Interviews
On Monday, December 7th, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Judith McNaught to discuss NIGHT WHISPERS.
Moderator: Welcome, Judith McNaught. We are thrilled you could join us to discuss your new romantic suspense novel, NIGHT WHISPERS. How are you this evening?
Judith McNaught: I am wonderful! I am thrilled to be here.
Marcia from Austin, TX: Judith, we know you as a historical and romance writer, and now you have branched off into romantic suspense. NIGHT WHISPERS looks almost like pure suspense. What caused this departure for you?
Judith McNaught: It may look like pure suspense, and it is the most suspenseful of the novels I have written, but it is also one of the most romantic. It is really not a departure, it is an expansion -- but you decide and let me know what you think!
Whitney from Pikes Peak, CO: In NIGHT WHISPERS, Sloan Reynolds (the heroine) is a cop who has basically had to raise her own mother and has a big grudge against her father. Her father's really wealthy and wants a reunion in Palm Beach. Sloan has never wanted to see her father. Why is Sloan so tough on him?
Judith McNaught: I think you have to read the book and find out. Because he has never shown any interest in her mother's financial plight -- until Sloan is 30 years old. He suddenly wants to set things straight, not because he cares about Sloan but probably because he is afraid of dying.
DreadNaught Jane Chick from Washington, D.C.: Hello, Judith McNaught! NIGHT WHISPERS was a great read, and I thank you for it. I particularly liked the scene where Sloan teaches her self-defense class -- I was learning right along with the class, as I am sure all of us were. Sloan isn't the first heroine you feature teaching other women: In PERFECT, Julie teaches illiterate women to read, and in some of your historicals, the heroine teaches women as well -- Alex teaches and befriends the cottagers at Hawthorne, and Jennie Westmoreland helps the women at Claymore obtain better looms and equipment. Your heroines seem to feel as though it's important for women to help each other learn and succeed, and it's one of the things I most admire about them. Is it something you do consciously when creating a character like one of your heroines?
Judith McNaught: I feel it is important for women to help each other, so I try to do it through my heroines. In the scenes that you mention, I am trying to impart information to readers in a way that is interesting -- without lecturing or slowing down the story. That is a very astute observation on your part.
Jessica Mays from Alabama: Hi, Judith! Congratulations on Nickels's first birthday
and on NIGHT WHISPERS, which was positively divine! My question is, what was your original concept for NIGHT WHISPERS, and how did it change as the book progressed (if it changed)? Also, Sloan's self-defense class was extremely informative. Was it only your desire to raise awareness by including that scene, or did you have another driving factor?
Judith McNaught: The original concept for the book changed almost on a weekly basis until it materialized into the present form. That is true of every book I have written. I start out going in one direction convinced that is the right way to go, and along the way the characters or events point in a different direction. If I follow their lead, the story benefits; if I continue trying to do it my way instead of their way, the story doesn't work as well, and I always end up going back and doing it their way. Regarding the advice given to women who are stranded on the highway (which is what you are calling the self-defense class), it is my hope and belief that one woman somewhere will read that advice and be spared a tragedy. That is exactly why I put the advice in the book.
Bab from Atlanta: Did you ever dream you would be a bestselling author? Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Judith McNaught: No. I wanted to play the piano, and when I found out I couldnt play, the only other thing I wanted to do was write a book. Even when I sold my first book, I never dreamed of being a bestselling author. It was beyond my boldest imagining. My only goal was to write a book that someone would really love, and it never occurred to me that a whole lot of people would love it enough to keep reading it after 15 years. I feel enormously blessed and unbelievably lucky that the things I write speak to my own sex in a way that brings us closer, even if it is only that we laugh at the same scene.
Nancy from Vancouver, BC, Canada: I read the short novel you did featuring the character Nikki from WHITNEY, MY LOVE and UNTIL YOU. I have heard somewhere that you were planning a full-length book about him. Is this so? If so, when might it be available? And what other books are in the works? Thanks.
