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.
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
