Meet: Brandon Massey, author of CORNERED

I recently declined an opportunity to review a book for another website because I'm not really a reviewer. I'm a booster, a cheerleader. I shake my pompoms and yell "Yay books!" Some genres aren't my cup of tea, but they may be yours. Consider me a matchmaker. Here to introduce good writers to readers who might dig them.

So I link to reviews by others. Like this one of BEFORE I FORGET by Leonard Pitts Jr., which I loved! (Look for Pitts to do a Q&A here soon.)

And link to conversations about issues affecting black authors (and readers) and suggest lists of books. Lately, I'm running a series of Q&A's with various authors. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you all to thriller writer Brandon Massey.

About Massey (from his website):

I was born June 9, 1973, in Waukegan, Illinois. I grew up in Zion, a suburb north of Chicago.I originally self-published THUNDERLAND, my first novel, in 1999. After managing to sell a few thousand copies on my own, Kensington Publishing Corp. in New York offered me a two-book contract, and published a new, revised edition of THUNDERLAND in December 2002. Since then, I've published up to three books a year, ranging from thriller novels such as THE OTHER BROTHER, to short story collections such as TWISTED TALES, and anthologies such as DARK DREAMS. My newest thriller, CORNERED, will hit stores in August 2009. I currently reside with my wife and our three dogs near Atlanta, GA. Want to know more? Check out my Frequently Asked Questions page.

About CORNERED:

With Nowhere To Run…Corey Webb is living the American dream—successful business, beautiful wife, gifted daughter—but the dream he worked so hard to achieve is about to become a nightmare. When a chance encounter brings him face to face with the dark past he’d long since left behind, Corey knows the threat to his life and family could be deadly.

Unpredictable, intelligent, and terrifyingly ruthless, Corey’s stalker will settle for nothing less than complete submission. He’ll stop at nothing, and sacrifice anyone, to get what he wants. There’s no point in running, no chance of hiding, and no hope for Corey and his family to escape unscathed.

On to my Q&A with Massey:
White Readers Meet Black Authors: Describe your work for someone unfamiliar with it. What's your writing style like? What subjects/themes do you explore?

Brandon Massey: I write suspense thrillers about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Most of my work tends to revolve around families in danger. For most of us, the family unit is the foundation of our lives, and when it’s placed in jeopardy, we will do virtually anything to preserve it.

WRMBA: What's your latest thriller about?

BM: I like to think of CORNERED as my ultimate, family-in-jeopardy thriller. It’s about a family man who has some very dangerous secrets in his past . . . and those secrets suddenly come back to haunt him and his wife and daughter. I’ve always strived to write a fast-paced thriller, but in CORNERED, I wanted to pull out all of the stops and write a story that was impossible to put down. We’ll see if I succeeded.

WRMBA: What's your goal(s) as a writer? Do you set out to educate? entertain? illuminate?

BM: First and foremost for me, a thriller novel must always entertain. Beyond that, I like to shed light on various themes, to give the reader something to think about after they’ve turned the last page.

WRMBA: What's next for you?

BM: I’m working on a series that will follow the adventures of an intriguing new character. No publication date yet, though.

WRMBA: What's the best book (or whose the best writer) that not enough people know about?

BM: Steven Barnes is one of my favorites. He’s written a slew of sci-fi thrillers that haven’t gotten the audience they deserve. Check out CHARISMA and BLOOD BROTHERS for starters.