Robert Gregory Browne on hypnosis and comparisons to Dean Koontz: Part 2

Sandra Ruttan:  You have a lot of experience as a screenwriter.  What aspects of screenwriting help you as a thriller writer?

Robert Gregory Browne: All of them.  As a screenwriter you have to learn to get to the point.  Don't bore your audience with pointless scenes that have little to do with the story or the characters.  You also learn to structure your plots on Aristotle's three-act model, although it's no longer something I consciously try to follow.  It's pretty much ingrained in me.  You learn to write visually and to give your characters compelling dialog that shows a dynamic interplay between them, a rhythmic back and forth that helps bring a scene to life.  You also learn to get in and out of scenes a quickly as possible.

What you don't get with screenplays is room for characterization.  You always have to shorthand it.  Fortunately, with books, you have a lot of room to play with your characters and find out what makes them tick.

SR:  Are you more influenced by movies or books?

RGB: I think it's equal.  I grew up a voracious reader and an avid movie buff.  I honestly can't tell you which I love more.  I think plot-wise I'm more influenced by movies and television, which is probably why the books have attracted some attention in Hollywood and why so many people ask me, "when is the movie coming out?"

SR:  What are the three best movies you've seen recently, and the three best books you've read?

RGB: Oh, boy. I saw a great movie recently called In the Electric Mist, starring Tommy Lee Jones, which was based on a James Lee Burke novel.  I thought it was excellent, largely due to Jones, who is such a masterful actor.  He owned that character from the very first scene.

But I tend to avoid answering such questions -- especially about books -- because I have too many relationships in the business and I don't want anyone to feel slighted.  How's that for a cop-out?

SR:  What's next for Robert Gregory Browne?

RGB:  My next book, DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN, is due out in July of 2010.  It's the story of Mexican-American reporter investigating the murders of a house full of nuns down in Juarez, Mexico, just off the Texas border -- a case that leads him into the world of drug smugglers and religious cults, and may well be the last story he ever writes.

I was also hoping to make an announcement here, but it looks like I'll have to wait a while longer until all the i's have been dotted.  So I'll leave you with a bit of a tease...

For more information about Robert Gregory Browne and his books, KISS HER GOODBYE, WHISPER IN THE DARK, KILL HER AGAIN and the forthcoming DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN, visit his website.

Sandra Ruttan can be contacted via sandra@sandraruttan.com