Okay, we have a theme this week and my diversion is . . . I’m writing about something completely different. Which is really the story of my writing life. It took me years to get serious about my writing. Why? Because every time I started a story, I’d get 50-300 pages into it and then . . . get a better idea and start something new.
But I have a good reason for going off on a tangent today. Several authors and I were chatting on-line (okay, there’s MY biggest diversion from writing: the Internet. End of story. See, what a boring post that would be!) . . . anyway, these suspense authors and I were chatting about the difficulty of maintaining a high level of suspense WITH a believable, growing relationship. This balancing act becomes even more difficult when you’re writing a short time frame story–like, oh, 24 hours or so.
I love romantic suspense. I love writing it and reading it. To me, there’s nothing better than a dark, scary suspense book with a fantastic romance that ends in a happily-ever-after . . . the villain gets what’s coming to him, and the hero and heroine ride off together into the proverbial sunset.
Romantic suspense has grown into its own genre. It’s no longer simply a sub-genre of romance. The edges are blurred and romantic suspense has bled into other genres as well. There is erotic romantic suspense; paranormal romantic suspense; historical romantic suspense. And there are huge ranges from light to dark suspense, warm to hot romance. Anything goes, and I think that’s fantastic.
To put this in perspective, look at the fantabulous Nora Roberts. Her “Nora” romantic suspense (ala THE THREE FATES, DIVINE EVIL, etc) while definitely RS are more focused on the relationship. Her JD Robb books, while they definitely have a strong romance, are more focused on the suspense. Both tones are romantic suspense, but you have different levels of suspense.
On the romance side, you’ll find “warm” romances without explicit sex, and “hot” romances with lots of sex. There’s a place for both in the genre. To me, it’s what the story calls for.
For example, in THE PREY, multiple, detailed, hot sex scenes fit the story. In THE HUNT, there were two “warm” scenes between the hero and heroine. Because I put myself deeply into the characters, I couldn’t seem to write the scenes any more explicitly than they were, because it didn’t fit the characters. In THE KILL the scenes hit my hero’s rough-around-the-edges personality, and my heroine’s coming into her own sexuality.
You’ll also find not only different levels of suspense-to-romance, and heat within the romance, but different ranges of grittiness as well. I tend to write more gritty. Not AS dark or gritty as some of the straight suspense writers like Tess Gerritsen and Karin Slaughter, but grittier than what might be considered typical of the romantic suspense genre which is probably why I’m finding my books cross-shelved in romance AND mystery/suspense.
Balancing romance and suspense isn’t always easy. In THE PREY I didn’t have any problems–the story took place over a three week period. The relationship developed naturally, out of proximity and common interests and values. In THE HUNT, it was a reunion–I had a strong backstroy between the hero and heroine and because of that, I could go back and forth between then and now, showing how they first fell in love, what happened to split them apart, and how they found their way back together–all against the primary story of hunting for a killer.
The suspense must be believable. I spend a lot of time in my villain’s head because I want to know why he does what he does, I want to see him fully. No one is evil in a vacuum. They become evil, they may do evil things, but there’s a reason. The villain is the hero of his own journey, he can and will justify everything he does. His rise and fall is as important as the hero and heroine.
Balancing a page-turning suspense with a strong romantic relationship can be tricky. Like in THE KILL, I had to have a realistic time when my hero and heroine could acknowledge their attraction, then act on it. I think I found it, in the lull before the storm so-to-speak, but it took a couple of tries before I got it right.
In the end, though, romantic suspense authors write what they want to read. If they are true to their voice, they’ll be different than what is out there. We don’t need another Lisa Jackson or Linda Howard or Nora Roberts, because new authors will be pale imitations to the originals. We need a unique voice, and romantic suspense offers such a range of romance to suspense that there’s room for many strong voices.
The key is to write for the story, remembering first and foremost that “character is story” and if you’re going to be true to yourself, you’ll let your natural balance control your voice.
I write what I write because I love it. Some people may want more romance, some less, but in the end, if I’m going to be true to MY voice, I write what comes most naturally to me. Anything else will feel artificial. Not only to me, but to my readers.
Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.
What a wonderful post. Being true to your voice is so important, and I am learning to go with that flow in my own writing. I just love your books by the way. Keep those wonderful novels headed our way on the shelves!
Mia Romano
Allison, fab post. I too write romance suspense, though I think mine are geared more toward the romance. Finding a balance is hard. I’ve been told I need to spend more time in the villians head so I do plan to delve into that a bit more.
So funny, Allison, I just wrote about voices on Magical Musings. I remember being impressed when you first sold and your editor said you had a *commercial* voice. LOL, I’m still impressed.
Thanks Mia! I think one of the most difficult things for unpublished writers is finding their voice and trusting it.
Jerri, you’re in good company! Linda Howard writes such fantastic romantic suspense, leaning toward the romance. Jayne Ann Krentz romance novels have suspense or mystery elements, but they’re on the romance side, too. The key is finding YOUR balance, not an arbitrary “rule” based balance that some people insist must be there. If you’re writing more on the romance side, the “rule” is simply your suspense should be believeable. If you’re writing more on the suspense side, the “rule” is you need a happily ever after for the h/h. But the median line changes depending on the author. Good luck in finding yours!
