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.
Under Susie May Warren’s Sunrise Publishing, Sami worked with Lynette Eason in the Elite Guardians story world developed by Lynette in a previous series. “Lynette is my mentor for this book,” Sami said. “We collaborate as far as brainstorming, but she does help me if I run into a problem. … And she’s also the one editing it, so it’s a Lynette-style book.”
Multi-published author Dani Pettrey recently stopped by my newsletter and blog to share some about her writing life.
Why did you start writing romantic suspense novels? My love for mysteries began when I read Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie when I was eight, and my enjoyment of whodunnits and suspense stories has remained strong ever since. When I was a young adult, I started reading romance novels, and while I thoroughly enjoyed them, I missed the puzzle of solving a mystery. I missed the adrenaline rush of watching the couple falling in love in the throes of danger, and seeing their love grow stronger through it. Romantic suspense combines both genres I love and wraps them up in one satisfying story.
What is your favorite spot for reading or reflecting on your current work-in-progress? I’m at my favorite place while I type this. My happy place and sweet spot for writing or reflecting on my work-in-progress is the beach, hands down. There’s something so soothing yet inspiring being by God’s majestic creation. The rhythmic splash of the waves and the squawk of seagulls in the air still my thoughts on everything else and allow me to put my full focus on my story. I often head to the beach near my book deadlines to have a “story power week,” as I call it. I write close to double my daily word count while at the ocean. Thankfully, I have a gracious friend with a beach house, so I’m able to visit often.
What’s your go-to when you need a pick-me-up to keep writing? Starbucks. Actually, any coffee beverage. I’m a self-proclaimed coffee fanatic, especially when it comes to long writing days. When I need a breath of fresh air, I’ll hop in the car and open the sunroof (weather-depending) and head for a Starbucks run. The combo of a scenic ride and some strong espresso always brings me back to my desk refreshed and ready to go.
What does your family think of your writing romantic suspense? They think we have very interesting discussions at the dinner table as I plot ways to hide a body or talk through the best way to stalk someone. Don’t worry, my kids are adults. In all honesty, they take it in stride and buy me coffee mugs that say things like: Pay no attention to my browsing history. I’m a writer, not a serial killer.
About Dani Publishers Weekly and #1 Amazon bestselling author Dani Pettrey has sold 800,000 copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance.
A painful secret that threatens to tear two hearts apart.
CGIS Agent Noah Rowley is rocked to the core when several of his valued team members come under fire on his Coast Guard base. He and his remaining team race to the scene and end the attack, but not before innocent lives are lost. Furious and grief-stricken, he vows to do whatever is needed to bring the mastermind behind the attack to justice.
Stunned by the ambush, Coast Guard flight medic Brooke Kesler evacuates in a helicopter carrying the only surviving gunman. The gravely wounded man whispers mysterious information to Brooke that immediately paints a target on her back.
As Brooke and Noah race to uncover answers, emotions between them ignite. Noah struggles to protect Brooke at all costs and to conceal the secret that prevents him from becoming what he longs to be—the right man for her.
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.
“You can’t really hand over your brain to any electronic,” Dana said. “I say that as somebody who’s lost all the time—I’m perpetually lost everywhere.”
“You don’t want people to have to have a roadmap to get through your book,” Terri said. “That’s the beauty of series, though. You can introduce a seemingly throwaway character in the first book that’s going to be very, very important later.”
Dana is a USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author as well as a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, and the recipient of a Holt Medallion. She’s written over fifty titles in the suspense, lighthearted romance and mystery genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, Harlequin Heartwarming and Poisoned Pen Press.
Award-winning, multi-published author Terri found solace from a chaotic childhood in the pages of books that took her far away to different realms and realities. When she discovered Christian fiction, she also discovered her own story telling voice. Now she writes books of heart-warming romance and heart-pounding suspense infused with faith. Her romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publisher’s Weekly top ten and Nielsen BookScan top hundred lists, and have been featured in USA Today. She’s a member of the Honor Roll of Romance Writers of America. Her books have finaled in Romance Writers of America RITA contest, National Readers’ Choice Award, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, and the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award. One of her romance novels was adapted into a Hallmark movie for Christmas 2019. Terri resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and running the agility course with her Australian shepherd.
