The Romantic Side of Suspense Author/Coach/Encourager Sarah Hamaker


Terri Reed Flips Reality on its Head (Episode 40)
“I find inspiration everywhere I can,” Terri says. “When I’m watching TV, I think, ‘Oh, that’s kind of an interesting thing that they did, but what if I did this instead?’ I’m always looking at newsfeeds and headlines, then taking the idea of whatever that headline is and flipping it around into something feasible, that could happen in real life. But it is fiction and we get to have some license.”

Lisa Carter’s Writing Dance (Episode 39)
“When you write romantic suspense, there are three story threads that you’ve got to weave together,” Lisa says. “There’s the romantic tension between your characters in which they’ve got to overcome certain obstacles that threaten their relationship. Then you’ve also got the thread of suspense where the characters are trying to either find a killer or escape, a killer or someone will die. And because I write from a Christian worldview, there’s also the spiritual thread that is running through my novels, where the characters are coming to grips with God’s invitation for a relationship. I’m weaving together these three story tension threads between the spiritual and the romantic and the suspense and it’s kind of a little dance to get them all, to come out together in the end.”

Elizabeth Goddard’s Writing Dream (Episode 38)
“I actually worked in corporate America in my twenties, and I traveled all over the country,” Elizabeth, adding that she quit to stay home with her first child. “During that time, I decided that I wanted to focus on my dream of writing. … Now it’s my full-time job, where I have word counts and marketing/promotion I have to hit every day.”

How Mary Alford’s Preteen Writing Fuels Her Today (Episode 37)
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve always liked to read,” Mary said. “I started reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I loved the mystery and suspense of those. From there, I graduated to Victoria Holt, Phyliss Whitney, Mary Stuart. I was a preteen when I first decided to try my hand at writing what I loved to read. It looked so easy! I wrote my first book, which was terrible and full of cliches and sappy romance. Those stories lit a fire in me. Many years fell in-between before I started writing again.”

September 2021 New Releases in Christian Fiction
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary/Women’s Fiction: The Gathering Table by Kathryn Springer — Winsome Lake, Wisconsin, is postcard pretty, but for personal chef Jessica Keaton it’s also a last resort. Fired from her dream job, Jess is starting over as a live-in cook and […]
Getting to Know Tanya Stowe
Tanya Stowe is a Christian Fiction author with an unexpected edge. She is a Publisher’s Weekly Bestselling Author who fills her books with the unusual…mysteries and exotic travel, even a murder or two. No matter where Tanya takes you…on a train down a mountain or a suspenseful journey packed with danger…be prepared for the extraordinary. […]

August 2021 New Releases in Christian Fiction
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Amish Romance: The Cowboy’s Amish Haven by Pamela Desmond Wright — Her home and her heart are on the line…On the same day Gail Schroder’s faced with losing her Amish family ranch, her old crush Levi Wyse shows up on […]
Getting to Know Darlene L. Turner
Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning and best-selling author from Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message. Why did you […]
