Burn - Ted Dekker and Erin Healy (With Exclusive Interview)

What would you do with a million dollars? Or perhaps more importantly, what would you do for a million dollars? Janeal Mikkado knows the answer to both those questions. Or at least she thinks she does. Having grown up as an outcast within her Gypsy colony for only being part-Gypsy, Janeal longs for a way out into the world. She gets her chance when she is confronted by the drug lord Salazar Sanzo, who promises her a way out and makes her an offer she can’t refuse.

You’ll have to read for yourself what exactly that offer is. Suffice it to say that a million dollars is involved. And suffice it to say that things go horribly, horribly wrong. Janeal pays the price for her selfishness. The Gypsy camp goes up in flames as Sanzo inflicts his wrath. When all is said and done, the whole colony has been laid to waste. Over 130 dead in what the FBI calls the Mikkado massacre. But Janeal survives.

Fifteen years later, Janeal’s buried past resurrects itself when she discovers that Salazar Sanzo had been captured. Digging into this, she discovers that maybe she wasn’t the only one to survive the fire after all. Even more disturbing is Sanzo, who appears intent on coming after her with newly kindled intentions of revenge. Her success of the past fifteen years could be undone in an instant if it was discovered that she was responsible for the Mikkado massacre. Janeal finds herself confronting the demons of her past and the conflictions of her present to secure the dreams of her future. But nothing—nothing—will ever be the same again.

Burn is Ted Dekker and Erin Healy’s second collaboration, the first being 2008’s Kiss. I thought Kiss was great, but things only get better with Burn. Unlike Kiss, which was admittedly pretty predictable (and here I must stop and say that those who disliked Kiss because they “saw it coming” need to realize that it is the message of the story, not its unpredictability, that makes for a great novel), Burn was a bit more subtle while carrying just as powerful a message. There is a battle raging within, the kingdom of darkness and light—a John and a Judas residing in the heart. Burn takes this concept of light versus darkness to a place every Dekker novel goes—the very extreme. It pushes it to a new level to tell a powerful story of the war of good and evil inside us all.

And now for a Christian Critic EXCLUSIVE!

An author interview is a new first for this site. And for the debut, I was lucky enough to get Erin Healy, the co-author of Burn, to take time out to answer a few of my questions. Erin is an award-winning editor and owner of WordWright Editorial Services, a consulting firm specializing in fiction book development. Burn is her second collaboration with New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker. Without further ado, on to the interview!

TCC: This is your second co-authored novel with Ted, (the first being 2008’s Kiss) but you worked with him as an editor on many of his previous books. Exactly what projects did you work with Ted on?

Erin: I've worked on nearly all his books since and including Blink (rereleased later as Blink of an Eye): Thr3e (still a favorite of mine), Obsessed, House, Showdown, Saint, Sinner, Adam, all of the Circle Trilogy, a few of the Lost Books, Boneman's Daughters, and two more books that will release next year.

TCC: Kiss marked your transition from editor to author. Was there much of a change in going from editor to co-author? And for Burn, what part did you play in writing the manuscript? 

Erin: There was a huge change, because editorial skill sets and writing skill sets don't overlap very much. So when we started, I had a steep learning curve. In one sense, I became the writer and Ted became the editor. My responsibility was to lay down the first draft, and then Ted and I dived into it together, hacking it apart and rewriting it until we both were happy with it.

TCC: Of the two novels, which seemed easier to write? Do you have a personal favorite? 

Erin: I'm pretty sure I can speak for Ted in saying we both like Burn better than Kiss. It's more thematically rich, and the device is more wild and crazy! Though Kiss is a great story, it was much harder to write than Burn, mostly because it was my first novel and our first collaboration. We had to work out a lot of knocks to get that story running like a smooth machine.  

TCC: What was the original idea that sparked the theme of Burn?

Erin: Interestingly enough, Ted and I were working independently on our own ideas for a story about . . . well, I can't give up any plot spoilers, so I'll just say we both had ideas for separate stories about regrets, second chances, and this Christian concept of dying to self. As we started talking, we thought, why not throw both of these into one cooking pot and see what we come up with? It worked great, and it's one of the reasons I think Burn is a stronger story. As far as the content goes, we were both equally invested in our passion for it.

TCC: You're working on a third collaboration with Ted, this time tackling a sequel to Blink of An Eye, set for what I assume will be a January 2011 release. What can you tell us about this book and how far are you into writing it? As a sequel, will readers need to have read Blink of an Eye first? 

Erin: This was our original plan, but we recently decided to shift gears and fully focus on our respective solo careers, which is especially exciting for me as my first solo novel is about to be released. 

TCC: So the sequel has been scrapped? Or is Ted planning on completing it himself?

Erin: It means the sequel has been scrapped ... for now. :) But maybe Ted and I will pick it up, or another collaboration, on another day.

TCC: Well, then to move onto your solo career, you've got a book coming out entitled Never Let You Go. I'm really excited about this novel. What can you tell us about it?

Erin: Never Let You Go releases in May 2010. It's a supernatural thriller about a young single mother, Lexi, who is paid an unwelcome visit by an old friend. He demands she testify on behalf of the killer who murdered Lexi’s sister. If she refuses, he’ll harm Lexi’s daughter. Within hours, she also learns that her estranged husband, gone seven years, is attempting to reconnect with their little girl. The strangely timed reappearance of the friend, the killer, and the husband terrifies Lexi, but the significance of this event is greater than she can predict. Never Let You Go is a novel about the high price of bitterness and forgiveness, neither of which it seems Lexi can afford to pay.

TCC: Lastly, what does the future hold for Erin Healy? And where can your fans find you and interact with you (such as on Facebook, Twitter, etc.)? 

Erin: Excitement and great novels, I hope! At least two more solo books are in the works for me, and I'll be chatting about them as they get underway. My website www.erinhealy.com is undergoing a redesign that should be complete by February. Follow me on Twitter @erinhealybooks. I have a sometimes-blog at www.erinhealyblog.blogspot.com, but that will soon be resident on my website. And my Facebook fan page is (heaven help me): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erin-Healy/59683195940 As soon as y'all get me to 1000 fans I'll get a nicer domain name for that!

TCC: Well, Erin, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with me. I certainly do appreciate it, and I know the fans do as well. Readers! Please show your support for Erin by clicking on those links up there and becoming her fan on Facebook. (And you can do the same for me by clicking on those buttons up in the top left there.) And remember that Burn releases January 12, 2010.

Erin: Thanks so much, Josh. I'm grateful for your efforts! 

Burn - Ted Dekker and Erin Healy (With Exclusive Interview)