Judith McNaught: I am planning to do a Nikki story as a full-length novel, and because of your question here, barnesandnoble.com is inadvertently breaking the news right now that Pocket Books and I will release an unabridged version of WHITNEY, MY LOVE in hardcover probably sometime in the next year. This version would have the full scenes as originally written as well as the epilogue. If you like this idea, contact your local bookstore, because we will be doing it in a limited edition.
Lisa from Chicago: What is the one thing about you that makes you fulfilled or complete? I love all your books, and the new book is an expansion into more fully dimensional characters (that's not to say they weren't before). Thank you very much for all your time and the love you have committed to writing them.
Judith McNaught: That is one of the loveliest compliments I have ever gotten. Thank you. The one thing that makes me feel most fulfilled or complete? Not in order of importance: looking at my adult children and seeing kind, mature, responsible people; finishing a novel that I know is my very best effort and that I believe readers will love; remembering my marriage to Michael McNaught, who was the most magnificent man I have ever known; Barbra Streisand singing my favorite song (there is something about music that makes me feel like there really is a God); and anytime I look at my grandson and see my daughter's eyes and my son-in-law's smile.
Mary Ellen B. from Mississippi: One of the themes of your book seems to have to do with trust: Who do you trust? Do you trust the man who seems to love you? Do you trust your own instincts? Do you trust your father? All of it. Sloan has a suspicious nature, particularly when it comes to men and trust. Do you feel that you and Sloan have anything in common?
Judith McNaught: The timing of your question makes me laugh out loud. Let's just say that one of the most important things occupying my mind right now is whether to trust my judgment about someone who seems pretty wonderful. I guess I will let you know next year! The danger in the inability to trust is every bit as great and destructive to us as women as being too trusting. One locks us up emotionally and the other opens us up to emotional disaster. I don't know where the balance is, but I think that in most cases, people will live up to our highest expectations of them as long as the expectations are reasonable.
Shirley from California: Hello, Judith McNaught! In NIGHT WHISPERS, I was very partial to the character Courtney, Noah's sister. Anyhow, is there a chance that you will do a spin-off story on her? She very much reminds me of a younger Alicia Avery from PARADISE. Also, her wit in the novel truly made me laugh out loud. You always tend to make your novels heartwarmingly funny and at the same time tear-drenching. How is it that you manage to create such a phenomenal effect?
Judith McNaught: Regarding Courtney, she lit up the page from the moment she walked into the first scene, and I don't know why or how. As you will probably know, I almost never involve children in my novels, but Courtney really did just appear out of necessity and take over every scene that she was in. She was the most effortless character I have ever created, and I loved her for making it so easy on me. Everybody from the day the novel came out came asking for Courtney's story -- and down the road I would like to try it -- but remember, the outrageously flippant, innocently insensitive remarks that made us laugh and love her would not be so appealing in a grown woman as a heroine unless they were tempered by a little empathy. So the answer is, I would like to write her story but only if I can smooth out her edges but still maintain that joy and uniqueness she has. I will give it a shot, and thanks for asking!
Bella Didonato from New York: Ms. McNaught, I wanted to say that I really love your books! I have two questions: Are you going to be making a story about Dorothy (Victoria's sister) and the Marquis de Salle (in ONCE AND ALWAYS)? My second question is: I loved ALMOST HEAVEN. Are you going to make a book with Ian and Elizabeth as secondary characters? Thank you.
Judith McNaught: When I do another historical, I want to bring Ian and Elizabeth in if possible. They are two of my very favorite characters! I enjoyed them, but even more, I admired them both. As for Dorothy's story, I probably will someday, but only if I can come up with one stronger enough for her and for you as readers.
Lauren from North Carolina: You are famous for your secondary characters and romances among those secondary characters. In NIGHT WHISPERS, it appeared that Jess and Sara had had a love/hate relationship that would eventually become just love but didn't. Why? Sequel?
Judith McNaught: You guessed it! I am toying with the idea of detailing their romance in a future novel with them again as secondary characters. I do not think I would use them as primary characters. The reason I wouldnt may interest you, because it is a glimpse into my philosophy of writing and the difficulties of writing: Sara is a fun character, but she is mercenary, and even though you know her background and understand why money could be so important, it is not an admirable trait. I have always tried to write about women that we as women would admire as well as like. So I would like to have fun resolving their romance as secondary characters in the future.