Thank you to all who participated in this blog tour & giveaway. Our winners are:
Grand Prize: Kimberly S.
First Prize: Phyllis H.
Happy Christmas in July! Welcome to the 2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway, which runs July 15-22, 2022 (contest closes at 8 p.m. Eastern on 7/22). At the bottom of each author’s blog post, you will find the name of a Christmas song. Write them all down and provide the provide all song titles (26 in total) on this Google form. See below for a list with links of all participating authors or stop by each blog for the next author link!
Note: You must grab all the song titles from every author in the 2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway to be eligible to win the grand prize of a $520 Amazon gift card, plus a copy of each participating author’s book OR first place prize of a copy of each participating author’s book. At the end of this blog post is a link to the next blog, and so on, to the final blog post (26 authors in all).
The weather and letters played a large part in my Christmas novella, Mistletoe & Murder. First the weather, because isn’t that the topic of conversation we often start with when meeting new acquaintances? I set the story in the fictitious town of Twin Oaks, placed in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Being in the South, Virginia weather at Christmastime can be unpredictable, but not in the way winter weather is unpredictable elsewhere. No, here in the Old Dominion, we’ve had Christmas Day highs in the 70s and snow on rare occasions. Often, the entire month of December can be rather mild, with temperatures not dipping below forty. I used that local knowledge (I’m a Virginia born and raised and lived in the state nearly my entire life) in my story to show why a particular plant would still be green in December when in other parts of the country, it would already died for the season.
Now the letters. I incorporated a Cyrano de Bergerace storyline as an integral part of the plot. As a writer, I’ve always been intrigued by the story of two people falling in love through letters. When my husband and I were dating, we wrote a lot of emails back and forth—one of the modern-day equivalent of letters! One of my daughters loves the movie, “You’ve Got Mail,” which is one of many iterations of the Cyrano de Bergerace. There was even a recent musical called “Cyrano” too. In Mistletoe & Murder, the letters happened offstage, and are only referenced as part of the background of the current happenings.
Here’s more about Mistletoe & Murder. Don’t forget to grab the song title and enjoy the rest of your tour.
Alec Stratman comes home to Twin Oaks, Virginia, after his Army retirement to contemplate his reentry into civilian life. Instead he’s greeted with the murder of his beloved Great-Aunt Heloise.
For Isabella Montoya, the loss of Heloise Stratman Thatcher goes beyond the end of a job. Heloise had encouraged Isabella to follow her dreams and helped fund her studies. Now, accused of her mentor’s murder, Isabella is scrambling to prove her innocence.
Since his great-aunt had written glowing letters about Isabella, Alec is unwilling to believe the police’s suspicion of the former housekeeper. Instead, he works to help clear her name.
Will Isabella and Alec be able to navigate the secrets that threaten to derail their budding romance and uncover the truth about Heloise’s death before the killer strikes again?
I’d love to hear what the weather’s usually like on Christmas for you! Tell me in the blog comments.
Now, it’s time to for my Christmas song title: Silver Bells
Save the holiday song titles from each of the 26 blog stops, and when you reach the final blog, enter all the song titles on this form for a chance to win the grand prize of a $520 Amazon gift card and a copy of each participating author’s featured book OR first prize of a copy of each participating author’s featured book.
Thank you so much for visiting! The next author on the tour is Jill Kemerer and her Christmas book The Prodigal’s Holiday Hope. You can find it at this link. Remember, the 2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway ends July 22 at 8 PM EST!
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.
Shannon hopes her stories immerse readers into a world of joy and escape while encouraging faith, hope, and love. Her debut novel Cave of Secrets released by Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line in October 2020.
Her other published works have appeared in Spark magazine, Splickety magazine, The Horse of My Dreams compilation book, Romantic Moments compilation book, the Lightning Blog and the Seriously Write blog. She won first place in the Foundation Awards and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.
“I have been writing for a really long time,” Shannon said. “When I was a kid, I used to write poems and songs. I would [also] write breakup letters for my friends’ boyfriends. They would ask me … how to say this without hurting his feelings. [My writing] grew from that.”
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.
