Jordan Dane is one hot author.
Publisher's Weekly compared her intense pacing to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag--romantic suspense that "crosses over into plain thriller country." PW also named her debut novel one of the Best Books of 2008.
Her latest tale is also a sizzler. Computer genius Seth Harper awakens in a bloody motel room to find the body of a young woman. Unable to remember what happened, he becomes the prime suspect for a heinous murder. Bounty hunter Jessie Beckett is determined to prove his innocence, even though Seth is reluctant to reveal his own dark secrets.
The Wrong Side of Dead, what a fab title! All your titles give readers something to mull over. How do you come up with them?
I love giving my readers an "Ah, ha" moment where they know what every title is about. I usually have the title be a dialogue line, as was the case with this title. My heroine, Jessie, has a unique way of expressing herself, always. She can make you laugh one minute and cry the next. I love being in her world.
Where did you get your inspiration for The Wrong Side of Dead?
The inspiration for The Wrong Side of Dead came from one of my previous characters, Seth. In the book where he was introduced, Evil Without A Face, I thought it would be fun to surround him in quirky mystery about his personal life. Every time he appeared on the page, more things were revealed about him and yet never answered. I did that to entertain myself, but when it came to writing The Wrong Side of Dead, I had to know what Harper's back story was. So everything I did focused on him and his story and how that played into the lives of my main characters. The whole plot for The Wrong Side of Dead was one big reveal about the past. It was like a huge puzzle I had to figure out before I wrote the book. And that made it a fun challenge to write.
Tell us a little about your bounty hunter heroine.
Creating Jessie was a very personal experience for me. She is the character that is closest to the real me, but she's so much braver and larger than life. And her emotional and physical scars are the imperfections in us all. She is uber-tough and yet so vulnerable because of what she had to endure as a child. And with each book, she faces more of her past and gives the reader hope that things can get better even when everything looks bleakest.
What's your strategy on creating villains?
I spend as much time devising my bad guys as I do my protagonists. I give them goals and humor and real lives. And I let the reader into their heads. I think this makes them more real and scarier. They tend to be the darker side of my protagonists. Sometimes the only thing that separates good guys from bad are the goals they have. Villains are the heroes to their own journeys, so I never want to portray them as two-dimensional or make them only an obstacle for the main characters to overcome. They have to be formidable and smart. And yes, like in real life, they sometimes get away with murder in my books.
The Wrong Side of Dead is your fifth book in 18 months, what's your secret to being such a prolific author?
I write quickly, but two of my first three books were already written when I sold. And I had the third one partially done too. That makes a big difference. Because I write full time now, I set daily word count goals for myself. Depending on my contractual obligations, I write 2,000-4,000 words a day and edit extensively as I go. Some books are easier to write than others, but setting daily goals works best for me.
Your plots are often - okay always - described as dark. What influences you?
Unfortunately for the whole of humanity, I can find an abundance of inspiration from real crimes, news and headlines. I'm particularly influenced by crimes that are global and far reaching, beyond a single jurisdiction. And I pit my protagonist against a daunting enemy--sometimes unseen--and give a face to the victims of crime. Victims and who they are play a vital role in my stories as a key emotional factor. Yet even though my subject matter might be described as dark, I still have elements of redemption and unexpected dark humor in my novels. I think this mix adds drama and humanity to the types of stories I want to tell.
To learn more about Jordan Dane, visit her website at www.jordandane.com
Contributing editor Julie Kramer's latest, MISSING MARK, landed a rave review from People Magazine. "Smart dialogue and a fleet pace make this second outing in Kramer's fledgling series a crowd-pleaser." Her debut, STALKING SUSAN is a nominee for the Anthony, Shamus and Barry Awards.