Janice H. from Grand Rapids: What's the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you during the holidays?
Judith McNaught: The most romantic thing? It was actually last year around Christmas: I was just finishing a novel and the man in my life saw that I was working myself into the ground. With less than 24 hours to do it, he contacted my assistant in secret, had her pack a suitcase for me, and at 10am the next morning, a limo pulled into the driveway. My suitcase was put into the car and my assistant came to get me and handed me my purse. She told me that the man of my life was waiting for me at the airport. I had no idea where we were going until he met me at the airport and took me to the gate, where the plane was leaving to Las Vegas. Now, what made this so romantic and so touching? It wasn't the limo or the first-class seats on the plane or the beautiful suite in the hotel -- what made it so special was, I slept for 36 hours straight and he never complained! This is completely true!
Diana from Glendale, New York: The Westmorelands have to be one of the families most near and dear to us. Are you planning on expanding their story or taking us into the next generation of Westmorelands? It seems that we can't get enough!
Judith McNaught: Please refer to the question on the board that we will release an unabridged version of WHITNEY, MY LOVE in hardcover as a special limited edition. Contact your bookseller to reserve one. I will not do a sequel to WHITNEY, MY LOVE for the same reason I have not done sequels to any of the historicals, and the reason is simply this: I have never read a sequel that was equal to the original; and moreover, at the end of the book, when I leave those characters with you, they are everything I want them to be for you and everything I want you to remember them being. I don't want to see Clayton with gout, or Whitney with gray hair. On the other hand I don't like to abandon characters any more then you do, and for that reason I let them reappear to you as secondary characters in other novels set at the same approximate time.
Jacki from Indiana: Hi, Judith. My favorite book is PARADISE. I think I've read it a dozen times. I noticed several authors have written under other names. Why is that?
Judith McNaught: If you are referring to other authors writing books with the name PARADISE, the answer is you can not copyright a book title, and so there are countless book titles that have appeared more than once.
DreadNaught Jane Chick from Washington, D.C.: I loved the character of Courtney Maitland in NIGHT WHISPERS -- her awkwardness reminds me so much of Whitney Westmoreland when she was young. I was so happy to see her much happier by the novel's end. Do you see her as becoming a heroine in her own right some day?
Judith McNaught: Hi, Jane! We already answered this one, but I loved Courtney too!
Anne from New York: You've been with Pocket Books a long time. Do you have a good relationship with your editor there?
Judith McNaught: I have been with Pocket Books since my they bought my first title, WHITNEY, MY LOVE. This is very unusual, as you might know. The reason I have stayed with Pocket is straightforward and based on the following business judgment: They are a splendid publisher who have kept every promise they have ever made me, and of their own volition gone out of their way to ensure the success of my novels. I hold my editor, Linda Marrow, and the staff and president Gina Centrello in the highest regard because they all deserve it. I say this to you because I have a feeling you may be writing a book, and it is vitally important to remember that publishing is a business but that publishers are people, and to make your decision cautiously and wisely. As a further bit of information, my editor, who is now vice president, was the first reader who approved WHITNEY, MY LOVE for purchase 15 years ago. Working with the right editor makes being an author a joy. Working with the wrong one would make it a nightmare.
Moderator: Thank you, Judith McNaught! Best of luck with NIGHT WHISPERS. Do you have any closing comments for the online audience?
Judith McNaught: Yes, I do have a comment. The interactive editor, who has been relaying your questions to me and posting your answers on the Web, has paused repeatedly during this hour online to comment on the insight and quality of the questions you have been asking. It is a reflection on the caliber of all of you as readers, and I am honored and flattered that you are the people that read my books. So I can't say anything more but thank you for being who you are and for being here with me tonight. You can check out Pocket Books's web site at www.SimonSays.com to join my readers there who have a very active and entertaining message board going.
