A Conversation With V.B. Tenery

10038915801151CDPAward-winning author, V. B. Tenery lives in East Texas. Her passion is writing inspirational fiction with shining characters, settings, and plots so exciting readers come away feeling delighted with the experience. When not writing she enjoys reading, hiking, and tubing down rivers in the Texas Hill Country.

What’s the hardest part of writing romantic suspense?
V.B.: The most difficult part of writing romantic suspense for most authors is to keep the characters real and the story from being trite. I personally dislike mushy romantic plots. By mushy, I mean where the male/female protagonists are always thinking how sexy the other one is and how they can’t keep their hands of each other. I try to have natural interactions between the two that fits the scene. If someone is trying to kill you, I don’t think reactions would hormonal. As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and that is especially true in fiction. Finding a fresh approach to the plot is always a challenge.

How do you connect with your characters?
V.B.: That’s a good question, and I don’t always make a connection immediately. I have a romantic suspense series, and as the storyline has developed through multiple novels, I’ve gotten to know them intimately, but the connection didn’t happen right away. The deeper I went into their feeling and goals, the more I began to know them inside-out. In a couple of my standalone novels, there has been an immediate connection that I can’t explain. The young genius, Grace Sullivan, in Deathwatch, was such a connection, as was Mercy Lawrence, a kidnap victim, in Dead Ringer. When that happens, I find the writing flows easily and I finish those novels much faster. When I struggle to know who my characters really are, it slows down my muse.

Current book: Deathwatch
DEATHWATCH Front cover3 thumbnailIn Deathwatch, an MI6 agent, Scotland Yard inspector, and a young American genius search for a killer during the London Blitz.

Connect w/V.B.
Website: www.vbtenery.com
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/teneryherrin
FB Author Page:  www.facebook.com/vbtenery