Welcome to our New Faces column, where you can meet new romance authors and find out about their books. This time we're visiting with Beverly Brandt, whose first book is True North from St. Martin's Press.

Tell us about yourself.

Sadly, there's not much of interest to tell! I've lived in Washington State for all but four years of my life. I have a Bachelor's degree in Finance, of all things. I would have said that my finance background hasn't helped at all with the writing, but it's not true. When my first editor at St. Martin's Press asked me for some revisions to TRUE NORTH, I had no idea how to go about doing what she had requested. I sat in front of my computer for two weeks, totally overwhelmed by the task before me. With the revision deadline fast approaching, I finally stopped panicking long enough to take a deep breath and look at the problem analytically. That's when I decided to break the book down into scenes, which I could then categorize by plotline. Being a financial analyst by trade, I, of course, did this all on a spreadsheet so I could sort and filter the scenes in all different ways. I discovered that it's much easier to revise a few dozen scenes than an entire book!

I am married and live near Seattle. I have three stepchildren and one very large cat.

Are you coming to romance writing from another job?

I work full-time as a financial analyst for an online travel agency. My co-workers are some of the nicest people I've ever met, but I do miss the writing! I took some time off work two years ago to write, and I loved it. I was very prolific, and didn't struggle at all with being self-disciplined-which surprised me. I'm a procrastinator at heart, so was amazed that I wrote four books in eighteen months without any deadline pressure at all.

The problem I'm struggling with now is that I have never been able to write while I'm working at a "real" job. It's very difficult for me to get into the creative mindset after spending 9-10 hours a day doing spreadsheets. I guess it's the struggle with the whole left-brain/right-brain thing. The good news is that I'm at least a year and a half ahead of my deadlines (assuming St. Martin's is going to buy book four, which they haven't yet seen), so I'm hoping I can get back to writing full-time before I'm forced to test my theory that I can't write while working a day job.

What led you to write romance?

I wrote (and read) all the time when I was young. I never went anywhere without a notebook and a pencil. I even went so far as to write to Mary O' Hara, who wrote the MY FRIEND FLICKA books, to ask if I could write a fourth book in the series. She very kindly turned me down, but I kept writing-my attention turning from horses to boys at about age fourteen. I started reading romances then, but moved to more mainstream fiction when I got older. I was a little turned off by books about perfume heiresses marrying princes of small-yet-politically-stable countries, or beautiful blonde women being kidnapped and raped (but they always enjoyed it!) by Bedouin sheiks who were, in truth, the CEOs of major multinational corporations.

I came back to romance when I was 28. Having just spent the past six years putting myself through college at night while working full-time, I went through a major melt-down. I looked back at what I had accomplished during my twenties, at my crummy administrative job and the years I had lost to schooling, and it just made me really depressed. All that hard work, and nothing to show for it! I was in this totally pathetic frame of mind when I picked up a romance at my local library (it was Catherine Coulter's THE SHERBROOKE BRIDE). I can't tell you how much I needed that happy ending! I read maniacally for the next three months, and when I was finally out of my blue funk, I had the irresistible urge to start writing again. I don't think I ever consciously decided that I was going to write romance-I just wrote the stories that were playing around in my head, and they happened to be romances. I think it's a great genre, and I can't imagine writing a book that doesn't end with a Happily Ever After!

Tell us about your road to publication.

My road to publication has been short and smooth, with only a pothole or two that I've had to maneuver around. My biggest hurdle was actually finishing a book, because at some point (usually right around Chapter 8), the story doesn't come as easily as it does in Chapter 1. Before, I would let myself just jump to another story, thinking I'd get back to the old one when I had more ideas for it. Ha! Never happened! When I got to that Chapter 8 point in TRUE NORTH and wanted to start something new, I gave myself an ultimatum: finish the book, or never write again. After all, there's only room for so many unfinished manuscripts in my closet. I'm glad to say that I stuck with it and finished TRUE NORTH, then started my second book the same day.

