Q&A With Connie Briscoe 

Tuesday I messaged bestselling author Connie Briscoe asking if she’d be interested in doing a Q&A after I noticed she was following me back on instagram. Wednesday Connie responded back and said she would love to. Some of Connie’s work is A Long Way Home, Sisters and Lovers, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Money Can’t Buy Love, & her recent novel You Never Know: A Novel of Domestic Suspense. 

Q: So Connie you mainly wrote romantic & historical fiction. What made you want to transition from both of those genres, to write your very first domestic suspense thriller? 

A: I would not say I transitioned from romance or relationship novels since there is romance in You Never Know, even if it is romance gone wrong. And I always loved reading suspense and mystery novels so this was kind of a natural progression for me. 

Q: When did you know that your calling was to be an author?

A: I loved to write, even from childhood, and dabbled with writing here and there in my 20s and 30s. I was in my 40s before I decided to pursue it seriously in terms of getting published.

Q: In your Instagram profile I noticed it said you have two books coming out in 2023. The first novel You Never Know, already came out on the 14^th of this month.  When does the second novel of 2023 come out? Can you reveal any details about that novel? 

A: The second book is not a novel. It’s non-fiction and called Stepping Out. It includes photographs (taken by a professional photographer) and profiles written by me of stylishly dressed people age 50 and older.

Q: If you’re writing a new novel now, can you reveal any details about that one?

A: I am working on my next book and it will be another domestic suspense novel. I really don’t like to get into detail on something I’m working on. I want to first release it on the page as I’m writing.

Q: For your romantic novels and your domestic suspense novel, is it fair to say that the characters and worlds within those stories are somewhat inspired by real people you know and places you’ve been? 

A: Sometimes the main characters in my novels are inspired or influenced by certain personality traits of real people in my life. And sometimes they’re composites of the traits of more than one person. But I always add something from my imagination. In fact I would say most of my characters are based on my imagination.

Q: What other genres would you explore writing in the future?

A: This is it for me. I’ll stick with domestic suspense since I really enjoy writing it.

Q: Does Hollywood have interest or the rights to your work? Hollywood is long overdue for creativity. 

A: All I’ll say on that now is, yes. Hopefully I’ll have good news to share in the not-to-distant future about that.

Q: How do you deal with writers block if you deal with it at all?

A: I just write through it. Often I find that my writing on those slow or more challenging days is no worse than it is other days. I just might not get as much written as I do on better days. But I think if I give up and stop writing altogether through difficult times then I’ll really get stuck.

Q: What’s your advice to new authors on dealing with negativity online with trolls, bad reviews and family and friends who might not be supportive or interested in their writing goals?

A: Honestly I try my best to ignore any negativity from people, especially those I don’t even know of have never met. You can’t control that, so why give it your time and attention? Thankfully when it comes to my family and friends are generally very supportive of my work.