The Romantic Side of Suspense

On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” I’m chatting Laurie Wood, a military wife who’s lived across Canada and visited six of its 10 provinces. The post Laurie Wood on Writing With Purpose (Episode 20) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“In my romantic suspense, I don’t like to kill people,” Susan said. “My books are more adventure-oriented, so I don’t have to have a villain come in and do terrible things to my characters. But I do have people die, so I have to research things like how someone would die if they fell.” The post Tapping Into Susan May Warren’s Creativity (Episode 19) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“The contemporary romance that I write have a lot of drama in them, but it’s more of an interpersonal variety and those very rarely have any cliffhanger, life-and-death moments. I get to do a pretty deep dive in the psychology of the characters and focus on the relationship side of things,” Irene said. “When I move into romantic suspense, I’m dealing with more usually shorter time frame and a lot...

“In romantic suspense, there’s always something happening,” Lynn said. “One of the challenges of writing romantic suspense is that you have many threads that you’re pulling at the same time—the romance, the mystery and the faith element—that you have to interweave all together.” The post Lynn Shannon on Tying the Threads of Romantic Suspense Together (Episode 17) first appeared on Author Sarah Ham...

“It’s easy and it’s not easy to write,” Jessica said. “If you’re a seat-of-the-pants writer—if you just make it up as you go, and that’s how I was originally—having a manuscript is fantastic because once it’s done, you write your proposal and send it in. But when you start selling on proposal, they want a full synopsis, which can be about seven to 10 pages.” The post How Jessica R. Patch Makes Her...

“One thing I love about writing inspirational romantic suspense is that I love romantic suspense,” Virginia said. “I’ve been a fan of romantic suspense forever.” The post Virginia Vaughn’s Tailor-Made Background for Writing first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“I’ve always looked at writing as a kind of therapy,” Lisa said. “But I also learned that you can’t wait to write until you feel creative. I think that’s been my biggest struggle [during the pandemic], if I wait to feel creative, I’m really just not feeling creative. … I’ve had to learn I have to sit down and write.” The post How Lisa Harris Works Through Stress (Episode 14) first appeared on Auth...

“I like to take what’s happening in and around me in our country and use those as ways to make people aware of them,” Margaret said. “In my books, the criminals always get caught, so I see them as a way to help us handle these issues.” The post Why Margaret Daley Writes Happy Endings (Episode 13) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“When I first started, I started writing regular romantic suspense,” Dana said. “In my third book, I started to veer off into Amish adjacent, and what that is some of your characters can be Amish or not, but it’s usually set in Amish settings or there’s some connection with Amish side characters. I’ve had heroes and heroines who were Amish, but I’ve also had cops and paramedics. It doesn’t have to...

“Every since I was a little girl, I loved mysteries—whether it was a Nancy Drew book, a game of Clue or Charlie’s Angels TV show,” Darlene said. “This is what started my love of trying to figure out the mystery, and this is why I love writing romantic suspense.” The post Where Darlene Turner Searches for Plot Inspiration (Episode 11) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“For motivation for writing in general, the biggest thing is writing first thing in the morning,” Dani said. “If I do that, it’s really helpful because nothing else is weighing on my mind. … the afternoons, I do the other stuff like check email, marketing, etc. My advice is to find the most productive writing time of day is for you.” The post How Dani Pettrey Avoids Writing Distractions (Episode 1...

“I’ve always loved suspense. My babysitter when I was probably five years old started me out on Edgar Allen Poe,” David said. “I’ve always thought it really a talent to tell a story that not only keeps the reader engaged but eager to find out what’s happening next.” The post Why David L. Winters Writes About Cars (Episode 9) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“I connect with my readers mostly on social media,” Sharon said. “I’m on Facebook a lot on a group forum and author and book page, and also on Twitter to connect with readers there too.” The post How Sharon K Connell Stays in Touch With Readers (Episode 8) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“I like to explore the unusual,” Tanya said. “And that tends to come out in my books. … We’ve visited some fascinating places, and … I’ve incorporated that into my books.” The post Tanya Stowe On Killing Characters (Episode 7) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“When I started out, I had an outline for writing my books,” Patricia said. “But about three books ago, I couldn’t figure out the outline and had to start writing to figure the book out. I find out as much about my character as I can before I start writing.” The post Patricia Bradley on Cats, Life Happens and BIC (Episode 6) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“The more I write, the more I get to know my characters,” Kimberly said. “As I get to know my characters more, I often will go back and write more things into my story. I also make notes in the margins … to make sure I put everything in.” The post Where Kimberly Rose Johnson Finds Inspiration (Episode 5) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“For me, I’m very much a character-drive plotter,” Sherri said. “If I know my character’s conflict at the beginning, that helps keep the romantic and personal plots in place. Because if I’m ever tempted to stray, I go back to what is their false belief.” The post How Sherri Shackleford Gets to Know Her Characters (Episode 4) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“My favorite thing is to name a book based on a theme, an underlying inspirational theme or character development theme in my books,” Denise said. “I also sometimes choose a name based on a big event that happens in the book.” The post How Denise Weimer Stumbled Into Romantic Suspense (Episode 3) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“We recently downsized and relocated to a tiny house that backs up to woods and forest,” Linda said. “There’s a chair that looks out over the woods. In the summer, I sit on our deck in a chaise lounge overlooking the woods. I find it restive and rejuvenating while I’m working.” The post Linda Shenton Matchett’s Strategy for Writing (Episode 2) first appeared on Author Sarah Hamaker .

“I would advise someone who wanted to write a book to do it—just sit down and write and get it out,” Julie said. “Don’t worry about grammar, don’t worry about spelling or any punctuation—get the English teacher out of your head!—just get it down on paper. … Get into in person or online with a good, supportive critique group." The post The World of Julie B Cosgrove (Episode 1) first appeared on Aut...