Release Date:December 12th, 2014
Description: 16+
Love makes your heart race, but passion can kill.
Three strong, captivating women.
Three intense, driven men.
One family devoted to justice.
Come journey with the DeLuca Family from the tumultuous streets of Chicago to the majestic peaks of Glacier National Park in these three intriguing full-length novels loaded with passion, suspense…and danger.
GUEST POST
Danger, Love in Romantic Suspense: A Strategic Balancing Act
I love writing romantic suspense. Why? Because as I state in my bio, it allows me to combine a sexy, passionate love story with a gritty suspense tale. But how does one balance both storylines and keep them going strong throughout the novel? I do it by creating character based plots. The characters and their actions and the way they relate to what is happening around them are what keep both storylines moving. I create strong dynamic characters and then put them in situations where every scene consists of something going on in the suspense/mystery line as well as in the romance.
The characters I create could mirror “real” people with “real” problems. As with all good romances, although there is an undeniable attraction between the hero and heroine, there are “real” reasons why they can’t be together--the conflict between them can’t simply be because they enjoy arguing together, or something that could be easily solved if they just communicated better. As the suspense builds, the sexual tension between them also builds, but that undeniable attraction eventually breaks down the barriers between them and allows them to grow emotionally toward each other as they work toward solving the murder/mystery--for they must work together in order for them both to survive.
How do I keep this all on track? Before starting the manuscript, I make a plot grid on which I list acts I, II, and III, the main premise of the story, and the hero’s and heroine’s goals for each act (which change and ratchet up a from act to act). I fill in the beginning and end of the story, because I usually have somewhat of an idea of where I’m going to start the novel and how I’m going to end it. Then I enter the mid-point of the novel and finally, the climax, resolution, and the three to four main events in each act as well as the turning points at the end of each act which move the story and characters in a new direction. During all this, I am keeping in mind both the character/romance arc and the suspense arc. This may sound complicated, but it really isn’t. When I’m done, I have a nice road map to follow as I write the book.
Case in point:
In Ice Blue, Angela DeLuca is a Chicago Paramedic dedicated to seeing to the needs of her patients. Troy Deavers is a Special Agent with ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) dedicated to solving the human trafficking case he’s working on. When an ill newborn of obvious Asian decent is left on Angela’s doorstep, Troy’s and Angela’s goals are instantly crossed. Angela previously lost a baby by miscarriage and she is fierce about protecting this one and his mother if they can find her. But the young woman is found dead on the tracks. When another young woman comes to Angela seeking her help, she is determined to protect her and her unborn baby even though the woman is a witness who could break Troy’s case wide-open.
Troy is at first furious at this. He doesn’t believe the woman to be a true “victim” because she set herself up for her predicament. He doesn’t suffer victims well for he believes his own mother set herself up to be a “victim” when she could have been stronger in facing up to his father instead of just reaping the rewards of his ill-gotten riches gained through his greed and corruption. However, as Troy gets to know Angela better, he falls in love with her passion, then soon begins to fear that that very passion will be her undoing when Angela’s life is threatened. In the end, as his case turns into something more than what he originally thought it was, Troy knows he must help Angela protect the woman and her unborn baby. As for Angela, she learns to trust him to do the right thing as they both work toward solving the crimes that have been committed.
So that’s ICE blue’s premise. The romance rises side by side with the suspense plot.
I hope you enjoyed this discussion. Thanks for spending this time with me. To learn more about the books and my writing, please visit me.
What the critics are saying about Susan Rae’s books
Heartbeats: “A terrific tale of romantic intrigue, with characters who are intelligent, skilled professionals and to whom we can easily relate.”—Marilyn Weigel, RTM
ICE blue: “With her well-developed characters, Susan keeps you glued to the pages.” —Susan Peck, My Cozie Corner
“…this romance, thriller was something that took hold of your heart as you read.” — Beth Cutwright, Beth Art From The Heart
TRUE blue: “The writing was terrific and the plot was intriguing and suspenseful. Rae masterfully deceives the reader into thinking that she knows who-dunnit but the reader will be deliciously surprised at the end.” —Cindi, Mammasez Susan Rae
About the author:
Susan grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Columbia College, Missouri with an emphasis in creative writing.She penned her first melodrama in fifth grade for a Girl Scout Drama badge. Complete with hero, heroine, and dastardly villain, it wasn’t so very different, really, than the romantic suspense she writes now.
“I love writing romantic suspense because it allows me to combine a sexy, passionate love story with a gritty suspense tale—in my opinion, the best of both worlds.It also allows me to express my appreciation for the outdoors in the setting that I recreate on the page.”
When she is not sketching characters, you might find Susan on the golf course working on her handicap, or traveling around the country seeking out new settings for her novels with her husband and empty nest puppies, Ginger and Nikute. To read more about Susan’s novels and the writing life, please visit her:
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