Interview with Bestselling Author Suzanne Brockmann

Confession time: I've never read a romance novel. Well, unless you count when I was a teenager and would thumb through anything in my mother's vast book collection with a painting of a shirtless man on the cover for new vocabulary words.

But after corresponding with romance novelist Suzanne Brockmann, I'm about to pick one up. Brockmann writes straight romance novels, and is quite successful at it. (The latest book in her "Troubleshooters" series, Force of Nature, recently hit #3 on the New York Times Best Seller List) But Brockmann's books are unique in that they feature a gay central character, FBI agent Jules Cassidy, who has romances of his own. Gay love stories in straight fiction? Say it ain't so.

Brockmann is about to release another story in Jules' saga, and is donating all of her earnings from the novella All Through the Night and accompanying audiobook to MassEquality, a non-profit dedicated to preserving marriage equality in her home state. We took the opportunity to ask the bestselling romance novelist a few questions about her books, her activism, and how being the parent of a gay son has informed both.

AfterElton.com: Your latest book in the Troubleshooters series, Force of Nature, features a recurring gay character, FBI agent Jules Cassidy, whose plotlines extend across several books. So for gay readers who might be new to your work, would you say that Force of Nature is a good one to start with?
Suzanne Brockmann: I write my books to stand alone, so they could start with Force of Nature. Even though each book is part of an ongoing series, a reader can pick up any book and (hopefully!) have it make sense. With that said, readers who are interested in Jules Cassidy might want to start with Hot Target, the book where Jules first meets his love interest, Hollywood actor Robin Chadwick. Jules also plays a huge part in Breaking Point, but Robin doesn't return until Force of Nature. The two men's relationship continues in All Through the Night, which will be in book stores on October 30th.

AE: Reader comments on Force of Nature on Amazon are split. Some love the character of Jules and the time you spend to develop his storyline – others seem put off by the gay content in your books. Do you find it hard to strike a balance between your more conservative traditional readers who want only "straight" romance and suspense and your own interests in representing diversity?
SB: I find myself struggling to answer this question because, first and foremost, I don't want to give power or recognition to those who post anti-gay opinions at Amazon in the guise of "reviews." On the other hand, I'm probably not doing my job – which is both to entertain and to make people think – unless I'm getting someone riled up! And then there's that whole "badge of courage" thing that comes with being one-starred – hey, me and Al Franken, baby! I'm in good company!

Seriously, I know I've probably lost some traditional romance readers by boldly going where no man has, uh, gone before, at least in mainstream genre romantic fiction. But I've got to write the stories that I burn to write. And frankly? I believe that I've gained more readers by writing books with vibrant, compelling, honest and realistic characters like Jules Cassidy and Robin Chadwick.

Hot Target won the Border's Group award for Bestselling Romance Hardcover of 2005. And Force of Nature spent two weeks on the Times list and – to date – has outsold all of my previous books.

AE: Your son Jason is gay, and you seem like you might be in the running for Coolest Mom Ever for your outspoken support of gay causes and gay visibility. How has your experience as the parent of a gay son informed your writing and your social activism?
SB: Wow, thanks! That's an award I'd love to win! And yeah, being Jason's mother opened my eyes and my mind in so many ways, but I've always been a fan of IDIC – you know, Mr. Spock's philosophy? "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations."

But you're right – there's something about having kids that makes you want to make the world a better place. Way back when Jason was still a little boy, before he identified as gay, I introduced Jules Cassidy to my fictional universe because I wanted to write about an out gay character who was strong and confident and heroic – a character who came out as a teenager and was completely supported by his parents. A character like Jason.

I first suspected Jace was gay when he was around three years old. My goal as his mom was to make sure he never felt isolated or alone – or as if there was anything wrong with him. Because there wasn't and there isn't. He is as he was born to be – a wonderful, kind, compassionate, creative, intelligent gay young man. For years, Jason urged me to give Jules a romantic story arc. He's glad that I finally did.