113 degrees and writing ...

I live in Phoenix; this is to be expected

The middle of summer means lots of pool time and lots of writing time because it’s honestly too hot to do anything else.

My son called me the other day while he was on his walk and lamented it was 90 degrees in San Antonio. I reminded him it was 113 here in Phoenix, and he said, “I’ll take 113 with no humidity any day.” Such is life for my Northern California raised boy who rarely experienced southern humidity.

We’ve been in Phoenix now for seven years. The first summer I barely survived, but as we grew used to the cycle of the desert (freezing in January, lovely from February to April for Spring Training, hell from May through September, and then back to lovely from October to December) I now don’t hate the summer.

I’d probably not like it much if we didn’t have a pool. (Our first year in Phoenix, we rented a small house, no pool, and rocks for the backyard.) Our current house is larger, but the pool is small and the water is sometimes so hot I feel like I should add bubbles and call it a jacuzzi, but there’s nothing better than floating in the evenings while watching baseball on the outdoor TV.

A couple weeks ago when I was floating and watching the Giants (finally) win a game, I came up with the solution for the book I was writing.

LOOKOUT FALLS is my next stand alone, coming June 2027. The book was done, but my editor was on vacation and told me to just sit with it until she returned. I wasn’t happy with the ending. It was flat. So I floated, listened to baseball, and let my mind wander through the story.

Then it hit me.

I knew exactly what was wrong with the ending.

I used to be a night writer, but once I hit 50, that all changed. Still, I jotted down a couple sentences so I wouldn’t forget, and the next morning re-wrote the final climax scene. Literally, I deleted 4,000-plus words and wrote a brand new scene, plus added a chapter earlier in the story so it all worked.

I can’t wait for you all to read it! It’s not even up for pre-order yet, but should be by the end of the month. Watch this space or visit my webpage.

But until then, I have two books coming out that I hope you’ll love:

I’LL BE WATCHING YOU is the third book in the Angelhart Investigations series. Margo finally has a lead to help her prove her father innocent of a murder he confessed to … then her witness ends up dead, and her father is moved to Supermax. Coming September 15!

Library Journal said: “Brennan has a sure hand with plot and pacing, but she really shines in the development of the Angelhart family and the ways in which their work and relationships overlap.”

Coming at the end of October is the paperback edition of Make It Out Alive, so if you missed it in hardcover, buy it before the next Quinn & Costa comes out …

Which is on January 19th! ONE LAST WARNING puts the entire team on the clock when Matt’s teen-age neighbor is kidnapped, then turns up a day later, mostly unharmed, with a note addressed to Matt.

“My kind of thriller! Whip-smart, fast-paced fun with a brilliant FBI team to boot. I love this series!” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner

When I received the above quote from one of my all-time favorite authors, Lisa Gardner, I was grinning like a fool. Truly, Lisa is super talented and I’ve read everything she’s written. Two of my all-time favorite thrillers were penned by her (The Third Victim and Find Her.) I have an advanced copy of her next book, You’ll Be Sorry, a rare stand alone, that I’m taking with me when I visit my sister-in-law later this month.

ONE LAST WARNING is available for pre-order wherever you buy your books!

(But not on my website yet because I’m way behind …)

AND, don’t forget … WHISPER CREEK was released at the end of June and is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. WHISPER CREEK is a stand alone suspense about a widow fighting to protect her family and farm from threats both human and nature. Amanda Stribling does a fantastic job with this book, and I was thrilled when she agreed to narrate!

And now for something completely different ….

Writers, are you struggling with how to develop a series … or keep a series going strong? I’m teaching a class for Outliers this Tuesday, August 4. It’s on zoom and I’ll present my workshop and take questions. Every class I’ve taught (or taken!) has been fun and engaging. More information here!

People always ask me what I’m working on now …

Last week, I wrote a bunch of proposals for future Quinn & Costa books, a new stand alone idea, and some other (secret) projects … and sent them to my agent. He’ll either love me or hate me! Hahaha.

I also reviewed the proofs for Takedown, a short story coming out later this year (more on that later, like when I get the cover and cover copy.)

This weekend, and probably through Wednesday, I’ll be finishing my copyedits for ONE LAST WARNING. The copyediting stage is the last time I can make any major changes, and the copyeditor has gone through and addressed inconsistencies and grammar — I’m a decent writer, but a good copyeditor always reminds me I’m not perfect.

When I work on my copyedits, I also look for places where I repeat myself — this is one of my fatal writing flaws that I’m constantly working on. I literally just deleted an entire paragraph that was a re-write of a paragraph on the previous page, and I don’t know how I missed it during revisions. Hopefully, I’ll tighten this up so it’s truly a thriller.

(My other “fatal” flaw is writing too many characters, but I like a lot of characters in books I write and read, so that one I tend to ignore unless I go overboard.)

After I finish the copyedits, I’ll start the next Quinn & Costa thriller, due to my editor in December. I’m still waiting for approval on the proposal I wrote, but I’ll give you a teaser anyway and hope it doesn’t change. Originally, I was going to write a cold case story featuring Sloane Wagner, the newest member of the team. That will actually be book #10, and book #9 will have Kara going undercover in southeastern Kentucky in a community that doesn’t want any federal agents around. That’s all I can say until I get the green light! But suffice it to say, I love putting Kara undercover, and the crime itself is original and different, so I’ll have fun with this.

And then … I’ll be writing a Quinn & Costa novella that takes place on New Years Eve.

Readers, thank you! I appreciate you more than you know. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love, which is writing.

Happy Reading!

~ Allison