For those of you like me who write and read romantic suspense, I'd like to share how I do it. Each
book in my Donahue Cousins series is stand-alone but follows Irish American heroes. My third book, Bittersweet Alliance,
is a new release.
To keep the suspense and tension building in my
stories I start with a list of ten situations that get in the way of my main
characters’ goals. One method for
increasing the pace of either the suspense or the romance is to select
conflicts and make them worse. Danger is
always approaching, and a villain has concrete goals. When nearing the end, I compact frightening scenes. This creates
a sense of urgency. The reader senses this because I’ve picked up the pace.
In a romantic suspense the hero and heroine attempt to solve the
mystery while time is running out. They’re attracted to each other and worry
about each other’s safety. I want my reader to worry, too. A red herring or other complication keeps the reader
guessing until the very end. Surprise endings evolve from the hero or the
heroine’s success against the villain. What
about the romance? Hints along the way point to the possibility of falling and
staying in love. How they work things
out comes with huge effort. Throwing
hurts in the way keeps the reader engaged. Bittersweet Alliance is a
reunion story between a woman who steps back when she learns the hero is named
in a paternity lawsuit. Although she’s
in love, she does the right thing by stepping back to allow him to work things
out with the mother and baby who is Down Syndrome. The hero and father who not only loves his
daughter but is proud of her. He puts her first. I enjoy writing strong, good
people in messy situations.
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