Janie Winsell writes in a genre I’ve never tried to write, and actually haven’t read, either. So we get to explore new territory this week. Janie, please tell us how you got started in this genre and about the process.

Romantic Suspense has tightened my focus and caused me to search deep within myself for my author voice. I love building the anxiety of my story until it explodes. But, writing Romantic Suspense is double duty, requiring equal parts Romance and Suspense. Some writers may argue that it’s more one than the other, but I believe in equal representation of both for the book to be considered a true Romantic Suspense.

The Romance part is formulaic. The Heroine meets the Hero within the first chapter. They either hit it off, or they don’t for some reason. By the middle, they end up together, but then something happens and they break up. Then, at the end they get back together. Simple, I know. And don’t get me wrong, I love reading pure Romance, but then I discovered Dee Henderson, and all bets were off.

Ms. Henderson wove such an intricate romantic story, but amped up the adrenaline with nail-biting suspense that had me flipping real pages faster than the Kindle feature. I was hooked. Still, I wasn’t sure I could pull that off in my own writing.

Then, my past crashed into my fiction writing, and a new series was born. The Singlehearted series is near and dear to my heart. Being a survivor of sexual abuse, I know all-too-well the struggles, insecurities, and anxieties that come with surviving. I wanted to write inspirational stories of survivors, but with the suspense that drove Ms. Henderson’s plots. I wanted readers to tear through my book’s pages, too.

Suspense is all about building up the tension in a story through multiple viewpoints: Heroine, Hero, and Villain. This gives the reader a broader story view. It’s not a mystery, so they aren’t trying to figure out who did what. In suspense, the reader knows who the villain is even if the heroine doesn’t. And that villain throws dilemmas in the heroine’s way.

Brooklynn, my series heroine, has finally picked her life up after a brutal rape three years ago. She’s met someone she can see herself dating, and she’s decided to go back to college and finish her degree.

Octavious (my villain) hates that Brooklynn lived, and now he’s come to finish the job. But he has another agenda: he wants her to pay for surviving first.

It becomes a cat and mouse game after that. Octavious does something, Brooklynn reacts, thinking she has the upper hand. But then another obstacle appears. Each obstacle becomes more dangerous until the tension explodes in the climax, and it looks as if Octavious has won.

All throughout this tension-filled plot, Brooklynn follows the romance guidelines–falling for the hero only to lose him and then get him back.

And now you know the ingredient list for my current Romantic Suspense series.

WOW — sounds like quite the challenge, Janie. One of my favorite quotes says, “Every once in a while, bite off more than you can chew.” I’ve found that we most often rise to the occasion! All the best to you in your writing career, and readers, Janie is giving a print copy of an inspirational novel she wrote to one of you who leaves a comment – enjoy! 

Using Historical Events to Create Fiction

By Tamera Lynn Kraft

I am sometimes asked why I write historical fiction. Many times, reading about historical events will get my creative juices flowing when I think about the lives and stories of people who lived during these times.

For instance, in Resurrection of Hope, my recently released novella, the historical backdrop helped me create the characters and the story events.

At the beginning (1919), Vivian is depressed, and with good reason. In the last year, her fiancé died in the Great War, influenza stold her family, and she was evicted from her family farm because of her alcoholic father’s gambling debts. Enough to depress anyone, but many post WWI families faced the same turmoil.

Many men had died in Europe. At the same time, the great influenza pandemic killed over twenty million people. Very few families had suffered no loss from one of these events. Some families were completely wiped out. Another tragedy of the period was the rise of alcoholism and gambling addiction. A number of men lost everything, leaving their families destitute. This motivated prohibition.

Henry, the male main character in the story, had been a WWI doughboy. He had just returned from the war with all the baggage that came with trench warfare. Many his problems  with Vivian stemmed from his experiences fighting and losing his best friend in the war. The stoic tough guy image most men tried to live up to during that period of time made things worse.

In addition, on Palm Sunday, 1920, one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in history swept the Midwest, especially Indiana and Western Ohio.

Pausing to announce Tamera’s giveaway of an e-book copy to one commenter!

Every story I write starts with reading about historical events and imagining people’s lives during that time. I’ve read historical fiction that could have taken place in any time period, but the writer loses an opportunity to make the stories come alive. Every good historical uses real events not just as setting, but as main characters.

Blurb:

Resurrection of Hope

She thought he was her knight in shining armor, but will a marriage of convenience prove her wrong?

After Vivian’s fiancé dies in the Great War, she thinks her life is over. But Henry, her fiancé’s best friend, comes to the rescue offering a marriage of convenience. He claims he promised his friend he would take care of her. She grows to love him, but knows it will never work because he never shows any love for her.

Henry adores Vivian and has pledged to take care of her, but won’t risk their friendship by letting her know. He believes she’s still in love with her late fiancé, and won’t risk heartache by revealing his true emotions.

Bio:

Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures. She writes historical fiction set in the United States because of the multitude of stories in American history. Her stories feature strong elements of faith, romance, suspense and adventure. She has received 2nd place in the NOCW contest, 3rd place TARA writer’s contest, and is a finalist in the Frasier Writing Contest, with other novellas in print. Her first full length novel releases in April. She’s been married for 38 years to the love of her life, Rick, and has two married adult children and two grandchildren. You can purchase her latest novella, Resurrection of Hope at most online stores including Desert Breeze. Join Tamera on her website at http://tameralynnkraft.net, her blog at http://tameralynnkraft.com, Facebook http://facebook.com/tameralynnkraft or Twitter http://twitter.com/tamerakraft.

Thanks, Tamera – all the best to you on your writing journey.