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Please join me in welcoming, award winning, novelist Robert Gregory Browne.

Robert is also generously giving away an autographed paperback copy of his critically acclaimed THE PARADISE PROPHECY. (Contest details below)

Selena: We know you love books, music, coffee and blackberries (the kind you eat), tell us three things that about you that would surprise people?

Robert: I’m so open about my life on Facebook that I’m not sure anything I said would surprise people. Maybe that I used to be an international spy but had to retire due to bursitis of the shoulder. But, of course, now that I’ve told you that, I have to kill you.

Hell, I don’t know. My books are a lot more interesting than my life.

Selena: LOL That’s the kind of wit I enjoy on your Facebook threads. Who is more of a challenge to write and get deep inside their point of view, the villain or the hero?

Robert: I actually have no trouble getting into the mind of either. My characters—hero and villain alike—are usually so emotionally crippled in some way that the inside of their head is an interesting place to be. At least for me.

Selena: What was the most interesting tidbit you could share with us, while researching TRIAL JUNKIES.

Robert: A large portion of my life was research for Trial Junkies. I spent many years working in legal offices, including the Hawaii State Public Defenders Office, the Federal Public Defenders Office, and several criminal and civil defense firms before getting my “big break” inHollywood. So writing Trial Junkies was kind of like going home again—although from an entirely different point of view. The Trial Junkies series concept grew out of a job I had working “criminal intake” for the state PDO, which required me to screen defendants who were about to be arraigned in criminal court. Every Monday I’d go to court, meet all the potential clients and explain to them how the process works. When I was done with a session I would often sit in on trials while waiting for another work session to begin. So when I was hunting around for a book idea, I thought, why not write a legal mystery from the point of view of the people who WATCH the trials rather than directly participate in them. And, of course those watchers find themselves participating in ways they never expected, and almost wind up dead.

Selena: What draws you to the suspense/thriller/mystery genre?

Robert: I’m not sure I really know. I was introduced to suspense early on when I started reading Donald Westlake. Especially his Parker novels written under the name Richard Stark. These were lean mean novels about a sociopathic thief who wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of collecting his money.  Parker was the kind of guy who didn’t give a damn about anyone, except maybe his girlfriend/wife Claire, and could handle himself in pretty much any situation. I’m attracted to characters like that because, of course, I often wish I could be that way. Ruthless. Confident. Unstoppable.

Of course, I don’t REALLY want to be like that, but thrillers play into a certain empowerment fantasy that I think we all share. And in the end, the good guy (or in Parker’s case, the bad guy) usually wins.

Selena: When you delve inside a criminal’s mind when writing, how do you research this aspect of these characters to differentiate their personality and behavior as opposed to people that are not criminals?

Robert: I don’t necessarily think of my criminal characters as being all that much different from my heroes. Most criminals, I believe, are able to rationalize what they’re doing and, as a result, don’t really think of themselves as criminals. I think even sociopaths rationalize their actions. So, because I’m writing deep point of view, I find that it’s easier for me to assume that the bad guy feels that what he’s doing is just and necessary. Every bad guy thinks of himself as the GOOD guy, and feels as if everyone else is to blame for his problems.

Selena: What kind of reader would love to read your books?

Robert: Hopefully readers like me who like a story that seems to be going in one direction then doubles back on you and kicks you in the ass. Readers who like twists and turns and characters with flaws who are caught up in something over their heads. Readers who like books that compel you to turn the page. I work very, very hard at creating page-turners. I may not always succeed, but that isn’t for lack of trying.

Selena: If you were only allowed to bring three things to take with you, for a stay on an island by yourself for forty-eight hours, what would they be?

Robert: My Kindle, my wife (not that she’s a “thing”), and a lot of water. I drink more water in a day than most people drink in a week.

About Robert Gregory Browne:

ITW Thriller Award nominated novelist, Robert Gregory Browne believes his mission as a writer is to grab hold of you and keep you captive on the page until he’s ready to let you go.  His debut thriller, KISS HER GOODBYE, was recently produced by CBS Television as a series pilot starring Dylan Walsh and Terry Kinney.

In addition to writing several thrillers, including TRIAL JUNKIES, KISS HER GOODBYE, DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN and THE PARADISE PROPHECY, Rob composes music, plays guitar and keyboards and has even been known to sing now and then.

And you thought his books were scary.