Headed for Trouble - By Suzanne Brockmann Page 0,98

would be compelling.

Keep in mind that, up to Gone Too Far, Sam and Alyssa’s story was told as a subplot in addition to the main plot/main romance of each book. At the time, this was something different from a traditional romance—writing a romantic subplot that ended unhappily or without absolute closure at the book’s end. Readers were drawn to this, as I’d hoped!

Q: Were you surprised at the response to Sam and Alyssa’s story arc?

SUZ: It was my hope that I’d create a stir with Sam and Alyssa. I’d hoped that people would connect to them—I actually had no idea, though, just how strong that connection would be.

The biggest shock—to me—came when quite a few readers assumed that Sam and Alyssa’s story ended with Over the Edge. Because in my mind it was so clear that their story was far from over.

Q: Which character in the Troubleshooters books (aside from Sam or Alyssa) is the most popular?

SUZ: That would be Jules Cassidy. When I go on book tours, I do a Q&A session at nearly every signing. And one of the first questions asked—it doesn’t matter where we are—is “Will we be seeing more of Jules in future books?”

Q: You’ve been accused of “waving your rainbow flag” in Hot Target. Care to comment?

SUZ: I happen to disagree. Yes, this book features Jules Cassidy, who is gay. Yes, this book features other characters who are gay. Yes, this book goes into those characters’ backstories (their childhoods, their histories) in some detail—just as I do for all my characters in this book and in every other book I’ve ever written. And yes, the backstories for these gay characters deal with their coming out—which (as is the case for all gay people) required enormous courage.

I believe strongly that my books are entertainment. I hope you might learn a thing or two while reading them, but first and foremost, my job is to entertain you.

If I’m waving a flag in Hot Target, it’s the same flag I’ve always waved in all my books—the American flag. And that’s a flag that’s supposed to stand for acceptance and understanding. For freedom for all—and not just freedom for all Americans, but freedom for all of the diverse and wonderful people living on this planet; freedom to live their lives according to their definitions of freedom. It’s a flag that’s supposed to stand for real American values like honor and honesty and peace and love and hope.

Q: Readers enjoy the diversity of the characters in your books. Jules is gay, Alyssa is African American, Lindsey is Asian American, Max’s grandfather came from India … How hard is it to write those characters?

SUZ: Not hard at all.

Here’s the deal: The world I live in, a fairly urban, blue-collar-ish suburb of Boston, is ethnically diverse. I chose to live here, on a busy street with buses running past my house, and neighbors and friends of all different colors, shapes, orientations, and sizes, because I love diversity. I believe it’s what makes America great. (I believe that differences of opinion, too, are so important to a true democracy.)

I love meeting people who, on the surface, appear to be different from me. But it never takes long for me to recognize that our similarities far outweigh those superficial differences. Bottom line: People are people. We all tend to want the same big things—love, security, adventure, success, peace of mind.

And yet at the same time, people are individuals. It’s important to see people as individuals, without being burdened by the labels and definitions that our society imposes upon them. (Upon us!) Sure, you can define individuals by the color of their skin: a black man, a white woman. Or you can define them by their religion: a Muslim woman, a Jewish man, a Wiccan woman. There are dozens of labels we throw onto people all the time: gay, straight, bi. Democrat, Republican, Independent. New Yorker, Midwesterner, Texan.

What does this mean? To me, I don’t see a black straight Christian man who’s a Democrat from Chicago.

I see a man.

And that man has dozens upon dozens of individual characteristics—both those superficial yet easily labeled differences, as well as differences such as his love of mocha ice cream (Mocha Ice Cream Lover! There’s a label!) and his dislike of peanut butter, his ability to do complicated multiplication in his head, his inability to spell, his fear of tornados, his musical talents, his need to check in on his children before he goes to sleep at night