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QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Wendy Corsi Staub answers readers' questions about research, writing schedules, and how her personal life has shaped her novels and characters.

Adele from Parrish, FL: When is your next book being published so I can put it on my list to buy?

Wendy Corsi Staub I'm working on my latest thriller from Kensington, tentatively titled DYING BREATH, which will be out next April. Meanwhile, you can visit my website at www.wendycorsistaub.com to find a list of my Zebra backlist thrillers you might have missed, as well as my upcoming releases in different genres, to tide you over until next spring!

Billie from Oklahoma City, OK: How did you come up with all the twists and turns in this book?

Wendy Corsi Staub I really work hard to mask the villains in all my books, because I personally am disappointed when I correctly guess the outcome of a suspense novel I'm reading, or a movie thriller I'm watching. I really appreciate a good twist and love it when an author or filmmaker can blindside me. So when I'm writing, I try to anticipate what the reader would expect to have happen, then flip that element inside out and give you just the opposite. Some plot twists just fall into place unexpectedly as I'm writing along...suddenly I'll gasp and think, "Oooh, that would be perfect!" Others are brewing from even before I've written the first word of a book.

Crystal from Beaufort, NC: What made you write a married woman as the heroine in this book (since I haven't read you before, you may use married women most of the time, but I'm not sure)? I did find the married woman with kids fascinating, though (especially since I am one).

Wendy Corsi Staub As a fellow married mom, I can relate to you and to my heroines, and to a large percentage of my readership --- and I do often write about heroines who are in my shoes. When I met my husband, settled down and had my children, I realized there was nothing more precious in the world. As a suspense writer, then, I naturally turned to exploring every wife and mother's darkest fears --- the terror we experience when danger comes too close to home and that primal maternal urge to protect loved ones. There is inherent emotion and drama in my domestic thrillers because I and most of my readers can identify with the characters and their plight on some personal level.

Elizabeth from Riverside, CA: Has being a Mom helped you with your writing, especially when you write about children in your books? How long does a novel take you to write?  What would you rather write about, romance or mystery? Thanks for writing books I can share with my daughter.

Wendy Corsi Staub Being a mom has given me insight not just into how children think and feel and behave, but also into the complicated lives led by modern women with children. Whether we're stay-at-home moms or working moms, we constantly strive to do it all, to have it all, to be everything others --- not just our children --- need and expect us to be. I can't tell you how many readers have come up to me and told me I captured their lives realistically --- the maddening yet precious rhythm of mundane tasks, the pressure of juggling the family schedule, the comfortable, take-it-for-granted lives we lead until something pops up, threatening to take it all away.

Once the outline has been approved by my editor and I can actually sit down to write, I usually complete a novel in 6-12 weeks, depending on the genre.

I love writing my suspense novels, but occasionally like to throw in a touch of romance because everyone enjoys a happy ending on some level, right?

Rose from Pittsburgh, PA: How are you so knowledgeable on so many personality traits?

Wendy Corsi Staub Mostly reading and research. I have a bookshelf next to my desk that's lined with shelves of psychology books; I have countless helpful websites bookmarked on my computer; I have friends who are psychologists and social workers and are willing to provide insight...and of course, I know dozens of interesting real-life characters!

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