Linda Trout Talks About Writing Romantic Suspense

Thank you, Jackie for having me on Cozy Mysteries and Other Madness. I feel right at home among mystery writers since I also have an infinity for killing off people. On paper at least. {wink} When some of my friends and former co-workers read my first book, Grave Secrets, they couldn't believe I’d written it.

Where did that come from, they’d ask. You’re so sweet and nice so how did you think of such a dark character?

Um….

I think everyone who writes mysteries knows there’s a bit of a dark side to all of us. It’s a matter of tapping into it, then transferring that to paper.

I love putting my hero and heroine through their paces; throwing them into dangerous places, then proceed to make it worse.

Romantic Suspense Novel

 In Last Hope Alaska, my latest release from The Wild Rose Press, I’ve done exactly that. I keep throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them. Oh, wait. I think I even threw the metaphorical sink at them in the end. J  But being the romantic that I am, they had to have their Happy Ever After, even if they are a bit banged up. I suppose that’s why I write romance as opposed to straight mystery, that HEA.

Blurb:

Emily Redfern's ex-fiancé learned to kill on the back streets of New York. Now, she is his target. Broke, exhausted, and a step ahead of the man she once loved, she clings to one last hope: the wilds of Alaska. The quiet safety of her hide-a-way becomes addictive as she grows to care for the man who offers her refuge.

Released from prison after a wrongful conviction, native Alaskan Sam Tarkington is determined to regain his business, repair his reputation, and rebuild his life. But when he meets a desperate and vulnerable woman, guarding secrets of her own, she tugs at his heart. She's a distraction he can't afford. Sam must choose Emily or achieving his dreams.

Like Emily's life, the peacefulness of the wilderness is an illusion as danger lurks in the distance. Does Sam hold the key to her survival or will her past cost them everything?

Thank you again for having me, Jackie. I’ve enjoyed visiting. My book is available everywhere eBooks are sold and the print version is also available. I’d love to hear from your readers and can be reached on my website: http://LindaTrout.com or Like me on Facebook at http://facebook.com/LindaTroutAuthor/

TWRP: http://tinyurl.com/ptbzymx

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DAY 8-MYSTERY WE WRITE HOLIDAY BLOG TOUR WITH BETH ANDERSEN

Greetings to all my friends. I’m delighted you’ve stopped by on this 8^th day of our MYSTERY WE WRITE HOLIDAY BLOG TOUR. Remember: our 15-member tour group is giving away over 50 FREE BOOKS during this tour. For a chance to win one (or more) of these mysteries, visit each blog and leave a comment.

Today’s featured mystery writer is Beth Anderson, a multi-published, award winning author in several genres including romance and mainstream crime fiction. A full time author, she now lives in Washington state. Beth has appeared on Chicago's WGN Morning Show, The ABC Evening News, as well as numerous other radio and cable television shows. She has guest lectured at Purdue University, Moraine Valley College, and many libraries and writers' conferences.

Now I’m turning the virtual podium over to Beth Anderson:

Beth Anderson

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Sub-Genres

by Beth Anderson

This is a continuation of two other blogs by me in this tour explaining, for the new writer, the differences in different types of mysteries, depending on the sub-genre. Today we start with LEGAL, MEDICAL, and HISTORICAL:

Big, Big, Big on the market. These are often six-figure advance books, folks. As with the police procedural, accuracy in a legal, medical or historical mystery is crucial to weaving a believable plot. You have to do some serious research to be able to write one of these and make it believable if you’re not already a lawyer or doctor or historian.

These books are loaded with legal and medical or historical terminology, although as with anything else, this shouldn’t be overdone because you don’t want to irritate your reader. If you’re a pro at any of these jobs and can toss out the jargon naturally, you’ll be okay. The lay person is going to have a tougher time at this and dialog is the main place where he’s going to fail if he’s going to.

So be aware, if you’re not a pro at one of these professions, better allow yourself lots of time for editing your dialog till it sounds perfect to someone who is a pro, and have one check it. Remember, the editor who may be interested in this type of book has read hundreds of them, maybe more, and this editor will spot phony dialog in a heartbeat. So be aware of that and have it checked out first.

To add to all of this, the main sub-genres have split out into sub-sub-genres. Confused? Don’t be. That simply means using careers like quilting, gardening, cooking, dog sled racing, cleaning establishments, and other main elements, which have become a big part of the cozy scene.

Police procedurals have also split out, now featuring different types of law enforcement agencies, for instance National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, etc.

Now we come to some new sub-sub categories, which aren’t strictly traditional mysteries as we’ve discussed them above. How about the Woo Woo category, which contains supernatural elements? My newest book, RAVEN TALKS BACK, contains some supernatural/paranormal elements even though it's a mainstream mystery.

Raven Talks Back

You have to be careful with supernatural and paranormal elements so that the book will be believable. Remember, your mystery reader is pretty sophisticated about normal mysteries anyhow, and a paranormal mystery will have to be able to make that same reader suspend disbelief in a big way.

One of the tricks to writing this type of book is to not overdo the drama. Over-explaining can actually wreck the whole thing. Not easy to do, which is why I wanted to do it. Just writing it and making sure I got it right so it would be completely believable had me a little spooked, but the way I wrote it, the supernatural things just are what they are and I never tried to explain them other than what went on in the book. I believed them when I wrote them and I think that has made it come across as believable to people who’ve read it. Your mileage may vary, but I’ve never had anyone challenge me on the paranormal elements in RAVEN TALKS BACK. (So far…;-)

Links for Beth Anderson books:

Website:  http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com

Blog:  http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com/blog

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/bethanderson43

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Beth-Anderson/e/B000APMRR4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Barnes & Noble:  http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Raven-Talks-Back/Beth-Anderson/e/2940012515407/?itm=1&USRI=beth+anderson#MeetTheWriter

Also available at your favorite independent bookstores nationwide.

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Thanks, Beth for stopping by. I loved your article on sub-genres and I know our readers have, too.

I’ve read RAVEN TALKS BACK myself, and loved every minute.

Remember Folks, our 15-member tour group is giving away over 50 FREE BOOKS during our tour. For a chance to win one (or more) of these mysteries, visit each blog and leave a comment.

I’ll be giving away a signed copy of THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE and another of FOXY STATEHOOD HENS AND MURDER MOST FOWL, a collection of 3 novellas. My story, “The Spinster, the Pig, and the Orphan,” is a Historical Mystery set in 1889 Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory. To get your name in the hat for my free books, leave a comment below.

 Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for another mysterious writer.

Hugs,

Jackie