Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Kylie Brant. Thanks for being here today Kylie, welcome to FAR!

Thanks for having me, Tammy! I'm delighted to be here.

To start, will you please tell us a little bit about your current release The Last Warrior?

The Last Warrior is an October release from Silhouette Intimate Moments. Tribal police investigator Joe Youngblood has the heart of an ancient warrior and the raw beauty of the Navajo Nations land he calls home. And to photojournalist Delaney Carson, he is more of a threat than the flashback-induced nightmares of Iraqi gunfire and dying colleagues that have ruled her life for the past two years-or the unknown assailant who wants to silence her. Because Joe Youngblood makes her believe in tomorrow. And forever. Most frightening of all, he makes her believe in love.

What would you like to accomplish with your writing career?

Writing is first and foremost a compulsion for me. I have all these characters, plots and scenes swirling about in my mind all the time. Putting them down on paper means I go from 'hearing voices' to being a writer :) An important distinction, I think!
If someone reads one of my books and finds it touches a chord for them; if they empathize with my characters or just enjoy it as an escape from reality for a while--I've accomplished my goal.

I learned from your website that you're an elementary special education teacher. With a full time job, how do you find time to write?

That is getting more difficult. When my kids were younger, we were gone every weeknight with their activities, which worked out, since during the school year I write on weekends. But now that they're older, we're home during the week and gone on the weekends. This doesn't work as well for me because after teaching all day I'm frequently brain dead in the evenings!I work best under a schedule, so I set a certain number of pages to be written each week, and then I flex my available time to set aside hours for writing.

When did you decide to take "pen in hand" and write with the intent to publish?

It was back in 1990. At the time I was reading all the Desires, Special Editions and Intimate Moments each month, and by the last of the month, I was re-reading books from my library. I was reading about 2 dozen books a month, a luxury unheard of now! I decided to write a book simply because my favorite authors couldn't produce fast enough to keep me in reading material.
I sold the second book I wrote in 1992, and then a few months later sold that first manuscript, as well.

How important is research in your writing?

I'm a research junkie. I can get completely sidetracked from the story by searching for facts that are going to end up only as a line or two in my story. Compulsive doesn't even begin to describe it! I have a pretty extensive (my husband would say scary) research library at home. I also like to talk to experts in the field, either by email or phone. For most stories I'll read a half dozen books that have facts about an occupation, setting, event, etc. for my plot.

How much time do you spend doing research for a story?

I start researching as soon as I get an idea for a story. I continue tracking down information throughout the entire writing process. I'm still researching at the line edit stage. The research takes almost as much time as the actual writing does.

If you could pick any celebrity to be on the cover of your book, who would it be and why?

Ooh, good question! Especially since the covers so rarely are depicted the way I imagined them! I'd choose Goran Visnjic, because he's gorgeous, of course. And he also typifies that dark, brooding tortured hero who appear so frequently in my stories.

If you could meet one of your characters, which one would it be?

I've always been half in love with Cage Gauthier from Falling Hard and Fast, so I wouldn't mind meeting him! Analiese Tremaine and Jones from Alias Smith and Jones, because they made such a hilarious opposites-attract couple; Rianna Kingsley from The Business of Strangers, because she was such a badass; and Jake Tarrance from the same book, because he was just bad!

Do you go back and read your own books for pleasure?

I wouldn't say pleasure has anything to do with it ;) I'm constantly rewriting it in my head as I read. It's hard to be able to distance myself enough to be objective, when I'm so familiar with them. I do usually read a copy when I get it, though, just to see how many printing errors there are.

How many books have you written, and do you have a personal favorite?

The Last Warrior is my 22nd. I have several favorites, but my most recent favorite is The Business of Strangers. I think it pushed the envelope suspense-wise, and it was the best executed plot I've done to date.

If you could go anywhere, be anyone, do anything for 24 hours, what would it be?

Being a writer, I'd dive into my books! It think it would be a huge kick to be able to be the heroine of each of my books, one right after another, and get to experience what I wrote for them.

Is there anything else you would like to share with your fans today?

The most rewarding part of writing is hearing from readers. So feel free to drop by the website and send me an email. I love discussing writing and books!

Thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us today Kylie. I have really enjoyed hearing more about your work.

I enjoyed it! Thanks for the opportunity.

Readers be sure to visit Kylie’s website at http://www.kyliebrant.com/


Interviewed by: Tammy