As for publication (which was the actual point of your question-sorry, I'm known to go off on tangents!), I started submitting TRUE NORTH to agents after I had finished my second book in the spring of 2000. They all rejected me, so I figured I might as well submit to editors myself. From the stories I'd heard, I figured I had at least year to wait before hearing back, so I went to work on a third book. Well, I didn't get far. I sent my query letter to St. Martin's on a Monday. By Friday of that same week, I had a request for a full manuscript. Shocked, I called my critique partner. Was the book really ready to be sent to an editor? She assured me that it was the best book I could write at the time, so off it went. Ten weeks later, my phone rang. It was an editor from St. Martin's Press, offering me a two-book contract. I can honestly say that I've never cried tears of joy before that day, but I still remember sitting at my computer crying the happiest tears of my life after I hung up from "the call." I even made up some excuse to call my editor the next day because I couldn't quite believe it was true. I half expected her to say, "Beverly who?" when I talked to her, but she knew exactly who I was.

So, the short answer is that I sold my first book six months after I finished it, but it's taken 19 more months to for it to make it to the shelves. I didn't have any connections in the publishing world-no famous author friends who gave me a leg up, no family in the publishing industry, no big contest wins. I know how fortunate I was to sell so quickly, and am surprised that the devil hasn't come knocking on my door, looking for his reward!

What kind of research was involved for your first book?

John McBride, the hero of TRUE NORTH, was a tracker for the FBI. I didn't have the first clue of what it takes to be a tracker, so I read every book I could my hands on about the subject. Of course, there were only a few, so that wasn't too difficult. Also, TRUE NORTH is set in Colorado, so I had to buy some travel books to get the setting right. I've only driven through the state once.

After doing similar research for five books now, you should see the weird suggestions I get on Amazon.com. The e-mails they send me always start out like, "You bought Tom Brown's THE TRACKER, take a look at THE GUIDE TO WILD EDIBLE AND MEDICINAL PLANTS, too!" I'm sure that's fascinating reading, but . . .

Who are your influences as a writer?

I wouldn't say that I'm influenced by other authors, but there are many out there whose work I admire. Jennifer Crusie has a way of summing up her characters with one perfect sentence that just amazes me. Marian Keyes can make drug rehab funny. I cry every time I read Susan Elizabeth Phillips's DREAM A LITTLE DREAM. Linda Howard's MR. PERFECT had me wishing I wasn't married so I could drool over the guy next door. There are just so many great authors out there! I'm glad that writing is not an industry where you have to crush the competition to be successful, because there are so many talented authors out there that I'd never have a chance!

What does your family think of having a romance author in their midst?

My husband thinks it's great - even when people ask if he was the model for John McBride. He has been supportive of my dream from the very beginning. He's also become a great advocate of the romance industry, and furiously defends the genre against anyone who tries to call it "trash"! My 15-year-old stepdaughter and 30-year-old stepson think it's cool, but my 17-year-old stepson would only be interested if I was able to buy him a new Porsche with the royalties.

Tell us about plans for future books.

I have plans for lots more books! My second, RECORD TIME, will be out this fall. There's an excerpt up on my website at www.beverlybrandt.com/record_time.htm. ROOM SERVICE is my third book and should be out in the summer of 2003. GOLD DIGGING (working title) is my fourth book, and we'll see in a few months if St. Martin's is interested in purchasing it. It has a more of a darker theme to it than the other three I 've finished, but I like it. I have strong ideas for five more books after that-now I just need the time off to write them!

How can readers get in touch with you?

Readers can get in touch with me via e-mail at beverly@beverlybrandt.com or snail mail at P.O. Box 514, Bellevue, WA 98009-0514. I'm much faster at responding through e-mail, since that doesn't require a trip to the Post Office!

Beverly, thanks for joining us, and best of luck on your upcoming books! Readers, we have a review of True North on our Contemporary page.January 13, 2002

January 29, 2002