Interview With Best-Selling Author Tess Gerritsen

I Know A Secret

About The Author: Trained as a medical doctor, Tess built a second career as a thriller writer. Her 27 novels include the Rizzoli and Isles crime series, on which the TV show "Rizzoli & Isles" is based. Among her titles are HARVEST, GRAVITY, THE SURGEON, PLAYING WITH FIRE, and I KNOW A SECRET.  Her books are translated into 40 languages and more than 30 million copies have been sold.  She lives in Maine.

1.      What really inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and conveying it into a book? A few years ago, while traveling in Italy, I became fascinated by the symbolism in medieval religious paintings. Saints can be identified by certain visual clues in these paintings.  St. George, for instance, is almost always depicted with a dragon, and St. Catherine of Alexandria is often shown with the wheel on which she was tortured. The gruesome details of martyred saints’ deaths fascinated me. I was also inspired by my real-life experience producing a horror film.  Recently my son Josh and I made the independent feature film ISLAND ZERO, and I was swept up in the fun, the weirdness, and the challenges of making horror films. I explore that world in I KNOW A SECRET.

2.      What is it about and whom do you believe is your targeted reader? Detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles investigate the murder of a young horror film producer, whose eyes have been removed postmortem. When another victim is found dead on a pier, also mutilated postmortem, the police suspect a serial killer is at work.  The case leads them to the one person who might know the answers – a young woman who is hiding a very dangerous secret. My targeted audience is readers who love to be challenged by a twist-filled mystery – and who want to know what happens next to Rizzoli and Isles.

3.      What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book? What should remain with them long after putting it down? Readers will have the satisfaction of finally discovering the answer to this puzzle – and they’ll probably take a nervous look at everyone they know, wondering if they really know them.

4.      What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers? Allow your characters to speak to you.  Once you hear their voices, you’ll be able to tell their story.  Also, never stop to edit while you’re still writing the first draft.  It will stop your momentum, cold.

5.      What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I’ve learned never to predict trends.  I’ve been wrong so many times!

6.      What great challenges did you have in writing your book? Weaving all the different story threads together.  Not only do Jane and Maura solve a mystery, they are also dealing with personal crises – especially Maura, whose life reaches a big turning point in this story.

7.      If people can only buy one book in August, why should it be yours? It’s the perfect beach read!

For more information, please consult: http://www.tessgerritsen.com/portfolio-item/i-know-a-secret/

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs