Why Mary Alford and Robin Patchen Ensure Good Triumphs Over Evil in Their Books (Episode 71)
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” my guests are Mary Alford and Robin Patchen. Among other topics, we discussed how good and evil are played out on the pages of our books.
“We see enough of the other kind of stories where the bad guy doesn’t get his in the end,” Robin said. “I like what they call whole stories, where good is good and bad is bad and good wins. I like to write whole stories.”
“We live in a very fallen world, and it’s nice to get away from the reality that evil doesn’t always get punished right now,” Mary said. “It’s good to have books where the hero and heroine have everything worked out in the end, the bad guy gets punished and there’s usually a happily ever after at the end of the story.”
Mary is a USA Today bestselling author. Her titles have been finalists for several awards, including the Daphne du Maurier, the Beverly, the Maggie, and the Selah. She and her husband live in the heart of Texas in the middle of 70 acres with two cats and one dog.
Connect w/Mary
Website: https://maryalford.net/
Facebook: @ MaryAlfordAuthor/
Twitter: @maryalford13
Robin is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, the setting of her Nutfield Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. Working in marketing and public relations, she discovered how much she loathed the nine-to-five ball and chain. After relocating to the Southwest, she started writing her first novel while she homeschooled her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability. Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings. When she’s not writing, she’s editing or reading, proving that most of her life revolves around the 26 letters of the alphabet.
Connect w/Robin
Website: https://robinpatchen.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobinPatchen/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/robin-patchen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5187882.Robin_Patchen
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Robin-Patchen/e/B00A289790/
Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus teasers for Among the Innocent and Lineage of Corruption.
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” I’m chatting with Sami Abrams, who grew up hating to read. It wasn’t until her 30s that she found authors that captured her attention. Now, most evenings you can find her engrossed in a romantic suspense. In her opinion, a crime and a little romance is the recipe for a great story. She lives in Northern California, but she will always be a Kansas girl at heart. She has a love of sports, family, and travel. However, a cabin at Lake Tahoe writing her next story is definitely at the top of her list.
Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Impending Strike.
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” my guests are Dana Mentink and Terri Reed. Among other things, we chatted about the dangers of exploring Death Valley with GPS and introducing too many characters at once.
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” my guest is Shannon Redmon, who remembers the first grown-up book she checked out from the neighborhood bookmobile. A Victoria Holt novel with romance, intrigue, dashing gentlemen and ballroom parties captivated her attention. For her mother, the silence must have been a pleasant break from non-stop teenage chatter, but for Shannon, those stories whipped up a desire and passion for writing.
Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Secrets Left Behind.
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” I’m talking with Michele Chynoweth and Michele Olson, who each shared how they incorporate faith and suspense into their books.
Michele Chynoweth is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Faithful One, The Peace Maker, The Runaway Prophet, The Jealous Son, and The Wise Man, contemporary suspense novels that re-imagine Bible stories. Michele is also a sought-after public speaker who has addressed a variety of writers’ conferences and other organizations across the country, a professional editor and book coach, college writing instructor and founder of “Your Book Done Right” Master Class and Elite Coaching. A former news reporter and marketing director, she’s a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and lives with her husband in North East, Maryland.
Incorporating her work as an artist and a voice professional into her writing whenever she can, she enjoys creative endeavors of all genres and fueling faith with fiction. She speaks to groups about authentic living and creativity and teaches doodling and sketch noting in seminars to build engagement, retention, and pure fun to everyone. She works within the creative imprint of Lake Girl Publishing.
