Suspense… Romance… Together!

Good morning! I’ve been writing romance for many years. It’s been a wild ride that’s for sure. But now that I’ve added suspense and crime thriller to my list… Let’s just say the ride has gotten wilder. There’s something about building a story that will take the reader on a roller coaster ride of thrills and chills.

Now, writing romance can take you on a wild ride. And when writing any genre, you need to carry your reader on a journey. But with a suspense or thriller novel, there’s another element. It’s the element of breathtaking suspense. The kind that leaves you not knowing what will happen next. It’s the excitement of building a case, then making sure there is a red herring at every corner.

Now, did I throw you for a loop with the ‘red herring’? In a suspense or crime thriller, the red herring is that piece of misleading information or evidence that leads the reader up the wrong path. To me, that’s the fun of the chase. If you give away your criminal or bad person right from the start, then you’ll lose the reader at that point. You have to keep them guessing right up until the end.

What’s fun is that I’ve fell into my own trap while writing these suspense novels. I have to make sure that in my outline, it’s clear who the red herring is and who the bad person is. Or I’ll fall for it too.

So, if you’re wanting to get lost in a mystery, then check out SAFE, the first book in the In Harm’s Way Series. The second book, BROKEN is coming soon…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

When you Water down your Writing…

Good morning! I’ve been reading a suspense romance that I saw in my Amazon feed. It looked really interesting, so I took a chance on this new author. And I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed it. Then when I finished it suggested a book that was supposed to be similar. No… It… Was… Not…

The first book was a edge of your chair, nail biter that had me hooked from word one. It was engaging, bold, and kept me guessing up until the end. But this second one, although it was good, it was not similar because it was as if the author didn’t want to go over the line or say something that would send someone running away. It was watered down and didn’t have the suspense to keep my interest. I did read it to the end, but it left me empty.

So, what about your writing? Is it watered down? Did you add that extra element to keep the interest or did you leave it off to keep up appearances? Now, I’m not saying to go over the line with some things, but in a suspense novel, there needs to be suspense. Hence the word suspense. Leave the reader hanging on your every word. It’s important. So just do it.

End your chapters with a cliffhanger to keep your reader interested. Have a couple of characters get suspected of something they didn’t do. Make your reader go down the wrong trail, only to be snatched back with a zinger. It’s the way a suspenseful novel should be. Be bold and daring.

And that’s why I’m enjoying writing suspense filled romance now. This book has been such an eye opener. The whole series will be all about the edge of the chair, never knowing who done until the end type of books. I want the reader to be hanging on every word. I want them to think it was someone else and find out later that the one they suspected was actually innocent, but the one they thought was innocent was guilty. It’s the kind of writing that gives you a giggle and makes you want to jump out of your seat with excitement.

Now, not everyone likes suspense which is fine, but with my newest series, ‘In Harm’s Way’, I’m adding a dab of romance and some Christian essence to give it a different flare. It’s clean, but edgy. Is that even a thing? For me it is and as I’ve always said, it’s a world from my head, so anything goes.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Safe is coming soon, so keep watching for the release date…

Series or finish in one?

When you’re writing the book and the story just keeps going and going, so you finish the story or do you make it into a series? Series can be a continuation of the same storyline with the same characters, they can be a continuation of characters that in the first book were in the background, or it can be just a continuation of the same type of story but entirely different story. What will it be?

For me a couple of my books have stood alone completely. I knew and felt good with ending them at the words The End. But some of my stories needed more. Some were supposed to be stand alone but the characters just pulled at me to be more. In my latest book, Open The Heart, I originally planned on it being alone. As I delved into the story around 3/4 of the way in I knew it had more to tell. You may be saying why not just go ahead and make it a mega novel with 50,000 or more words, but in some instances it’s good to just end on a cliff hanger, leaving the reader wanting more.

In Victoria I knew at the start that it would be a Saga. I knew as I was writing the first chapter how it would end and I built it up to that major cliff hanger which of course has garnered lots of readers writing to me stating that they were hanging on pins and needles. I just smile and know I did the right thing. It’s had several asking when the next book could be expected. What’s funny is they always ask what happens? I can’t tell you until the next book comes out is always my response.

So, what will you next book be? It’s sometimes a hard question. Does your story line have the stamina to carry on for several books? Does your general premise for the book have series quality? Well, let me know how you figure it out.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…