Suzanne Brockmann Interview
Romance at a Glance is a podcast where hosts Bridget and Shani review romance novels and interview some of romance’s biggest authors diving into candid conversations about life, relationships, and sexual desires. Expect 100% honest reviews, spontaneous singing, life lessons, indecent anecdotes, and bawdy humor. Leave us a rating and review on iTunes.
Full transcript available below.
Suzanne Brockmann Podcast Interview
Best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann lived up to all the expectations that Bridget had for her. One of Bridget's OG romance novel obsessions, Bridget was thrilled to talk with Suzanne about Navy Seals, Jules Cassidy (Suzanne's first gay character to get his own book), the evolution of her characters, her advice for white writers on how and why they should be writing a world in color, and more.
Shani was there too ;) (HAHA For real though she was and Bridget let her ask questions, and they were great ones! hehe)
This interview was AMAZING. We couldn't be prouder of it. We couldn't be more thankful Suzanne was so honest with us!
WE HIT SO MANY interesting, thought-provoking, honest, and fun TOPICS:
How Suzanne started writing suspense romance
She looked at the careers of Nora Roberts and others and saw they wrote series romance and thought that is how to make a career.
Lot of series surrounded family but she wanted to do something a little different that would connect a series of book. A good friend of hers named Eric called her up and told her Navy Seals was what she had been looking for. This was 1993/1994.
She went to the library, did some research and realized she loved WWII trivia and had a great respect for the troops already. And that there were thousands of active duty Navy Seals and she could write a book for every single one of them!
How Navy Seals historically make terrible partners, but she’s writing the dream and fantasy of them!
And that idea that if you can connect with someone that dedicated or committed then it will transfer to you!
Why Suzanne continues to show the characters after they find their HEA and show what is happening with them over time. And how cool it is that we get to see that.
Thought she’d be a romcom author but sold her first book as a suspense and they wanted more!
How Suzanne writes her novels
She is a plotter. She figures out big points that happening in the future so that she can aim for those moments.
She knew she wanted to focus on diversity and inclusion.
Jules Cassidy shows up in book 2! His story arc jelled with the Sam/Alyssa story arc.
She thought Sam/Alyssa’s story arc would be 7 books! Her editor said no we have to give the people what they want.
How Suzanne writes diverse characters
Same research goes for any characters from getting into the mind of a Navy Seal to figure out WTF they would want to do that.
She focuses on reading blogs/essays of what it was like to grow up as that person. And spend time with it. And imagine it. And spend time with the similarities. And get past her own privilege of how she grew up viewing the world.
“Books are either mirrors or windows.” Rudine Sims Bishop
Suzanne always preferred books that were not her own view. Loved the idea that there are so many different ways to be.
At the beginning I was writing the world I wanted to see. For instance having Jules be a flag wearing out gay man in the FBI in a time where that couldn’t happen.
The evolution of the romance novel genre and publisher expectations
When she started the heroine had to be petit and blond
How Suzanne felt the constraints of that and rebelled.
Suzanne was told to erase a gay character from her first book.
She told them she was pissed. And forced them to tell her no and say horrible racist things to me each book.
She knew readers would want to see a diverse world.
Love with a Proper Stranger - the hero had a side kick who was Asian named Daniel Tenaka. And the editor told her she should make him a white guy, or Suzanne wouldn’t be asked to write his sequel. She refused to change it.
So she made an Asian character in Unsung Hero and named him David Sullivan to “sneak” him in. And he was going to fall in love with an awesome woman. And have sex on the page.
Late 90s in the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series.
She could write it if she wanted to, but because it had a black hero, it would have half of the print run. Because they’d get letters from the racist people who didn’t want to read about black people.
Only the 2nd book out of 780+ that featured a black character.
So if she wouldn’t write it, who would? They weren’t hiring authors of color at that time, or were forcing them to write white characters.
Used to only be able to get in the 1 black friend. Kept pushing to make it reflect the reality of how we all live.
Romance has come a long way with authors of color being able to tell their own stories and different kinds of stories.
Advice to white authors on why writing diversity is necessary
If white authors don’t write books with diversity of any kind, then they are erasing the diversity.
“People deserve to be represented.”
Advice for authors who think - “that’s not my story to tell”
If you don’t include diversity on the page that exists ever where in life, you’re erasing it and them.
If you take them away, then people and kids don’t have vocabulary for it or seem themselves reflected.
