Recently a friend asked me: why do so many romance authors want to write romantic suspense?
To me the answer is easy—it’s the only genre in romance that gets any respect from other book genres, e.g., horror, espionage, mystery, etc.
Why do I write it? Because it’s what I’ve been reading my whole life! Okay, sure, I read all the Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley books, but when my contemporaries were reading Nancy Drew and Donna Parker, I was reading Mary Stewart and Phyllis A. Whitney. As a writer, I find having that kind of frame around which to build a novel actually makes it easier for me.
Now, if you’re a writer thinking you’d like to dip your toe in, let me tell you something… Romantic Suspense readers are tough. Leaps in logic and other things that might be okay in other genres won’t go over well with them. You have to keep in mind the nature of romantic suspense readers: they scrutinize everything.
You can’t just make shit up. Every detail must be grounded in what’s been established and what exists in either the real world (contemporary romantic suspense) or the world you created (paranormal romantic suspense). You can’t simply invent evidence, equipment, expertise, or facts that haven’t been shown. You can’t assume facts not in evidence (and yes, I am a Law & Order junkie). Characters can only know, see, or conclude what they could realistically know/see/conclude based on what they’ve actually witnessed or learned. Readers are smart. They will catch plot holes, inconsistencies, made-up evidence, and logical leaps. Don’t underestimate them.
