The Romantic Side of Suspense

On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” my guest is Terri Reed, whose romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publisher’s Weekly top 12, Nielsen’s Bookscan top 50, Amazon Bestseller and featured in USA Today. Her books have been finalists in Romance Writers of America RITA contest, National Readers’ Choice Award, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award and finalists three times in American Christian Fiction Writers The Carol Award contest. Her novel A Family Under the Christmas Tree was adapted into a Hallmark movie retitled Picture a Perfect Christmas.

“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.”

Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Terri’s Alaskan Rescue.

Connect w/Terri
Website: http://www.terrireed.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrireedauthorpage/
Goodreads: https://wwwgoodreads.com/author/show/178940.Terri_Reed
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/terri-reed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrireedauthor/
Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/o4x4h1
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Terri-Reed/e/B001H9VYCQ%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” my guest is multi-published author Lisa Carter, who likes to describe her romantic suspense novels as “Sweet Tea with a Slice of Murder.” The Stronghold won a 2017 Daphne du Maurier. Under a Turquoise Sky won the 2015 Carol Award. Beyond the Cherokee Trail was a Romantic Times Top Pick. She also writes contemporary romance with Love Inspired, the popular Matchmaker series, set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Lisa enjoys traveling and researching her next fictional adventure. A native North Carolinian, she has strong opinions on barbecue and ACC basketball.

“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.”

Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Lisa’s The Sound of Falling Leaves.

Connect w/Lisa
Website: http://www.lisacarterauthor.com/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lisa-carter
Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/g0y9n5
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Carter/e/B00BF1FGPC?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4&qid=1617370912&sr=8-4

On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” I’m chatting with Joanna White, a Christian author and fangirl. Hunter and Shifter are the first two books in the Valiant Series, published by Ambassador International. In December 2019, one of her short stories was featured in Once Upon A Yuletide, a Christmas fairy tale anthology by Divination Publishing. Dark Magi, book one of the Republic Chronicles, came out in November 2019. Glimpses of Time and Magic, a historical fantasy anthology, also featured one of her stories. The Crystal Heist is her most recent release.

She graduated from Full Sail University with a BFA in creative writing for entertainment. Ever since she was 10, she’s been writing stories and has a deep passion for writing and creating stories, worlds, characters, and plots that readers can immerse themselves in. In 2020, she reached her personal goal of writing a million words in a year. Most of all, Joanna loves God, her family, staying at home, and being a total nerd.

“I’m a full-time author and I write all the time,” Joanna said. “My goal for 2020 was to write a million words just with my novels that hit at least 50,000 words. I had a lot of books or series that I wanted to start or complete or work on. … January 1, 2020, I started the challenge, and by July 23, I had completed the challenge. I’ve written 15 books and since then, I’ve written two more.”

Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Volcano.

Connect w/Joanna
Website: authorjoannawhite.com
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/jwwarriors