Author of “Seatbelt Suspense”
www.brandilyncollins.com
by Kelvin Oliver
T4JYM: Can you share a short testimony with our readers?
BC: I was raised in a Christian family. As an adult, I was a Christian, but a nominal one. Oh, I lived a good life and all. Jesus was my Savior–but not my Lord. My writing in particular was mine. All for me–gimme the fame and glory and all that. Until one June night in 1998–when heaven opened and God poured out His spirit upon me. Set me straight but good. Next thing I knew, He was talking to me about my writing. Telling me that the ability to write was from Him in the first place, so maybe, just maybe He had a plan for it? “Okay,” I said, “take it; it’s Yours.” Then He called me to write Christian fiction. This was fine and dandy, except that two of my secular novels were on the desks of interested editors, and one was being read by three different film companies for possible options.
After 10 years of trying to get published in fiction, I had to go to my agent (whom I’d had for a couple years) and say, “Um, you know those novels you’ve worked so hard to place? They’re not for sale anymore.” I took ’em back and rewrote ’em for the Christian market–with God’s help all the way. Then God opened the publishing doors–boom, boom. He was just waiting for me to get in line with His will, can you imagine that? My first Christian novel sold in 1999 and hit the shelves in early 2001. In the last four years I’ve written 10 contracted books, and I’m still plugging away on my current contract.
T4JYM: What made you want to write Christian suspense?
BC: Good question. Why don’t I write romance, or historicals, or contemporaries–something a little easier on the nerves? My mother wonders this too. She thinks I’m getting more warped by the minute. She’s probably right. My stories do tend to be… intense. But the truth is, I have an amazing, fun freedom in writing Christian suspense. I get to tell all sorts of scary stories–and inject the hope of God into them. That’s the best of both worlds, if you ask me.
Truth is, we do live in an evil world. But the truth doesn’t end there, thanks be to God. The truth ends with the fact that God’s power can help us live, even be victorious, amid this evil. Not to say bad things don’t happen to good people. They do–in real life, and in my books. It is to say that followers of Christ have been given the awesome authority to go before His throne and ask for help in times of trouble–even big, bad trouble. Especially big, bad trouble.
Lest you think I sound too much like a preacher–let me set you straight. I’m not one. My #1 job as a Christian novelist is not to preach. It’s to write the best rollickin’ story I possibly can. I want to grab you-from the very first line. I want to take you on a rollercoaster ride, make you need to sleep with a nightlight on. I want to make you forget to b r e a t h e. Yet along the way, you won’t be so inundated with evil that you’re left feeling hopeless. Quite the opposite. My books present hope. You can accept the message, or reject it and simply come along for the ride.
Either way, I’m mighty happy to have you along.
Uh . . .better cinch up that seatbelt.
T4JYM: What was your first book published?
BC: A true crime in 1995, titled A Question of Innocence. (Published by Avon.) It was a nationally watched murder case. I attended the trial (in my area) initially to research the suspense novel I was writing. I ended up putting that novel aside to write the story of this case. Publicity for the book was fun. I got to be on the Phil Donahue show and Leeza Gibbons show, plus local TV and radio. But I needed to return to fiction–my first love.
T4JYM: What are your next plans for writing? Do you plan to do any more books along the same lines as this book? Will you move on to new writing?
BC: I write about 2 books a year. I’m in the middle of a 7-book contract with Zondervan (Christian division of HarperCollins). Books 1-4 were in my Hidden Faces suspense series. Book 5 of the contract is the first in my new three-book Kanner Lake series. Okay, so I don’t get out much. At least I know what I’m doing for the near future.
T4JYM: Who are some of the authors you read? Why do you like their works?
BC: Love that Dean Koontz. The guy’s a master.
T4JYM: Tell the readers about the Hidden Faces Series. Who are the books about? Are they like sequels to each other?
BC: Hidden Faces features Annie Kingston, a forensic artist. The setting is near Redding, California. I figured a forensic artist would make a great character. She’s got the left-brain scientific knowledge of her field, plus the right-brain creative side that also is very empathetic with people. (You have to be in order to interview traumatized crime
victims.)
In Book 1, Brink of Death, a 12-year-old witnesses the murder of her mother and sees the suspect clearly, but is too traumatized to give a description.
In Book 2, Stain of Guilt, Annie must create a fugitive update of a man wanted in a double homicide. He’s been on the lam for 20 years.
In Book 3, Dead of Night, Annie must draw the unidentified dead–victims of a local serial killer that’s getting a little too close…
In Book 4, Web of Lies (coming out December 2005), Annie creates a facial reconstruction from a discovered skull. These stories are very fast-paced, in keeping with my “Seatbelt Suspense” brand. My novels are known for their twists and turns, and scary situations. Keeps readers on their toes. And their nightlights turned on.
T4JYM: Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers?
BC: Yup. First, you can read excerpts from all my books on my Web site.
www.brandilyncollins.com There you can also check out my how-to book for writing fiction — Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors.
Second, come check out my blog. http://www.forensicsandfaith.blogspot.com/ We have a fun community going over there. For two to three months I told the looooong story of my journey toward publication. Numerous folks have found it quite entertaining. You can start at the beginning of the journey in the blog archives.
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