The Romantic Side of Suspense Author/Coach/Encourager Sarah Hamaker
How Lisa Phillips Weaves an Interconnected World (Episode 66)
“I think I’m kind of incapable of writing anything that’s not connected to everything else in some way,” Lisa said. “But I think it’s fun as a reader to get a glimpse of somebody who’s a side character who makes a phone call or sees somebody on the street and it’s somebody you know [from a previous book] … It’s so fun to see snippets of these characters you love years later.”
The Character Development of Jodie Bailey and Laurie Wood (Episode 65)
“You want the name to match the personality a little bit,” Laurie said. The first name she selected for a character was “too soft. I wanted it to be a little bit more … punchy than that. So I renamed her with a stronger name.”
“I’m a character first writer,” Jodie said. “Sometimes, the characters will start talking before I know what the story’s going to be, so I have to figure out where to put them in the story.”
Finding the Perfect Location With Lisa Harris and Jessica R Patch (Episode 64)
“I see the setting almost like another character,” Lisa said. “The setting depends on what your book is about. I know a lot of readers love small towns. In a big city, it’s harder to write suspense because [the character can just] go to the police station. So to make it more remote, it’s almost a given for romantic suspense.”
“I did a lot of research of Texas and the setting and sometimes, that helps me decide what could happen in this part of Texas,” Jessica said. “And it kind of snowballs from there.”
The Milky History of Danielle Grandinetti’s Romantic Suspense (Episode 63)
“The story was originally contemporary romantic suspense but it was missing something,” Danielle says. A few years ago, “Wisconsin started having a milk shortage with farmers having to dump their milk [because there wasn’t a market for it]. … I learned that’s not the first time that’s happened. There was actually a huge milk strike in 1933. … So I took my contemporary romantic suspense and set it [back then] and it just brought it to life.”
Getting to Know Darlene L. Turner
Award-winning author Darlene L. Turner recently stopped by my newsletter and blog to share some about her writing life. Plus, she’s giving away two ebooks of her most recent romantic suspense, Fatal Forensic Investigation, exclusively for my newsletter readers. See below for details. Why did you start writing romantic suspense novels? I always loved mystery/suspense […]
June 2022 New Releases in Christian Fiction
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Contemporary Romance: A Time for Singing by Carol James — Charlee Bennett is running from her past. Once deserted by her musician ex-fiancé, she’s vowed to avoid anything that reminds her of the pain of his betrayal. Chance Jackson is […]
Getting to Know Shannon Redmon
Multi-published author Shannon Redmon recently stopped by my blog to share some about her writing life. Why did you start writing romantic suspense novels? I’ve always loved to write stories or create characters and conversations in my head so why not put them on paper in story form? I chose romantic suspense because that’s what […]
My appearance on Good Morning Washington!
I was thrilled to talk about fostering on Good Morning Washington/ABC 7 this week as part of National Foster Care Month. Click here to watch the short video segment.
