Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.
Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Q: Did the plot or title come first?
Sandra Brown: I first came up with the title. Then I thought, what is a blood moon? The next one occurs on March 13th. They only happen every three and a half years—it’s a strange phenomenon. My editor and I wanted a spring book, so this was perfect.
Q: How did you develop a story centering on the title?
Sandra: I watched true crime shows and thought it would be a cool job to be a producer on one of these shows. That’s the profession I gave to my heroine, Beth. Then I created my hero, John, a reluctant police officer haunted by a cold case.
Q: What is a blood moon, since it plays such an intricate role in the story?
Sandra: It’s an astrological anomaly that occurs every three and a half years. To understand it, hold both your hands up—the sun is in your left hand, the moon in your right, and the earth is in perfect alignment between them. The sun reflects light onto the moon, but the earth forms a perfect shadow on a full moon, completely covering it. The reason it turns an orangish-red is that the sunlight is being filtered through the earth’s atmosphere. The bad guys in the story wanted to make sacrifices to the moon goddess, Luna.
Q: What is numerology?
Sandra: It goes hand in hand with the blood moon regarding the cases of the disappearing girls. A person has a core number that guides their decision-making, similar to an astrology sign. There are religious and cultural connotations tied to it.
Q: How would you describe John Bowie?
Sandra: He was a dedicated police officer haunted by the cold case. I wanted to explore his relationship with his teenage daughter and his brotherly friendship with Mitch. He’s intense, outspoken, sarcastic, edgy, stubborn, and cynical—arrogant in a sarcastic way.
Q: What is the difference between John and Mitch?
Sandra: They couldn’t be more different. John is very serious and contemplative, while Mitch always cracks jokes. Mitch is arrogant, humorous, a smart-aleck, but also loyal and caring.
Q: How would you describe Beth?
Sandra: Determined, loyal, savvy, gutsy, ambitious, and confident in her abilities—though she feels a bit tenuous about her career.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between Beth and John?
Sandra: They met their match in each other. They both get under each other’s skin and frustrate one another. The chemistry is there from chapter one. He throws her completely out of her element. They’re both obsessed with this case.
Q: What is the role of the Crissy Mellin case?
Sandra: Her disappearance messed up Detective John Bowie’s life. He became remorseful and regretful. He knew there was more to it but was forced to give in to his boss. It has eaten at him ever since—he’s determined to get to the bottom of it. Beth, on the other hand, is frustrated and impatient because John won’t fill in the blanks for her.
Q: How would you describe John’s boss, Lt. Thomas Barker?
Sandra: Incompetent, sadistic, arrogant, egotistical, and obnoxious. He knows John has his number and that John is superior to him.
Q: What can you share about the next book?
Sandra: The next book will feature Mitch, the DEA officer, who decides to change jobs and work with John. They are best friends. John and Beth will appear as secondary characters. This story takes place two years after Blood Moon and will be published in the spring of 2026.
Blood Moon by Sandra Brown has her usual style. The plot is intense, dark, and raw, intertwined with a love story that includes sexual scenes, where the chemistry between the hero and heroine starts from the first page.
Readers will get to know John Bowie, an angry detective haunted by his failure not to solve the cold case disappearance of Crissy Mellin; Beth Collins, the producer of a true crime show, and Tom Barker, the corrupt boss of John.
Crisis Point, the true crime TV series, is going to air an episode documenting Crissy Mellin’s unsolved disappearance. Collins is convinced that Mellin’s disappearance was not an isolated incident. A string of disappearances of teenage girls in nearby areas have only one thing in common: they took place on the night of a blood moon. Detective John Bowie has been instructed by his boss not to talk to Beth or anyone else about the crime he has determined solved and closed. Not listening, he meets Beth and listens to her theories, because he has never felt comfortable with the outcome of the case and didn’t agree with the resolution. They decide to work together realizing that in four days there will be another blood moon, which can mean another girl disappearing or being murdered. They race against the clock to find the antagonist and possibly save another girl, but in working together they also realize there is an attraction between them that cannot be denied.
This novel is intense, intriguing, and has a thrilling twist.
