Sally, please tell us about yourself.
My dad told wonderful stories, so maybe I
inherited a bit of his talent. The catalyst to write romance came while visiting
my brother in Costa Rica. Reading occupied hot, humid afternoons. After plowing
through seven romance novels, I declared to my husband that I enjoyed witty
dialogue and the chase way more than the sex scenes. Certainly, I could pen a
love story without those details. The challenge landed squarely onto my laptop.
I take pride in weaving slow-burning romance
into edgy suspense stories without intimate sex scenes. Are they sweet? Not from
comments by readers about the attraction elements and villains receiving appropriate
consequences for their actions. I’m a Libra who strives to make everyone happy,
while expecting fair treatment. Don’t mess with kids or animals in my presence
or the gloves come off. That ideology’s put into action regarding Big Red, the
mule, in The Hitman’s Mistake.
My home’s in the Pacific Northwest—shared by
a husband, adult sons, our faithful Aussie-mix, and (nearby) my twenty-eight
year old Quarter Horse gelding. My pastry-training career allowed me to travel
to Montana, the setting for my series, Love
Thrives in Emma Springs. Another romantic suspense series with a science
twist, Double Vision, will be
forthcoming.
What does your family think of
your writing?
My family’s extremely supportive.
Being frugal and working consistently since I turned fifteen allowed early
retirement and my commitment to write full time. When I got the text that the
paperback version of The Hitman’s Mistake
arrived, I’d just hopped on Lance for an exercise session in the arena at my
barn. Excited as I was, I finished riding, took care of a friend’s horse, and
then headed home. My husband had gathered our son and friends in our dining
room. They’d decorated the boxes, chilled champagne, and I walked in hearing
the song, “Celebrate”. I love my herd.
What did you learn from writing
your first book?
I hammered out the rough draft
(about 55,000 words) of my debut novel in about five days and thought it looked
pretty good. That’s before I attended my first Emerald City Writers Conference
and realized I may have hit basic markers delineating a romantic suspense
story, but my writing skills needed vast improvement. Workshops, on-line
classes, critique partners, beta readers, and fabulous editors came to my
rescue. I enjoy learning and my internal drive to succeed keeps me practicing
new techniques and questioning whether I can do better. Here’s a big tip to
save time: take suggestions from successful people and incorporate them into
your writing, if applicable.
How many books have you written?
Which is your favorite?
I’ve written 8.5 books to date.
That’s written, not polished, and ready for my Soul Mate Publishing editor!
Each book contains elements near and dear to me. Overall, I’d say the
forty-year-old characters in Book 3 make it one of my favorites. Major story
line changes are necessary, so the vote’s out on how I’ll feel about the
rewrite.
What are some jobs you've done
that would end up in a book?
Many former jobs end up in my
books. To earn college money, I worked in a warehouse, became a high school
custodian during summers for higher pay, did landscaping, sold cameras, catalogued
antique jewelry for a numismatist (rare coin dealer), and became the 6’ tall
Easter bunny at the mall. My degree is in teaching special education, behavior
disorders. I taught high school for a short time (I was 21 and so were many of
my students) and then I substituted. Afterwards, I became a food service broker
and taught industrial pastry baking—to students from community colleges on up
to executive chefs from national parks. My third book sprinkles in baking tips
and someday I’ll pen, Pastry Tips for the
Dough Challenged and offer it as a freebie. Too many people turn pale at the
idea of baking. It’s only a set of learnable skills, folks.
If you could give the younger
version of yourself advice what would it be?
My advice would be to love
myself. In college, my suitemate combed her hair in front of a mirror every
morning and said aloud, “You are beautiful, Elaine.” Was she a stunning model
type? Nope, but she ate healthy and worked out. She radiated an inner
confidence without conceit, and she never lacked for dates.
What do you hope readers take
with them after reading your work?
