A wildlife rehabilitator friend told me a funny story about all the hoops she had to jump through in order to get a wild bird from one location to another. I repeated the story to my agent, and he said, “If I were a movie producer, I’d be all over that. Why don’t you write it as a novel?”
Suzie Gilbert – 09 April 2020
The Back Flap
Twenty-five-year-old Luna Burke is on the run.
Licensed to care for injured and orphaned wildlife, she is determined to smuggle a homicidal Bald Eagle out of her husband’s private zoo in Florida, reunite the bird with its mate, and get them both to an eagle sanctuary in Canada. Hot on her trail are her furious husband, his bodyguards, the police, conservation officials, and an expert government tracker; aiding and abetting her is a smitten young tech guy, a lethal Navy SEAL turned panther advocate, and an underground railroad of wildlife rescuers intent on protecting one of their own. Waiting in Ontario is a legendary old eco-warrior more than willing to provide refuge…as long as Luna can make it across the border.
Unflappable is a funny, dark, sexy adventure with a big cast of unconventional characters, both human and not.
About the book
What is the book about?
Twenty-five-year-old Luna Burke is determined to smuggle a homicidal Bald Eagle out of her husband’s private zoo in Florida, reunite the bird with its mate, and get them both to an eagle sanctuary in Canada. Trying to stop her is her husband and the authorities and helping her is a smitten young tech guy and an underground railroad of fellow wildlife lovers. It’s a funny, suspenseful road trip, but it’s also about feeling trapped and desperate and grappling with the past, and about the lengths to which people will go for a cause they believe in.
When did you start writing the book?
Summer 2016, but I wrote it off and on for a while.
How long did it take you to write it?
About 2 1/2 years.
Where did you get the idea from?
A wildlife rehabilitator friend told me a funny story about all the hoops she had to jump through in order to get a wild bird from one location to another. I repeated the story to my agent, and he said, “If I were a movie producer, I’d be all over that. Why don’t you write it as a novel?” I said, “Because I don’t know how to write a novel.” He said, “Figure it out. Read Carl Hiaasen.”
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I struggled through the whole thing! I had to write four totally different drafts, because I couldn’t get it right. At one point I had the heroine taking over Wall Street.
What came easily?
The dialogue. I found that once I had a handle on the plot and the characters, the dialogue was relatively easy.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
All the characters are fictitious.
Do you have a target reader?
No. Although the story is about people who are into nature and wildlife, I wanted it to appeal to anyone who likes a fast-paced, suspenseful adventure.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I wrote a memoir while I was raising two kids and running a wild bird hospital out of my house, so I learned the art of guerrilla writing…if I had a spare 15 minutes I wrote, whether I wanted to or not. When I wrote this novel I didn’t have that kind of pressure, and I discovered I couldn’t come up with any ideas unless I was hiking. Unflappable is filled with plot twists and has a large cast of characters, and time and again I’d sit in front of my computer with no clue as to what to do with these people. If I went hiking, though, I’d figure it out. I learned to take a voice recorder with me, because inevitably I’d forget all my bright ideas by the time I got home.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I use sticky notes. With Unflappable, I had 31 sticky notes with each chapter number stretched across one of my bedroom walls. In a vertical column beneath each chapter I described on more sticky notes where the characters were and what they were doing, using a different color for each one. I ended up with a solid wall of sticky notes, as it was the only way I could keep track of everyone.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I edit as I go, knowing I’ll do it over and over and over.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I didn’t, and I would not advise this. I knew I had to spend money on a publicist, and I thought I could edit my own book in a few days. It took me six weeks. Then I sent it to the formatter, and the 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” book I ordered came out to 420 pages. Argh! I couldn’t take out entire sections because the plot would have fallen apart, so I had to go through it again sentence by sentence and increase the book size to 6” x 9”. This delayed the book launch. I was really careful, but inevitably there were a couple of typos. Readers might not even notice them, but I kill myself over this daily.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No, music is my reward for getting the work done.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I have a wonderful agent, Russell Galen. He got me an amazing deal for my memoir, Flyaway, which went to auction in 2007 with seven publishers bidding and was won by HarperCollins. He was so instrumental in the creation of Unflappable that I dedicated the book to him.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
Russ submitted Unflappable to editors on a Monday at 4 PM, and at 10 the next morning the first editor called him and said she loved it. Within the next three days four more followed suit, but then the marketing departments took over. They said there was no comparable book, that fiction readers didn’t know what wildlife rehabilitators were, and if I turned it into a murder mystery maybe they’d consider it. In less than a week I went from thinking I had a sure bet to realizing I wasn’t even close. I went on the Amazon KDP site and the first thing they said was, “Find a book like yours. If you can’t, that means you don’t have a good idea because no one is that original.” There were many dark nights of the soul.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Definitely professionally done – both the cover and the formatting. I hired Ebook Launch in British Columbia, and they were terrific.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
My computer and social media skills are not up to par, so I hired a great publicist, Jessica Pellien. There is no way I could navigate the self-publishing world without her.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Don’t give up!
About You
Where did you grow up?
In Oyster Bay, New York.
Where do you live now?
In the Hudson Highlands of New York.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I am definitely not unflappable!
What are you working on now?
Publicity. It’s another world.
End of Interview:
For more from Suzie, visit her website or follow her on Twitter.
Get your copy of Unflappable from Amazon US or Amazon UK.
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