Interview with Bestselling Author Suzanne Brockmann

AE: We understand that your next book, holiday-themed novella All Through the Night, will feature what might be the romance fiction genre's first gay wedding. What can you tell us about that?
SB: All Through the Night is, indeed, the story of Jules and Robin's wedding. Robin gets an acting job in a pay-cable TV series that's being filmed in Boston. Jules takes a temporary transfer up there to be with him, and they realize that, since they're living in Massachusetts, they can get married. So that the frame of the story. Hijinks, of course, ensue.

I'm hoping this book will please some of my more traditional romance readers, who always write to ask me why I never include any weddings in my romantic suspense books. My answer has always been that I'll include a wedding if it adds to the conflict, or if I think it's unique and/or interesting. But frankly? I wanted to write about Jules and Robin's wedding precisely because it's not unique. It's a regular wedding. It's a ceremony between two people who love each other and want to spend their lives together. I'm hoping readers will realize that.

AE: And you're doing an audiobook with gay singer/songwriter Michael Holland for the book? How'd you get hooked up with him?
SB: Warning!!! Gushing fangrrl moment! I'm a huge Michael Holland fan, and have been for years. His Darkness Falls is on my top-three-all-time-favorite-CDs list. I'm beside myself with excitement because Michael's read the audiobook of All Through the Night, which will be released by Brilliance Audio, also on October 30th.

I've been lucky to have known Michael for years – in part because I'm a musician myself. I used to front my own band and later went on to direct and perform with a Boston-based acapella group called Serious Fun. I also helped found the Appalachian Benefit Coffeehouse in Natick, Massachusetts – where Michael was a frequent performer. Over the years, I've continued to follow Michael's career. His NYC Blend-O-Matic cabaret show with the amazing Karen Mack is incredibly entertaining. And he's currently doing rewrites on the book, music and lyrics for a Broadway-bound musical called Hurricane.

You know, every author has a list of actors – a dream team, if you will – who would play their characters in a movie. Well, in the ultimate, perfect movie of my books that plays in my head, Michael Holland would play the part of Jules Cassidy. So it's beyond cool that he recorded this audiobook. It's as if Jules himself is reading it. I asked [he was interested], Michael said "Love to," Brilliance was blown away by his audio sample, and he went out to their studio in Michigan to record the book! Total dream come true for me!

AE: Your earnings including advance, subrights and royalties from All Through the Night and its audiobook are going to MassEquality, an organization dedicated to preserving same-sex marriage rights in Mass. What drew you to this organization in particular?
SB: I'm a Massachusetts resident. I'm extremely proud to live in the one state in the U.S. where equal rights include marriage, where freedom and justice for all really does mean ALL. I've been a MassEquality member for years. I've gone to rallies and candlelight vigils. I've held signs and handed out flyers and campaigned for equal rights candidates. I've done phone banking and canvassing and you know what? I suck at that stuff. What I do best is write.

Last January everyone in Massachusetts thought that the equal marriage issue had been resolved, that equal rights applied to everyone. Damn, skippy, it'd been three years since the Supreme Court's decision, and the sky hadn't fallen as across the state thousands of gay couples finally were able to be legally wed.

But Mitt Romney wanted to run for president, and even though he formerly supported gay rights, he pushed for a legislative vote on a petition to amend the Massachusetts constitution to take marriage rights away from our GLBT citizens. Last January, my son had the right to get married, but suddenly it was possible that everyone in Massachusetts was going to vote, in 2008, on whether or not he and the rest of the GLBT community could keep that right!

So last January, I got really, really angry. This entire issue was so over and done and yet here it was, suddenly raging back to life. What about health care? What about the war in Iraq? What about the environment? What about all these important issues that had been pushed aside while we screwed around with something that we as a country should have done years ago. I mean, freaking Spain recognizes gay marriage, for the love of God... America, the home of the free – except not so fast there, you...

Last January, I knew that groups like MassEquality needed money, and they needed it quickly in order to fight this proposed amendment that would take away rights that had already been granted – a despicable first for our once proud nation. And so, because what I do best is write, I came up with the idea to write this novel.

AE: Your son must be as proud of you as you are of him. Does he have any interest in following in your footsteps as a writer?
SB: It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Jason someday wrote a movie script or a stage play. He's smart and funny and extremely creative. But right now he's focused on his acting career. He's an incredibly talented dancer – tap is his specialty. He wants to sing and dance on Broadway. If there's one thing he's learned from me, it's to dream big!

AE: Have you ever entertained writing gay-specific romance books? Do you think there's a difference in terms of the way gay and straight romance is handled in fiction?
SB: You know, I have to admit that I haven't read many "gay romances," so I'm not sure if I can comment on the differences. I do believe, though, that there's room for gay characters and gay relationships in the pages of my books.(And with the success of Force of Nature, I think we'll be seeing more diversity from other romance authors, too.

Frankly, I like writing books about people. And I like writing about a world that's like the one I live in – a real, honest world where I have friends and family who vary in their appearances, orientations and beliefs. I like focusing on the ways we're all similar instead of pointing out our differences. I believe that we all have hearts beating in our chests, but that we're also all alone out there, as we spin through our crazy lives. Be it friendship or romance, we're all just hoping to make some kind of connection. And when we do, well, that's cause for real celebration, isn't it?

AE: What's next on your slate?
SB: I'm on the verge of writing next summer's hardcover release, tentatively titled Into the Fire. It'll be the 13th book in my Troubleshooters series. Readers will get a chance to revisit some of my more popular characters, including a Navy SEAL named Irving Zanella. And after that...? I'll write yet more books about characters who get lucky and make a connection. I am, after all, a hopeless romantic!