I hope my readers learn to
forgive themselves, love themselves, and trust themselves. My heroines are
faced with challenges and figure out they’re not only capable, but even stronger
when they allow others to help them. That being said, our world can be mighty scary.
If you haven’t read The Gift of Fear,
it gives concrete reasons to trust your intuition in real time.
Tell us about your latest release.
My recent release, The Hitman’s Mistake, is a contemporary
romantic suspense. It incorporates the sense of community I found training
folks from smaller towns in Montana. I grew up in rural Michigan, with unlocked
doors and neighbors willing to lend a hand. My heroine in HM needs to work through past setbacks, trust her intuition, and be
ready to love and be loved again. The Love
Thrives in Emma Springs series, centers on old-fashioned values and
appreciating a slower pace in a fast world. If you like The Hitman’s Mistake cover and want to see it win a contest, I’m in
the running until Sept 25th on the Moonlight and Mystery site. I’d
appreciate your vote!
She
needs his trust. After Miranda Whitley stops crooked cops from assassinating a prominent
Seattle judge, she’s next on the hit list, and her survival depends on the man
she’s had one awkward encounter with—buff FBI Agent, Grant Morley. But can she
find him in time?
He
needs the truth. The last person Grant expects to discover on his annual horseback
trip delivering supplies to a Montana mountain hermit is alluring Miranda
Whitley, nearly dead from a bullet wound in her side. An accidental witness or
the cold-blooded accomplice to would-be assassins?
Miranda
must convince Grant of her innocence, evade the killers intent on preventing
her testimony, and fight her unwanted attraction for the agent…an attraction
which seems to be mutual. Fortunately, love thrives in Emma Springs. If
you love sizzling chemistry, determined assassins, and Montana scenery, then
you’ll love Sally Brandle’s galloping thriller.
Setting: Our heroine’s pruning indoor plants in the lobby of
Seattle’s Justice Building after hours.
***
Soft taps came from a few feet behind her. She tilted her head.
Footsteps? From the stairwell? Miranda released her grip, and the tree limb sprang
free. She swung her head and watched the branch skim the fly of the trousers on
the man now towering over her right shoulder.
Not Ike. She froze.
“Oh, didn’t see you there—” he sidestepped, and her cup scrunched
in protest under his big boot. The lid popped off and the double shot of Kona
glugged into a mocha-scented pool.
He jumped to avoid the puddle. “Energy conservation put you in the
shadows. Sorry, I nailed your coffee.” His swinging backpack missed her nose by
inches.
She twisted her body and scooted her butt until her shoulder
jammed against a carved pot.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“It’s okay,” she mumbled, keeping her head lowered to avoid
further contact with the bag-wielding klutz wearing black trousers. Must’ve
been him she’d glimpsed a few minutes ago, while the elevator doors had closed
on the floor below Ike’s.
“I’ve never been attacked by a branch. Must say, you deployed it
well,” the deep voice announced. He stopped directly in front of her.
His hiking boots made her size-nine high-tops appear dainty.
Not the shoes of a snobby lawyer or a lost, post-trial pimp trying
to find his way out of the building. Still, the flailing branch served him
right for sneaking up on her. “I didn’t hear you.”
“And I shouldn’t text and walk,” he said in a lighter, almost sexy
tone. “I’m Grant.” He dropped his pack and stuck out his hand.
An FBI tag printed ‘GRANT MORLEY’ hung from the bag.
She peered from under her cap’s brim and gulped.
Him.
Agent
of Interest. Her heart took off at a gallop.
Buy links:
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/
Website: www.sallybrandle.com
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DM795GP
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sallybrandle
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sallybrandle/
5 Star Tome Tender review: https://tometender.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-hitmans-mistake-by-sally-brandle.html
USA Today Interview: https://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2018/08/08/for-lea-sally-brandle-wednesday/
Haynet (horse-enthusiast site) Review: http://hay-net.co.uk/the-hitmans-mistake-a-review/
