What have you taken from your own experience as a mother and put into the relationship between Madison Wade and her adopted son Ethan in Pitch Black?

I think all mothers, both birth mothers and adoptive mothers, have one driving need in common - protecting their child.  It's not a conscious choice, it's a natural instinct that occasionally overtakes common sense.  However, that need to protect doesn't always lead to the best outcome.  Sometimes it fosters more serious problems.   I think all parents can look at a situation in which their best intentions ended up hurting their child in the long run.  I know I have.  And certainly Madison, a woman assuming the maternal role for a troubled teen, is dealing with this very thing throughout the book.

Pitch Black is set in eastern Tennessee and you live in Indiana.  What kind of research did you do to give the book authenticity?

I adore eastern Tennessee.  Pitch Black is the second book I've set there.  I love driving the back roads, exploring the small towns, talking to the people ... which proves  research can be fun!  I grew up (and still live) in a small town.  I think a lot of what makes my settings authentic, is the basic fabric of community, be it small town Tennessee, Indiana, South Carolina, or Mississippi.  The terrain changes, the laws change, as well as the local attitudes.  I think addressing those differences all add up to creating a believable setting.  I chose Tennessee for Pitch Black for two reasons, the rugged terrain and the sense of small Southern community.

What do you want your readers to take away from Pitch Black?

What all writers want - a feeling of satisfaction and the sense that they've been entertained.  I want them to feel  they've traveled in someone else's shoes.  And most of all, I want them to come away with a hunger for more of my storytelling.

Your Promises to Keep was a sequel to The Road Home.  Now you've moved back to stand-alones.  What do you think the pros and cons of a series are?

There are many pros to doing a series.  Readers love them.  They give the sales and promo departments something extra to work with.  Fans eagerly monitor and await future releases in a series.  From a writer's point of view, there are both pros and cons.  Pro: you've already established either the setting or the basic character in a previous book (this can cut down on prep and development time).  Con: you've already established either the setting or the basic character in a previous book (this can sometimes make you yearn for the day when you can move on to fresh and unbroken territory).   I probably never would have considered a series except my publisher suggested it.  My first four books turned out to be a series spun from a book I wrote as a stand-alone.  Some books just naturally spawn a series, sometimes you have a secondary character who is so strong, he/she nearly demands to have a book of their own.  That's when it's truly a joy for a writer, to be able to give that secondary character the spotlight it deserves.

Say Hollywood picks up an option on Pitch Black and wants your advice on the right actors to play Madison Wade and Gabe Wyatt.  What do you say?

I know lots of writers have an actor/actress in their minds as they write.  I don't.  Madison would have to be someone strong and sassy, but not harsh ... maybe Sandra Bullock or Courtney Cox.  Gabe ... I'd love to see Gerard Butler do Gabe - but I'm not sure he can do a southern accent, so I'd better have a back up.  Let's see, how about Matt Damon or Josh Lucas?

Of course, you're a member of International Thriller Writers.  I've also seen your books characterized as "romantic suspense."  Is romantic suspense a subgenre of thrillers?  Or is all this categorization for the birds?

Oh boy, now you've opened a can of worms (which will no doubt please the birds).   All of this genre, sub-genre, crossover, etc labeling can get quite confusing.  I'm not sure anyone has a rule book on what qualifies each one.  I write a suspense novel that is character driven and contains a romantic relationship.  Pitch Black is dark and edgy and emotional.  It's a story that can happen to anyone - which I feel heightens the reader's sense of danger.

There are plenty of former lawyers and doctors writing thrillers.  Are you the only ex-dental hygienist?
 
Hard to say.  Most of us dental hygienists keep pretty quiet about our pasts!  Somehow my field doesn't lend the same glamor to the thriller as lawyers and doctors, now does it?  No life and death drama.  No supreme battle for right and wrong.  Even very few ethical dilemmas ... sigh ... my previous career really doesn't supply much fodder for good thrillers.  However, I suppose someone in the dental field could be cast as an excellent, sadistic villain.

Your books have been nominated for Rita Awards and even won one.  Any award sounds good to me, but would you tell the unenlightened among us just what a Rita is?
 
A RITA is a national award in the form of a beautiful golden statuette presented by Romance Writers of America. There are several categories that run the gamut of romance and women's fiction, including romantic suspense, mainstream novel with romantic elements, historical, inspirational as well as contemporary romance.  It's very special because it's an award given by your writing peers.  They have a wonderful evening event, complete with formal wear and a fabulous presentation ceremony.

You've been writing about a book a year.  Is that the plan going forward?  Just what do you have cooking now?
 
I'm trying to pick up the pace a bit.  I need about 8-9 months to produce a quality book, so you won't likely see me with three out in one year (I so admire those writers who can).  Pitch Black is coming out in June.  My next novel, Seeing Red, a romantic suspense dealing with revenge and retribution, will be out in February, '09.
 
I've just begun my third romantic suspense (as yet untitled, so if anyone has a good thriller title with a color in it, I'd love to hear it!).  It deals with a woman who has witnessed something while sleepwalking, she not only has to figure out who is threatening her, but why.  This book is in its gestation stage, so I'm not certain how it's going to play out.

Susan Crandall's novels have garnered numerous awards. She is a three time finalist and RITA winner (BACK ROADS, Best First Book 2004). She has published six women's fiction novels with mystery/suspense elements.

Contributing editor Keith Raffel wrote DOT DEAD, "without question the most impressive mystery debut of the year" according to Bookreporter.com. Former counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, he is currently finishing up TWO GRAVES, a political thriller set - where else? - in Washington, D.C.