JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Brian Smith, author of Nina’s Got a Secret
(Hollygrove Publishing)
Nina’s Got A Secret has already made the Dallas Morning News Best Seller list. It has also made the Oprah Book Club list on Oprah.com.
Nina Arceneaux (a former stripper) marries a wealthy sports agent named Larry Denison. Nina doesn’t love him, but she married him for the financial security he could provide. Larry and Nina both have eight year old daughters. His daughter has autism.
Nina reluctantly accepts Larry’s daughter but makes it clear she doesn’t want to raise a handicap child. She has a car crash and decides to save her child and let her handicap step-daughter drown. She decides to lie to her husband about what happened…but someone saw the entire incident.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Nina’s Got A Secret?
Brian Smith: I was talking to one of my employees one day and asked her if she had to save one of her two kids, which one would she choose. She couldn’t answer me. That’s where the idea started. I decided to make that simple question even more complex by making a situation where a step-parent (Nina) had to decide whether to save her biological child or her handicap step-daughter. Nina decided to save her own child – the way most people would. But, she couldn’t tell her husband the truth about his daughter. She’s intends to take the secret to the grave, but someone saw what she did.
JP: What sets Nina’s Got A Secret apart from other novels in its genre?
BS: I try real hard to write novels about topics other writers haven’t addressed. This can be hard because it seems like all of life’s interesting topics have already been written about. However, this book is unique because it addresses a very real scenario and the issue of telling lies. The book forces the reader to wonder – if you knew that the truth would devastate your partner and ruin your lifestyle, would you keep it a secret if you thought no one would ever find out. The topic is real – I think people can relate to it.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Nina’s Got A Secret getting out to the public?
BS: I’ve been blessed in that my books have become more popular, and I’ve made a few best seller lists. People have come to expect me to write about a thought provoking topic and to throw in some suspense, sex and drama. Nina’s Got A Secret paid for itself just in pre-orders via my company’s website. God is good!
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Nina’s Got A Secret?
BS: My writing process is very unorthodox. I’m usually writing two or three books at the same time. Because I’m also the owner of Hollygrove Publishing, I don’t have the luxury of just writing when the mood hits me. I have too many other people’s careers in my hands, and I have to devote time to preparing and publishing their projects. So, I am the king of multi-tasking. I wrote Nina’s Got A Secret over the course of three months. I was writing it during the same time I was writing my book, Final Fling with Torrian Ferguson.
JP: What’s next for Brian W. Smith?
BS: I have two books being released on June 1, 2009, My Husband’s Love Child and Donna’s Comeback. I will also be in three anthologies between now and the end of the year: a Christian Fiction Anthology called Bended Knees and two Erotica Anthologies called Bedtime Stories 1 & 2.
I know people are going to be questioning whether or not it’s a conflict to be in an Erotica Anthology and a Christian Fiction Anthology, but I don’t care. I’m a Christian who ain’t afraid to talk about sex…the haters will get over it. Besides, that’s the beauty of owning the publishing company. I don’t have to abide by all of the outdated industry rules that say an author should only write in one genre. I can do me and not apologize. It’s a beautiful thing.
http://www.hollygrovepublishing.com/
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