The Brisbane Writers Festival was, as usual, a great success, with large numbers of people attending the author sessions and enjoying the ambiance of the cultural forecourt at Southbank. Whether you are an aspiring or published writer, the festival provides a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones, as well as meet authors, publishers, and agents. I had such a wonderful time meeting my friends I’m surprised I found time to attend so many sessions.
To my great delight, my publisher has given me a sneak preview of the cover of Dangerous Deception. For this book they’ve opted for a darker, moodier cover, a look that reflects the danger that lurks in every chapter and the mystery surrounding Breeanna Montgomery. As soon as the cover is finalised, I’ll have it up on the website.
My editor tells me that Breeanna is definitely her favourite of the heroines in my books. She’s a complex character, not always the easiest to write, but definitely the most interesting. My copy editor said she particularly liked the shades of good and bad in Carly, one of the not-so-minor characters.
Rogan McKay, as readers will know from Deadly Tide, appears on the surface to be a straightforward, ex-Navy type who now owns a diving and charter boat on the Great Barrier Reef. But Rogan is a man of many facets, and I loved getting inside him and working him out so I could expose him to my readers.
Characterisation, as you’ve probably realised, is something I love to sink my writer’s teeth into. I love creating characters that my readers come to care about. I want my readers to be as involved with these people on the pages as much as I am. When I finish writing a book I take a while to cut myself off and not keep planning the next phases of those characters’ lives.
Dangerous Deception will be released on 1st April 2005. It might be April Fool’s Day, but hopefully it will turn out to be an auspicious day for me.