Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

"Eeeeeeeeee."

Okay, so in July Romancing the Genres will be spotlighting some great Romantic Suspense authors. This is a genre that makes me quiver simply thinking of it. The closest I've gotten to writing in this genre were the first few lines of my Free Read from the Genre-istas in May:

An animal-like scream pierced the air and Julia dove for cover. A bloody hand descended, edging over the desk where she trembled in fear. It was gnarled with age and lord knew what else. Feet kicking out in front of her, Julie scrabbled back into the corner, as far as she could get from the zombie looking appendage. It was no use. The fingers caught the hem of her apron and began to pull.

“Cut. That’s it for today.”

My main character, an actress, goes on to live a very normal, contemporary life (to read more check out the full, two part story, at http://freereadsfromthegenre-istas.blogspot.com/2014/05/Birthday-Promises.html)

So, suffice to say I am not a writer of suspense any more than I am a writer of code. Both scare the bejeezus out of me. Yesterday I was hanging out with another mom at a competition both of our daughters are in this weekend, and asked her what she was reading. I wish I'd gotten the author and name for all of you potential suspense readers. But suffice to say the title had the word 'Blood' in it.

I asked if she liked suspense and she said, she loved it... the darker the better. But even the idea of reading it gives me nightmares. I sincerely respect this genre, though. Just like reading sweet romance gives us a chance to express our hopes and dreams, reading romantic suspense puts these feelings into the very real context of extreme despair and redemption. 

So come back in July to read more about our guest authors. I'll be checking in with each of them to find out how dark their stories are and discovering the page numbers to skip in order to keep from being awake all night dreaming of bloody, gnarled hands on dark handsome strangers.