If you’re afraid to make a mistake, take heart and try. Do your research, have sensitivity readers, have a commitment to having things be inclusive.
Be willing to take a risk to go outside of what you know. And try to learn everything you can learn.
Write a person.
Jules Cassidy!
The publisher didn’t know if Hot Target (2005), the book with the subplot of a gay relationship would be reviewed by the New York Times and other reviewers.
Random house and Ballantines’ support was awesome.
Book won Borders Best Selling Hardcover of the Year.
Bridget gushes about the books :)
Love that in the book not everyone is happy about Jules Cassidy being gay, and there is a range of reactions to him, and as they get to know him, their opinions change.
Suzanne is writing military suspense with a conservative readership
Used Sam, the conservative, Texan Navy Seal to take the readers on a journey of getting Jules Cassidy and ending up loving a gay character.
Jules Cassidy saves the day again and again! Sledgehammering the readers with the fact that you should fall in love with him as a character.
Suzanne’s work with Mass Equality and marriage equality
How being literally out in the community helps change hearts and minds. And you had to go and talk to people who hate you until they get to know you and change their minds.
She realized she could do the same things with her books.
First Jules has an off page romance. And then Sam realizes that sounds like love and being in a relationship.
Then Jules’ heart gets broken and Sam relates to that.
People at panels early on started asked about Jules getting an HEA (which he got in All Through the Night).
RWA Speech
She thought she was just going to retire after 2016 election.
Beverly Jenkins one the year before and killed it with her speech.
Suzanne was censored by the organization in the past, so she didn’t give them the speech beforehand so they didn’t
Was dealing with the grief of one of good friends who was dying of cancer at the time. He really wanted me to go and burn the place down.
This added to her zero fucks to give attitude. In advance of the 2018 mid-term election.
She was given 20 minutes.
Used the platform to try to wake people up.
She said, it was pretty scary. and rehearsed a million times so she wouldn’t cry.
She had her husband and son write jokes in case she got heckled.
She had a plan if they cut her microphone.
Lot of standing ovations.
People left, but she got to finish the book.
Advice on a long relationship
Foundation is friendship.
“It’s one thing to love somebody, but if you can really like them too… it just makes life so much better.”
Tik Tok singing fighting in the grocery store.
All things Suzanne
Analysis Paralysis is an m/m rom-com indie feature that Suzanne co-produced. It’s streaming on the Dekkoo Channel, and available for rental via
The trailer is on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/271327084
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ZDzgbm
iTunes: https://apple.co/2LgAbt7
GooglePlay: https://bit.ly/2LaJtIA
The Perfect Wedding is an m/m rom-com that Suzanne co-wrote and co-produced. It’s streaming on the Dekkoo Channel right now and is available for rental via:
“Right before CV-19 brought the world into lockdown this past spring, we were supposed to film a six-ep m/m rom-com series called Marriage of Inconvenience for the Dekkoo Channel. But that indie project is currently on hold. People can find out more about it at the web page for our completed Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.”
Follow her on Twitter: @SuzBrockmann
Website: SuzanneBrockmann.com
e-newsletter: tinyletter.com/SuzanneBrockmann
Suzanne’s most recent books:
Out of Body, m/m Halloween-themed rom-com in paperback and ebook from Suzanne Brockmann Books; in audio from Blackstone Audio
SEAL Camp, Tall, Dark & Dangerous #12, in paperback and ebook from SBB; in audio from Blackstone Audio
Some Kind of Hero, Troubleshooters #19, in paperback and ebook from Ballantine Books; in audio from Blackstone Audio
King’s Ransom (the final book in my long-running Tall, Dark & Dangerous series about Navy SEAL Team Ten, TDD #13): https://suzannebrockmann.com
Should begin at 2:13:58 when Suzanne’s speech begins.
Suzanne Brockmann’s 2018 Nora Roberts Lifetime achievement RWA Speech!
Link to read it here, scroll down halfway. The article is worth a read also if you have a few minutes.
Full Podcast Transcript
Welcome to Romance at a Glance, a podcast that uses romance novels to dive into candid conversations about life, relationship dynamics, and sexual desires.
As hosts Bridget and Shani review books and interview some of romance’s biggest authors, they explore the breadth of the genre, openly embracing the sex, diverse couplings, and taboo in order to create a safe space for listeners to be exposed to different lifestyles, fantasies, and to pique their naughty curiosity.
Expect 100% honest reviews, spontaneous singing, life lessons, indecent anecdotes, and bawdy humor.
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