Deadly Sins by Kylie Brant

By Diane Holmes

Kylie Brant knows how to write thrillers that romance the reader and keep the pages flying! With over thirty romantic suspense novels to her name, she’s moved into darker territory with her romantic thriller series, The Mindunter.

The Mindhunters have achieved national best-seller status.  The first four books have garnered a combined fourteen contest finals.

August brings us the next in the series, Deadly Sins, featuring tough FBI agent, Jaid Marlowe, and reader favorite Adam Raiker, Jaid’s former colleague , ex-lover, and new partner.  They have a history and the scars to prove it.

Jaid and Adam dive into the most shocking investigation of their careers when an unknown assassin begins taking out high-level human targets citywide.  The list of an Iranian diplomat, a US senator,  a vengeful priest, and Adam, himself.

Now, despite their history, they have only each other, and the desperate hope that love can keep them alive.

“Kylie Brant has a winning series with the Mindhunters!” –NYT bestselling author Allison Brennan

“Brant’s careful research leads to believable twists and turns…(a) well-paced thriller….” –Publisher’s Weekly

You’re known for your dark, romantic thrillers, and this is the sixth book in your Mindhunter series.  Tell us what we can expect!

This is the concluding book in the series and highlights Adam Raiker, the enigmatic legendary former FBI profiler and head of the Mindhunters.

Every author is driven by an idea or scene that excites them to write the book!  What’s the fascination for you? 

I had never intended for Raiker to get his own book.  But I hadn’t counted on the reader response I would get to the character, either.  He only appeared once or twice in each novel but with each story, readers wanted to hear more and more from him.

When my editor bought the second trilogy she asked for an over-arching suspense plot involving Raiker with the last book devoted to him.  I was thrilled, because he’s a once in a lifetime sort of character; larger than life, and was growing more fully formed with each successive story. He was already a living breathing character to me, even when he played a very small part in the first books.  I would have had to found some way to tell his story–it’s such a compelling one.

Tell us about the journey in writing this story.  Smooth sailing or more like a twisted prison escape?

This was one of the two easiest books in the series.  Raiker had had five books time to take shape and fully develop.  He was fully formed and demanding his own story long before we got to this book!

How can we see the influences of your life in this story? 

My life is excruciatingly boring compared to the darkness and murder I write about.  But perhaps the female protagonist has a bit of me in her.  Jaid Marlowe is a tough FBI agent, but she’s also a mother who has had to make compromises to protect her family.  I think any parent can sympathize with the sacrifices that must be made when juggling career with kids.

Research lover or hater?  What were the aspects that required the most research and how did you bring research to life? 

Research is one of my favorite things!  I pride myself on talking to experts in the field for each forensic specialty or area of expertise I’m writing about in a book.

Deadly Sins begins with the murder of a Supreme Court Judge so I really needed to talk to a former clerk to get information about procedures, the building, duties, etc.  This was one of the most difficult times I’ve had coming up with my needed expert but  last summer I did speak to a wonderfully articulate lawyer who had been a Supreme Court clerk eight years earlier.  She gave me loads of valuable information and at the end of the conversation shared that she was closing her law practice to go to work for President Obama’s legal counsel.

I spoke to her a few more times, most recently last winter when I was under deadline.  I had her cellphone number and spoke to her over lunch.  Afterwards I was able to tell my colleagues that I had just got off the phone from the White House!  Surely the first and last time I’ll ever utter those words.  I also spoke several times with a FBI agent in the DC field office who was extremely helpful.

Tell us about writing Deadly Sins.  What was the biggest challenge?

I tend to have a short attention span so the longest series before The Mindhunters was four books.  I deliberately left the first trilogy loosely connected, because I know my low threshold for boredom!  But when I was asked by readers and my editor for an overarching suspense plot involving Raiker for the DEADLY books (the last trilogy) I knew I was going to have to venture into new writing territory for myself.  I like to think I grew as a writer in writing the series and the connected books.

Tell us more about Adam!  What made him so special to you?

It’s not unusual for a character to become ‘real’ to writers.  But there’s something about Adam Raiker’s compelling backstory, and larger than life personality that makes him deserving of being a real person, if that makes sense.  He’s a difficult demanding personality–after everything he’s endured one would expect nothing less.  I’ve yet to create a character who is more deserving of his own story–and his own happy ending!  The most difficult part of the story was developing a heroine who was his equal in every way.s

What’s the easiest way for Readers to find your book?

Bookstores, online, and my website.

Give us the scoop on what you’re writing now. 

Right now I’m writing a proposal for a straight suspense series, and next I’ll be writing one for another romantic thriller series.

And finally, if you could have any Thriller/Mystery author write a story just for you, who would that author be and what would he or she write?

Only one?  That’s a difficult one!  I’d have to have Lee Child write a story featuring Jack Reacher and me.  I’ll be the first female character Reacher can’t walk away from at the end of the story!

Thank you so much!

*****

Kylie Brant is the author of over thirty romantic suspense novels. A three-time Rita nominee and five time finalist/winner of Romantic Times awards, her books have been published in twenty-six countries and sixteen languages.

To learn more, please visit her website, and connect with Kylie on Facebook and Twitter.