SANDRA BROWN

I made straight A's and never got into any trouble, and I still impose those standards on myself. So writing is my chance to escape and become the sleaziest, scummiest role.

I came to write after several mini careers. I did live theatre, managed a cosmetics store and was a local television personality.

I think of my books now as suspense novels, usually with a love story incorporated. They're absolutely a lot harder to write than romances. They take more plotting and real character development.

I love being the bad guy, simply because I was always so responsible, so predictable growing up.

Before becoming a writer, I worked in the media, for the ABC affiliate in Dallas.

It was kind of a hard lesson when I figured out that not everybody is going to be kind, be sweet. So I've learned that I am never going to make everybody happy. There's always going to be someone who can't stand the way I write, and I can't take that personally.

Once I started to write, it was like all the lights came on. I was always making up stories in my head. I was a daydreamer. I didn't start as a child, but once I started, I couldn't stop. It was compulsive.

I know I'm not creating transcendent works that will someday be taught in college. All I do is entertain. I try to entertain others by sending them into another world for a few hours. When I see my books read on the beach, the pages dabbed with suntan lotion, then I feel as if I've done my job.

No self-respecting Southerner will eat something baked, broiled, grilled, stewed, poached, sauteed, or flambeed when it can be deep fried.

When I set out to write, I see it very visually. I almost feel like a reporter. I'm relating what I'm seeing and hearing, so it's kind of watching a play for me.

There are gray areas in everything.

I love writing villains because I was the big sister of five girls, so I had heavy responsibility growing up. I had to be 'the good girl.'

I grew up loving books and stories. Reading became my favourite pastime, and you have to be a reader before you can be a writer.

My mother was a big reader, and my father was an editorial writer for a newspaper.

I have always found writing very difficult.

'Slow Heat in Heaven' was my 'breakout' or 'crossover' book, and I loved the freedom I felt writing it.

I'm no cook, but I love to eat. Usually, food tastes best when there isn't a recipe, just a cook who knows what foods and seasonings go well together.

Yes, I love my homes, I love to travel, I love my family, and I love doting on my new grandchildren. But you can only do so much of that. I don't go to lunch with friends. I don't join clubs. I don't have any big hobbies. I work. I come up with stories. I can't even imagine a life where I'm not sitting around, worried about my next book.

For each book, there's a back story of where the idea came from. Sometimes it's derived from a current event or topic of discussion, such as 'Deadline.'

Rarely does a complete idea come to me. I basically start with just a small scene or a snatch of dialogue and force myself to write and to keep writing. Sometimes it becomes a book.

Life throws surprises, sorrows, sadness, and hardship, and I think that writing has actually grounded me. It kept me grounded when everything else was falling apart.

I always try to incorporate something in every book that I've never used before. Hopefully, spontaneity will keep readers reading.

Typically, I have a fairly good grip on the plot of a suspense novel before I set about writing it. I must know beforehand how the mystery ultimately will be solved.

My first computer was an IBM Display Writer. With all its components, it was roughly the size of a bass fishing boat.

I 'climbed' Sandia Peak outside Albuquerque. Which is really piddling as far as mountains go. It's a mere 9,000 feet and some change, and what I went up was a path on one of the gentler slopes. It's about seven miles to the summit, and I walked it with my husband, son, and brother-in-law. For me that was a tremendous accomplishment.