I just want to set the record straight. Or at least straighten it out a little.
If you’ve browsed Amazon’s romantic suspense category lately, you may have wondered exactly what belongs there. I understand. It’s definitely a mishmash. Some of that seems to be Amazon’s wacky category matchmaking. My books have occasionally landed in historical romance, which would come as quite a surprise to my characters and their cell phones. Sometimes authors are trying everything and anything to get their books discovered. As a small business owner, I understand that too. But boy, does it make choosing your next read confusing.
So, from my little corner of the writing cave, I thought I’d explain what I mean when I say I write romantic suspense and romantic thrillers.
Romantic suspense and romantic thrillers combine a central love story with a plot driven by danger. The characters are falling in love while dealing with threats that could cost them their lives. Both the relationship and the suspense matter, and neither should feel like an afterthought.
There’s plenty of overlap between the two, and the dividing line isn’t always tidy. Here’s how I describe the difference.
What is romantic suspense?
Romantic suspense weaves a central love story through a plot involving danger, crime, or a threatening secret. As the characters try to uncover the truth or keep someone safe, they’re also figuring out whether they can trust each other with something considerably more personal.
The danger affects the relationship, and the relationship affects the choices they make. Falling in love can complicate absolutely everything, especially when trusting the wrong person could get you killed. It’s a lot to ask of a new relationship. My characters rarely thank me for it.
What is a romantic thriller?
A romantic thriller combines a central love story with the escalating danger, urgency, and twists of a thriller. I tend to use the term when there’s more emphasis on action, the threats keep growing, and the characters are running out of time to stop something terrible from happening.
They might be uncovering a conspiracy, rescuing someone, or trying to stay one step ahead of a killer. Meanwhile, they’ve met someone who makes concentrating on survival a little more complicated. Terrible timing for them. Excellent possibilities for me.
The distinction is about emphasis. Romantic suspense can have plenty of action, and a romantic thriller can have a mystery to solve. Neither requires an exact fifty-fifty split between romance and danger. What matters is that both are essential to the story.
Do romantic suspense and romantic thrillers have happy endings?
In romantic suspense, and in romantic thrillers written as genre romance, readers can expect a happily ever after or a happy-for-now ending for the central couple. A thriller with a romantic subplot can make a different promise, so it helps to know what you’re picking up.
In my books, you’re getting the happily ever after. Getting there, however, is going to take some work.
What can you expect from my books?
I write romantic suspense and romantic thrillers with capable heroines, dangerous situations, twists, and characters who don’t always appreciate my plans for them. Most of my books lean toward the thriller end: plenty of suspense and action, with a love story woven through the danger.
You’ll find people learning to trust each other when the stakes are high, attraction at inconvenient moments, and a hard-earned happily ever after. I put my characters through a lot. I want that ending to be worth it.
If that sounds like your kind of reading, take a look at my Callahan Security, Coast Guard Team Recon, and Lock & Key Society series. There’s plenty of trouble waiting for you. And, thankfully, someone else gets to deal with it.