Interview with Brad Sievers, former advertising executive

Ever want to get to know the characters in a book even BEFORE you read it?

Here I transcribe my 'interview' with Brad Sievers, the main character of Last Chance Rescue, who, at the start of the book, has just lost his job as an advertising executive...

So, how do you know the 'heroine,' Jessie Van Dyke?
Jessie and I went to high school together. But I hadn't seen her in 10 years -- until the night of our reunion. We figured out we'd worked at the same advertising agency, although at different times -- and that was kind of weird.

I understand you had ulterior motives for attending the reunion.
[chuckles] I wanted to see my high school crush, Aimee.

And how did that go?
Let's just say that running into Jessie changed the direction of the whole evening -- not to mention the rest of my life. At one point she made a comment about people in advertising being shallow. She touched the lapel of my suit.

What did you think of that?
That was a bit unnerving, actually. But it wasn't a come-on or anything, that was obvious.

What made you decide to leave advertising and go into search-and-rescue?
That's a pretty complex question...after I was laid off from my job...shoot, Jessie probably knows the answer to this question better than I do.

Why do you say that?
Jessie's got a way of looking in and through a person, if you know what I mean. She'd probably say that I needed fulfillment in my life. The things I used to enjoy didn't interest me anymore and I felt kind of...oh, I don't know...flat.

What kind of 'things'?
Drinking, partying...women. I was a bit...ah...cavalier in my love life before moving to Colorado.

What do you do instead?
Well, the bills have gotta get paid, so I pitch in at my friend's print shop. All that computer tinkering I did in high school has paid off. I sure made a lot more in advertising, though.

What about hobbies?
I play basketball with Micah. I guess you could say he's one of my best friends besides Ryan. He's African-American, to be politically correct. Man, my mom was weird about that; I never realized she's prejudiced until I introduced her to Micah...

What's your favorite part of search-and-rescue?
Other than saving lives? [smiles] Rappelling. Ryan and I go sometimes, just for the hell of it. He's the one who mostly taught me. He's pretty good for a young shit.

How would you say you've changed because of Last Chance Rescue?
Well, that's the whole point of the book, isn't it? The better question is what didn't change. I wouldn't want to give anything away or spoil anyone's surprise, but I will say that I'm no longer cavalier about women and sex.

Any final thoughts?
I just want to say, for the record, that I did not throw up on that first rescue!

Should she believe him? (Excerpt from novel-in-progress)

"Mom, what took you so long?"

"Just adult talk, sweetie." Surely Nicholas wouldn't notice the flush in her face. Her cheek, her ear, her neck all felt like they were on fire.

Aaron had always affected her this way - physically, sexually. But what of his comment about love? She was wise enough now to know that allowing herself to love him again would be a bad move. He did not know how to make the kind of commitment she would seek from a man.

But how to deny the desire - the tingling from her head to her toes - that she felt when Aaron touched her? She'd had a few dates about a year after Todd passed, but she hadn't been intimate with a man in a long time. Could they...?

Not a good idea, she told herself sternly. They had confused lust with love once before, and it had cost her dearly.

Damn, but I do miss it..

Mother's Day Idea - and a Free Sneak Peek!

How about a personalized, signed copy of Last Chance Rescue?

Introduce someone you care about to Jessie, an Iraq war veteran, and Brad, a laid-off advertising executive who finds himself on Jessie's search-and-rescue team.

Bring her alongside Jessie and Brad as they face not just physical obstacles, but their own internal struggles. Will they finally let down the walls and rescue each other?

NOT LIMITED TO MOTHERS!

A personalized, signed book is a great way to say "thank you" or "thinking about you" to anyone in your life (even a GUY, they like this book too!).

GET A 'SNEAK PEEK'

If you order by May 9th, I'll include a copy of the first four chapters of my forthcoming novel, True Surrender.

True Surrender is the story of a die-hard military officer whose experience at the hands of terrorists -- and the resultant amputation of one of his legs -- is just the beginning of his personal transformation. What happens when he is forced to choose between love and duty?

So order now (no special code needed). If you have a special message you want included, put it in the notes. If you'd like it mailed directly to your recipient, just let me know. I'll do the rest. But hurry - Mother's Day is coming up fast!

STILL Working on Synopsis

I sent draft #7 of the synopsis for Novel #2 to a fellow writer/reviewer a few weeks ago. It took a couple weeks (first it was his schedule, then it was mine), but while I was on vacation (skiing in Montana!) last week, we connected via phone and hashed over it for nearly two hours. (Two hours! Over three pages!)

It still amazes me that every time I think something is "close" (in this case, I thought maybe 2-3 more drafts) ... I've so much more to do than I thought. It's bad but it's good - after all, it only gets better each time I re-work it.

Or perhaps I'm too much of a perfectionist with this synopsis. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on it. Its sole purpose is for the agent query letter... So what if I can't get an agent to consider the novel? I've self-published once; I can certainly do it again.

But there's just something in me that compels me: if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it RIGHT. I want to do it to the best of my ability. (And it's not just writing that I feel that way about.)

I will say this: writing the synopsis is HARDER than (and certainly not as fun as) writing the book! And until I finish it, I'm stuck in one spot. I can't work on the novel because I need 'distance' from it while writing the synopsis. And, of course, I can't send out agent queries without a synopsis. And - as always - time is an issue. So I'm going to sign off now and work on it some before my daughter wakes from her nap...