaded that into the story.) Even though it can mean a lot of rewrites, flying into the mist works better for me than trying to plot it all out in advance.

What does it feel like to get the stories “out there?” I didn’t start out wanting to be a published author; I just started writing and then, after several years of doing it only for myself, I decided to see if anyone else might want to read my books. Once I got serious about it and learned how rough the ride to publication can be, I didn’t really imagine making it that far. So, I won’t lie to you: Seeing my books in a bookstore is startling and thrilling and amazing! The final fun curve in a thrilling ride.

last to die
Title: Last to Die
Author: Kate Brady
ISBN-13: 9780446541534
ARC: 418 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

FTC Disclosure: My ARC of Last to Die was provided by the publisher for this blog tour. I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

drey's thoughts:
Kate Brady writes fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat romantic thrillers. One Scream Away creeped me out. And Last to Die had me on tenterhooks, reading as fast as I could to find out what happens at the end...

Dani Cole is a cop who's investigating the murder of a young woman she helped get off the streets. Mitch Sheridan is a world-renowned photojournalist whose foundation is involved somehow. Never mind that the two have a past, will they be able to trust each other enough to solve this mystery? Especially when she suspects that more women have died, but can't prove it. Yet, anyway.

And then the killer targets Dani, and Mitch will do anything he can to keep her safe.

Kate Brady's characters are realistic, her villains are sympathetic, and her dialog is crisp and spare. And the ending will knock you off your feet. If you're a fan of the genre, you will be a fan of Kate Brady's.

Read an excerpt of Last to Die:

drey's rating: 3.5/5 Very Good

Challenges: 100+, Pub

Giveaway!
Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have 5 copies of Last to Die for you, if you live in the US or Canada (no PO Boxes, please!). To enter, comment with your email address and tell me why you want it. + 1 for tweeting (copy @dreys_tweets), comment separately with your status. Do it before 6:00pm CST September 22nd. Good luck!

This one's a crazy busy tour. Check out these other stops:
9/6: Our Bookcase, BookHounds, Rundpinne,
Extreme Personal Measures, My book addiction and more..., The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object, Just Jennifer Reading, The Thrifty Things, Coupon Scribbles
9/7: Paranormal & Romantic Suspense Reviews
9/8: Book Soulmates, The Book Tree
9/9: drey's library, Rex Robot Reviews
9/10: My Reading Room
9/11: Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks, Freda's Voice
9/13: Readaholic
9/14: Frugal Plus
9/15: One Book Shy of a Full Shelf, Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf, You Wanna Know What I Think?
9/16: The Eclectic Book Lover, Book of Secrets, Books Like Breathing
9/17: A room without books is empty, Mom Blog Showcase, Libby's Library news, Renee's Reads, Book Obsessed, Starting Fresh, DK's Everything Romance Books, My Book Views, WV Stitcher, The avid reader, Thoughts in Progress, Simply Stacie, Book Junkie, Ashley's Bookshelf, Chrissy's World of Books

41 comments:

DarcyO said...

Ooh, I love romantic thrillers! Please include me.

dlodden at frontiernet dot net

DarcyO said...

tweeted: http://twitter.com/darcy1956/status/24001314442

dlodden at frontiernet dot net

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

I always enjoy a good mystery and would like to read this book.

cenya2 at hotmail dot com

Becky W. said...

I can't wait to read this one! I loved One Scream Away!!

Thanks for hosting!

kysmom02 AT hotmail DOT com

traveler said...

Romantic suspense is great. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

justpeachy36 said...

I think this looks like a great book. I've heard a lot of buzz about it and I look forward to reading it.

Please enter me in the giveaway.

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

Colleen Turner said...

This sounds thrilling! I love to be creeped out by a good book every once in a while :). Please include me in your giveaway.
candc320@gmail.com

Sheila Deeth said...

I loved reading this post, so of course I want to read the book.
sdeeth at msn dot com

clenna said...

My favorite genre - suspense. Yea I cant wait to read this book.

clenna at aol dot com

rubynreba said...

The ending will knock you off your feet is why I want it! Sounds like a great book!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

Anonymous said...

I would love to read this book. Sounds very good. Please enter me in contest. I am a follower and email subscriber. Tore923@aol.com

elaing8 said...

I could really use a good mystery to read right now.please count me in
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

elaing8 said...

tweeted
http://twitter.com/elaing8/status/24029790122

elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

chey said...

i love this kind of book! Lots of suspense!

chey127 at hotmail dot com

Kate Brady said...

I'm honored to see such interest in LAST TO DIE! And thank you for the oh-so-kind words about it (and ONE SCREAM AWAY). I so appreciate your interest in both books.

What a treat to be featured on this blog -- thank you, thank you. I hope you enjoy the read!

Kate Brady

Priya said...

Ooh, please include me in the giveaway!

swaid124(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks!

doreen lamoureux said...

Yes, I want this because it sounds like an awesome giveaway and I would love to read one of Kate Brady's books.

dorcontest at gmail dot com

doreen lamoureux said...

tweet
http://twitter.com/DoreenRiopel/status/24046621505

dorcontest at gmail dot com

Ruthie said...

Your review makes me really want to read this plus the fact that the author herself commented here! So please include me in your giveaway. Thanks Drey.

ruthiekb72@yahoo.com

holdenj said...

I like Kate's comments about just being along for the ride in some parts of creating her stories! This looks like a thrilling romance, I would definitely like to win! Thanks!
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Kate Brady said...

What a thrill to see people blogging today and to see the enthusiasm of the readers. Thanks, Drey, for all your support.

Kate

drey said...

omg! Kate Brady stopped by!! :) and I was too busy @ work to pop in during the day... :(

Kate, thank you for the visit! I hope you enjoy blog-hopping on your tour! :)

Terri C. said...

Thanks for the chance to win this. I'd like to read it because it sounds great!

tradingaddress at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

This sounds like a great page turner.

Please include me.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Lu said...

This book sounds like a great read. It is on my wishlist! I would love to win a copy. Please enter me. Thanks!

lovemykidsandbooks AT gmail DOT com

nfmgirl said...

Tweet:
http://twitter.com/nfmgirl/status/24433652984

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

nfmgirl said...

Hmmmm...where did my original comment go? Not sure. Well, they're out of order, but here's my mandatory entry. Please count me in! Thank you!

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

Theresa N. said...

I love a good old scare, sounds like a chiller.
Theresa N
weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com

PoCoKat said...

Sounds like a good book...would love to read it.

littleone AT shaw DOT ca

donnas said...

Thanks for the chance! I really enjoyed her last book and have been looking forward for this one.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

donnas said...

tweet - http://twitter.com/DonnaS1/statuses/24538257440

bacchus76 at myself dot com

Holly said...

please enter me to win!

holly.kay.lee(at)gmail.com

ossmcalc said...

I love a good murder mystery, and this book sounds like one that could really keep my attention. Please enter me into the draw for this giveaway.

Thank you,

Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net

ossmcalc said...

I tweeted about this giveaway http://twitter.com/ossmcalc/status/24589566748

Thank you,

Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net

Anonymous said...

I want it because I love to read a good romantic thriller :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

Anonymous said...

Tweeted the giveaway
theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

bison61 said...

This sounds like a great mystery book-love to read it

tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com

spynaert said...

i want it cause i love mysteries
spynaert@gmail.com

Anita Yancey said...

I would like to read this book because I read Kate Brady's last book and loved it. Please enter me. Thanks!

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Diana said...

This book would be so amazing to review. Thanks
dgkirkwood@yahoo.com

Jane said...

I want this book because I read Kate's debut and want to read its sequel.

janie1215 AT excite DOT com

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