A Conversation With Deb Brammer

Deb Brammer has been writing for Christian publication since 1980. She and her husband, Art, have served as church planting missionaries in Taiwan and New Zealand. She offers ministry resources from her website.

How do you connect with your characters? DEB 2013c
Deb: I’ve published 6 novels, and in 5 of them a male character is the main protagonist. I don’t know why writing the male point of view comes so naturally to me. I tend to put my characters in ministry situations I am familiar with so I understand how they feel. In my current series, Jordan’s personality is much like my husband’s and Zophie’s is a cross between mine and my daughter’s. I share Zophie’s passion and I can understand who Jordan yearns to be.

Have you ever regretted killing off a character? Why?
Deb: My current series has a light-hearted feel to it similar to a cozy mystery, though it deals with serious issues. After I finished one book, I read that you should never kill an animal or a child in a cozy mystery. Yet the death of one of these was an integral part of my book. I worried about that a lot. As my daughter read through it, after the death she wrote and “told me off,” but in the end I think she understood why it was necessary. My protagonist was dealing with the why’s of life. I didn’t resurrect that character in the sequel, but I brought in a character that made my protagonist feel like he had his friend back again.

How do you pick the location/setting of your romantic suspense novels?
Deb: I picked Boise, Idaho, for book one because I’m originally from the Northwest and feel like I understand that mentality better than other areas of the United States. I needed the city to be large enough to meet the medical needs of one of my characters and small enough for my protagonist to be a vital part of the art scene there.

The next two sequels happen in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I wanted to give my protagonists a personal ministry with international students on a post-grad level. Minneapolis worked very well for that. My daughter also lives there and was able to feed me details when I needed them.

Current book: Déjà Who?
Jordan never dreamed an innocent promise could cost him his career, but new accusations pull him into the past, forcing him to ask, “Who am I?” all over again.

Connect w/Deb
Website: www.DebBrammer.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DebBrammerAuthor
Pintrest: https://nz.pinterest.com/debbrammer/