Interview with Romantic Suspense Author Mary Burton

Mary Burton´s first romantic suspense novel, I´m Watching You, hit a Grand Slam among the book clubs. The Literary Guild, the Doubleday Book Club, the Mystery Guild and the Rhapsody Book Club all chose it for their members, helping to set the stage for the anticipation and early, positive reviews that greet Dead Ringer, also adopted by all four clubs.

A Virginia native whose family´s Richmond roots run as deep as the nation´s, Burton graduated from Virginia´s Hollins University and began a career in marketing. After a decade she left her job and began writing. Her first manuscript, a romance, was published in 2000.

Burton continued to write for Harlequin and Silhouette before entering the dark world of multiple murderers and their motives with her romantic suspense novels I´m Watching You and DEAD RINGER. Her novella Christmas Past appears in the 2008 holiday anthology SILVER BELLS along with stories by New York Times best selling authors Fern Michaels and Joann Ross, and award-winning novelist Judy Duarte. In it Burton brings together the characters from her earlier books and focuses on Nicole Piper and Homicide Detective David Ayden´s stories. Previously her story Snow Maiden was featured in the USA Today best selling anthology A Hero´s Kiss.

Her commitment to realism in her writing has led to eye-opening interviews with local law enforcement, forensic seminars and the firing range. She is a graduate from the Henrico County Citi zens Police Academy and attended Sisters in Crime´s three day Forensic University program.

Born and raised in Richmond, Mary Burton is an avid cook as well as baker, and even volunteered as a kitchen assistant at a local culinary school to hone her skills. When not writing and researching she can be found hiking, doing yoga and playing with her miniature dachshund puppies, Buddy and Bella. She has just completed her next novel, which will be published in 2009.

You can visit her website at www.maryburton.com.

Thank you for this interview, Mary. Can you tell us briefly what your latest books, Dead Ringer and Silver Bells are all about?

DEAD RINGER is my latest romantic suspense and it picks up six months after my last book I´M WATCHING YOU ends. DEAD RINGER features news reporter Kendall Shaw, a driven no-nonsense gal. She´s the perfect match for the book´s lead detective Jacob Warwick. In DEAD RINGER a series of women are found strangled and it´s Jacob who realizes the women bare a striking resemblance to Kendall. Jacob and Kendall race to find the killer before he strikes again.

I also have a novella out in the SILVER BELLS anthology featuring Fern Michaels, JoAnn Ross, and Judy Duarte. My story is Christmas Past and features Nicole Piper. Fans of I´M WATCHING YOU and DEAD RINGER will know Nicole, my edgy photographer who´s got a deranged husband stalking her.

Can you tell us what (or who) was the inspiration behind writing your book?

Kendall was a secondary in my first romantic suspense I´M WATCHING YOU and as I was writing that book she kept trying to take over scenes. She´s a strong personality and I knew she would make a great heroine.

Is this your first published book and if so, can you tell us your experiences in finding a publisher for it?

DEAD RINGER is my fourteenth novel. And CHRISTMAS PAST is my fourth novella.

How has Kensington been to work with?

Wonderful! I couldn´t ask for better!

Do you have an agent?

Yes. My agent is Karen Solem of Spencerhill Associates.

Can you tell us how long it took you to write your book and also how long it took from the time Kensington sent the contract and the time it was released?

It took me about seven months to write it. I turned it in December 2007 and it came out November 2008—so that´s eleven months.

Do you have any words of inspiration from other writers who would like to be wearing your shoes?

All you can control are the words on you computer screen. Study the craft of writing, write every day (even if its only for five minutes) and don´t be afraid to send your work out to agents and editors.

What´s next for you?

I just turned in the sequel to DEAD RINGER. No title yet but it´s scheduled for a September 2009 release.

Thank you for this interview, Mary. Can you tell us how we can find out more about you and your new book?

Thank you for asking! Please stop by my website at www.maryburton.com.