The Romantic Side of Suspense

“I mainly live in the 1800s [in my books], and I’ve always wanted to write romantic suspense,” Penny said. “I love reading it. My grandfather was a police officer with the San Diego Police Department, and he had amazing stories to tell us. So I thought why not try my hand at writing one? Of course, I fell in love with [writing romantic suspense].”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from three authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for June 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Laura Thomas/The Final Word (6/5) Darlene Turner/Echoes of Darkness (6/24) Sally Jo Pitts/Sweet Double-Cross

“The real answer to that is my playlist,” Cate said about what she needs to write. “Because one of the first things I do when I start a new book is to find the music I need that connects me with the characters and the story.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from four authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for May 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Jessica Ashley/Echo Jamie Jo Wright/The Tempest at Annabel’s Lighthouse Megan Besing/Rescued Heart (May 13) Terri Reed/Standing Watch (May 27)

During this special episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from 13 authors in the Long Hot Summer: Christian Romantic Suspense collection. The four volumes will release May 2 through July 4 with ebook as well as print versions. You can check out the series here. Sami Abrams/Mine Jersuha Agen/Trapped Jessica Ashley/Lima Sara Blackard/Tracked Secrets Jenna Brandt/Branded by...

“Adding in those emotional layers [is the hardest part for me in writing romantic suspense],” Kelly said. “You can have a suspenseful theme, and that’s great, but you also need to have some romantic tension as well. So knowing when to add in certain beats and how to layer those emotions [can be difficult]. You just want characters people care about.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from seven authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“[I like writing romantic suspense] because there’s no lull,” Jeannine said. “If things start getting boring in this genre, you can throw in a car chase or gun shots can ring out and then you’re off on another leg of your adventure.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for March 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Sarah Hamaker/Justice Denied (3/18) Jerusha Agen/Waylaid (3/27) Jane Daly/Lipstick and Gunpowder (3/15) Kristen Hogrefe Parnell/Watch Your Back L...

“I have a bit of a wanderlust in me, and every know and then, I think where are we going to move next?” Christina said. “My husband’s retired now and he said, ‘I don’t know that we’re moving again.’ That gives me a little bit of fear sometimes.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for February 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Jennifer Chastain/Lethal Connections Terri Reed/Trained to Protect (2/25) Robin Patchen/Protecting You Sarah Sundin/Midnight on the Scottish S...

“I am a romance junkie—any kind of romance,” Jennifer said. “But if I’m going to sit down and watch a show, it’s always been a mystery, a murder, a crime. There’s going to be something that needs solving. So when I started writing, … I realized writing romantic suspense is just as fun as watching it on TV.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from five authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“I have a one-year-old in one hand and type with [the other] hand, and then I have a three-year-old next to me on the couch,” Jessica said. “They can be kind of tricky but it works for me. … I try to [write for] two, two-and-a-half hours but sometimes the baby tries to delete with his feet what I’m writing because he wiggles in his sleep.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from five authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for November 2024, with the book’s release date if not available now. Terri Reed/Search and Detect Jaime Jo Wright/Specters in the Glass House Katy Lee/K-9 Christmas Guardians (11/27) Danielle Grandinetti/Invest...

“I hardly will ever order hot tea when I’m out because I know it won’t be good enough. … I worked in a tea room and that kind of spoiled me for properly brewed tea,” she said. As for writing romantic suspense, “ultimately it’s because that’s what I most love to read. So I already loved the genre, and when I had an idea for my first book, that’s what I naturally gravitated to.”

“I’m a huge reader,” Shelley said. “I’m always drawn to mysteries, romantic suspense, thrillers—I find those books fun to read. Even though I do write a lot of straight romances, I love to have a romance suspense book in my back pocket. … It was fun as a writer to keep the pace going.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from three authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for October 2024, with the book’s release date if not available now. Kelly Underwood/Guarding Truth (10/15) Jessica West/Deadly Stalker Kimberly Woodhouse/70 North (10/15)

“There’s only character I sort of regret killing off,” Amanda said. “But it had to happen for the story. I just loved this character so much and I enjoyed writing the character in The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocer and he has a tragic ending to his story.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“There’s so much in ordinary, everyday life that can create this micro tension. There’s huge tension, like car chases and things like that, but what I really enjoy is micro tension, like a conversation where two people don’t quite agree,” Joanna said. “It’s those common, everyday things that readers can identify with what they’re going through but you still get a lot of tension in there.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“The hardest part of writing romantic suspense for me is ensuring I don’t reveal the identity of the villain too soon but at the same time, I need to plant enough clues that when the reader discovers who the villain is, she goes, ‘Oh, of course, that makes sense,’” Amanda said. “It’s that balancing act that I find to be the hardest part.”

“There’s a coffeeshop near me that is perfect for me—I actually like to be in a noisy place because it makes me concentrate on what I’m working on,” Janice said. “I find that if it’s too quiet, I want to do anything but write. So I go to this coffeehouse when it first opens, sit down with a cup of coffee and open my [laptop], and that’s usually where I do my best, most productive work.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from five authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.