Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty-one novels, including seventeen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.
Kane’s first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller.
She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted and Drawn in Blood.
Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, At Any Cost, showcases the dynamic, eclectic team of investigators as they square off against a criminal organization with a serial killer as a hit man. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts’ talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence That Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, A Face To Die For, Dead In A Week, No Stone Unturned and At Any Cost.
Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.
With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.
Kane lives in New Jersey with her family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan.
Catch Up With Andrea Kane:
Instagram - @authorandreakane
Twitter - @andrea_kane
Facebook - @AuthorAndreaKane
A NOTE BY ANDREA KANE
I’m often asked how long it takes me to write a first draft. The answer? I’ve never written one.
Let’s start with the basics. Every author’s writing process is different. Some write detailed outlines. Others let their muse carry them in the direction that feels right. Many set a daily word count for themselves, not stopping until they’ve reached that magic number. And still others work on a time schedule, say, writing 6-8 hours a day.
There’s also the way they handle the flow of words. Again, every writer is different. Some just fly with their muse until it pauses for breath, others stop every so often to double-check what they’ve created thus far.
Then there’s me. I am totally obsessive in the way I write. Yes, I write outlines. Yes, I call on my muse (who doesn’t always answer, at least not fast enough for me). And, yes, I write long hours each day. But that’s where I go off in my own manic direction.
For starters, I can’t write without a title. The book must have a GOOD title, not a “working title”, in order for me to get off the ground. Next: my characters. I have to know them inside and out (names included), like my best friends (or my worst enemies) before I can start Chapter 1. Third: I need a solid understanding of exactly what I hope to accomplish in at least the first third of the book. (Until the first third is well underway, I can’t fully tackle the 2nd and 3rd sections, since there are too many moving parts and new obstacles that come up.) And fourth (which is necessary to accomplish “third”): I need to have several months of hard-core, in-place research done. Even though my research is ongoing throughout the book’s creation, I have to be on solid ground in a multitude of knowledge bases before I so much as begin. I’m an authenticity freak, and I try as hard as I can to bring the necessary realities and depths of realities to the pages of my book.
Finally, I’ve accomplished all of the above. Now I’m ready to tackle that terrifyingly blank Page 1. With it comes the truly obsessive part of Andrea Kane, author. I can’t write without knowing exactly who the killer is and what their motivation stems from. I can’t write without editing along the way. Every day. Every chapter. I start each day by rereading (and editing) everything I wrote the day before so it flows the way I need it to. I re-familiarize myself with where my head, my characters, and my plot were when I said good-night. Then I go on from there—but not in a continuous fashion. I stop, rewrite, stop, reword, stop, re-engineer, stop, review details or red herrings previously created that need to glide seamlessly into my current scene.
Are you exhausted yet? There’s more.
Every 75 pages or so, I go back and read the book from the beginning, just to make sure the consistency is there and the evolution of character and plot feel natural. Tedious though that may sound, it’s not only necessary to my process, it kick-starts my mind into visualizing just what’s to come next and how it’s going to play out. So I smooth out some earlier wrinkles, focus on the current chapter, and jot down a few new notes about the pages yet to come—notes that, inevitably, skew my outline. That skewing happens a lot. My characters are very didactic, and often tell me I’m heading down a road not of their choosing. And that means stop! Time to reassess in order to move on. Which I do, even if it means rethinking and rewriting yet again.
I could go on and tell you that, if I get stuck on a particular word that doesn’t feel right and I know there’s another word out there which would be perfect, but which I just can’t wrap my mind around, I find it next to impossible to move on. I hate blank spaces, and my mind just won’t let it go. So I drive myself crazy yet again. Yes, sometimes I do have to move on with a question mark in my wake, but I’m not a happy camper, and it niggles at me until it’s fixed. I could tell you that, plus a whole lot more, but I think I’ll leave it here, lest you think I’m truly a crazy writer (which I suppose most of us are).
After 30+ years and 31 books, you’d expect that I would have taken it down a notch. But, no such luck. I’ve never truly written a first draft, and I doubt I ever will!
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Published by: Bonnie Meadow Publishing LLC
Publication Date: March 22nd 2022
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 168232043X (ISBN13: 9781682320433)
Series: Forensic Instincts #9 | Each Can Be Read as a Stand Alone Novel
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
Aimee Bregman had the perfect life. She had an enviable job as head of marketing for an up-and-coming CBD-infused beer that was taking the tri-state area by storm. She had cultivated a massive social media following that showcased the beer at college campus parties and alumni events―and had fun doing it. She had an attentive, steady boyfriend and friends who believed in her. Everything was going right.
But when her long-time mentor, Rita, sets up a business meeting with an important influencer―her life crashes all around her. The casual meeting over drinks suddenly devolves into a shouting match between all parties, and any chance of a new business relationship is over before it begins. Hours later, when the NYPD shows up at Aimee's apartment, questioning her about Rita's abrupt disappearance―foul play suspected―Aimee realizes she's in way over her head.
Fearing that Rita has been murdered, and that she may be next, Aimee hires Forensic Instincts to keep her safe and figure out what's really going on.
Forensic Instincts, a brilliant investigative firm who walks the fine line between legal and illegal, solves challenging and high-profile cases when the bureaucratic restrictions imposed on law enforcement get in the way of achieving results. But neither Aimee nor Forensic Instincts realize how ruthless, how connected, their adversaries are. As dangerous and powerful people are threatened with exposure, anyone is fair game for elimination. And when multiple victims die at the hands of a sociopathic serial killer, it gets harder and harder to tell where the battle lines are drawn… and who might die next.
Wow, great guest post!
ReplyDelete"Every 75 pages or so, I go back and read the book from the beginning" - you are the first author I have head say that! That is crazy... but such a great idea.
I am reading this book right now! :-)