New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author Allison Brennan is back with Don’t Open The Door, the second installment in her Regan Merritt series and follows Regan and her husband, Grant, seeking justice for their murdered 10 year-old son.
Hi, Allison! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m very boring – I live vicariously through my characters. In the past, I worked in the California State Legislature, but quit my job in 2005 to write full-time. I’m married, live in Arizona, and raised five children, the youngest two who are still at home (18 and 19.) I love baseball, cats, and long walks, especially in the early morning. For the longest time, I had as my short bio on Twitter, “Reader, writer, chauffeur – mom of 5, wife of 1.” That pretty much summed up my life until my kids got a drivers license!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I am an only child and got my first library card when I was four. Every week, my mom and I would go to the library and check-out books. The first book I remember falling in love with was the Trixie Belden series when I was 8, which started my love-affair with mysteries. In the 70s and early 80s we really didn’t have a lot of YA books (not like today!) so I graduated to adult fiction when I read THE STAND by Stephen King at age 13. To this day, THE STAND is one of my all-time favorite books.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
Encyclopedia Brown – first book I remember reading on my own
THE THIRD VICTIM by Lisa Gardner and THE SEARCH by Iris Johansen – I was on maternity leave when I read these books, and knew that this was exactly the genre I wanted to write – so I got serious about writing instead of it being more a hobby.
The Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz. I rarely get excited by books, but I listened to all 7 books this year on audiobook, and I have already pre-ordered the next. I will drop everything the day it comes out to read it.
Don’t Open the Door is the second installment in your Regan Merritt series! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Grieving mother; conspiracy; murder; betrayal
What can readers expect?
Don’t Open the Door stands alone even though Regan Merritt was a central character in The Sorority Murder. I took her out of her hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona where she moved after she lost her son, and brought her back to the root of her pain –to Virginia nearly a year after the murder of her only child. She had unresolved feelings about her ex-husband and the pain of losing her son, but I forced her to confront everything when her former boss, US Marshal Tommy Granger, is killed while investigating her son’s murder. Now, Regan is determined to retrace Tommy’s steps, no matter what she has to face or who she has to confront. It’s an emotional story – more emotional, I think, than I normally write – and a true mystery as Regan has to piece together clues to find the truth.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
The most emotional scenes for me was writing Regan as she drove through places she’d last been with her son or remembered key moments in time. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed writing them – as a mom, it was very difficult, but important to the story. Though Regan’s dad is not a major character in this book (he was more important in the previous story), I really enjoy their relationship. It feels so real and authentic to me, so the few times he was on the page I very much enjoyed. My favorite character to create was Jenna Johns, a nurse who was helping Tommy and goes in hiding after his murder. She doesn’t have a lot of chapters, but the chapters she has were fun to write.
Do you have any advice for those who may have set some writing resolutions for the new year?
I am a big proponent of writing daily, even if it’s not for a long period of time. I believe in setting time goals (i.e. I wrote three hours every night when I was still working full-time), but some people prefer word count goals (i.e. 2,000 words a day.) But more important than daily writing is consistency. You do not find the time to write, you make the time to write. So my advice is to set a schedule – whether it’s writing two hours every night or writing all day on Sunday – and stick to it.
What’s next for you?
Quinn & Costa #4 – Seven Girls Gone – comes out in April, three months after Door. I’m currently writing (almost done!) with the fifth Quinn & Costa book, then I’m starting a new series focused on a family of private investigators set in Phoenix. I like writing two series, especially when they are distinctly different.
Lastly, are there any 2023 releases our readers should look out for?
Seven Girls Gone is April 25th, and then my first stand alone thriller, North of Nowhere, comes out August 8!