I’ll head over to MM, Edie. I’ve always found the discussion of voices interesting, maybe because it’s something you can’t fake 😉
We, as the reader, oft times live vicariously through the characters in a book. Identifying with their plight, loneliness, desires, and joys. We step into their loves. And revel in the caprice of their lives that are far from our mundane existance. I love unraveling the mystery, when an extremely plausible twist hits me right between the eyes because I.NEVER.SAW.IT.COMING. I hate when a writer’s voice makes it too easy, giving away too much detail. Or when the book wraps up too neatly, or far to conveniently. Or when a writer’s voice assume the reader has too little intellect and talks down to the reader.
We’ve chatted before about implausible sex senerios in a mystery thriller, especially in the 24 hour timeline you touched on. It takes a writer with wide vision and a sense of reality to be able to craft books that bring the reader back, book after book.
I enjoyed the tension between Zack and Olivia. It felt real.
Thanks so much, Cele! I had worried about it for so long, but my best friend read an early copy of the book and she said it was her favorite. That eased my mind.
BTW, I was having a similar problem in my current WIP. (Why do I do this to myself?) but the relationship turned naturally at a moment when I thought all was lost and I was going to have to start from scratch. Huge relief for me. I hope my editor likes it!
Hi Allison – I enjoyed reading your post on balance of romance and suspense. I’m in a struggle (what else when writing?) between character and plot which reminds me of the romance/suspense struggle in the way you framed the development in your three books. My first and 2nd books were plot driven but with strong characters. Now I’m really shifting from plot driven to character driven and it’s driving me crazy. While I know plot (and suspense) matters, apparently I’m shifting away from mainstream RS – to ?? something else. The struggle is to write in a style that I love without succumbing to the protocol for the genre – leaving one perhaps without being pubbed. The balance is the issue here – enough suspense to move the story along but really my focus is on character movement. I’m not sure if any of that made sense, but I’m curious about anyone else shifting focus from plot and how that affects the suspense/romance balance. Judi
Judi: I understood your question (I think!) . . . and I think the answer is actually very simple. All stories are character driven. It’s the choices that the characters make, their reaction to the situation they find themselves in, and the actions they take. Even doing nothing is a reaction and shows character. Character driven stories are the most popular in fiction because readers need to relate to the protagonist before they can become invested in the story. Just because a book is character driven doesn’t mean that there is no plot. I think my books are character driven. Yes, there’s a plot, but the characters MAKE the story. It’s because of who the characters are that the suspense works. If readers didn’t care what happened to Olivia and Zack in THE KILL, it would simply be another police procedural. But because of their individual backstories, and their motivation to solve this particular series of crimes, the reader was more invested in the outcome.
So write the character-driven story and see what happens. (BTW: good plots are nice, but it’s characters that sell the story.)
Allison, nice post! I can relate with my mysteries in trying to balance the mystery and romance AND keep the story moving at a fast pace. And I like your comment about–“…good plots are nice, but it’s the characters that sell the story.” That’s the truth!
Excellent post, Allison. I just finished reading “The Hunt” and thoroughly enjoyed the balance between romance and suspense. I find that this may be one of the most difficult genres to blend with romance. Dare I say that the first few books in the JD Robb series were not as well done in the suspense area? All the other wonderful Roberts elements were there, but the crimes were not as well developed. By the fourth book…what a difference!
A project that I’m working on now seems to be turning into a romantic paranormal with elements of suspense!
Jen, I can’t even remember how many agents and editors I’ve heard/read who say that characters are the most important thing in a book. Donald Maass in his BREAKOUT book talks about the “character-driven story” as being essential to a breakout novel. 99% of the time it’s true.
Hi Jeanne! Thanks for the kind words about THE HUNT. I agree about the Robb books. I love Nora’s single title books (THREE FATES is one of my all-time fave books) . . . but the JD Robb books are getting better and better. It’s rare to have a series as long-running as this one to consistently improve. Everytime I finish one of the books, I think to myself, “I’m not worthy.” That woman rocks.
Like I said in my post, romantic suspense is its own genre, so layer on other elements like the paranormal and start blending! Good luck, (BTW I love the masthead on your website 🙂
Wonderful post, Allison! In book one of Bobbie Faye, the time span is one day — about 16 hours total. There is a lot of suspense (though this is an action/caper with humor…there’s suspense, but it’s not gritty). In that time frame there is a potential love triangle evolving, and I had a lot of fun with showing the heat / chemistry between the new guy and Bobbie Faye. However, in the next book, the time frame will be a little longer, and I’m still debating just how hot that heat is going to get. I’m a little intimidated at having to write a hot sex scene! LOL. Sort of made me wish I’d stuck to the 1 day structure. 😉
I’m so looking forward to Bobbie Faye!
With a series, you have a lot more flexibility (look at Stephanie Plum!) so I wouldn’t worry about the sex scenes . . . as Karin will tell you, sexual tension is even more important!