Author Karyn Good Joins Us To Talk About What She Enjoys Most About the Romantic Suspense Genre

It’s been a while since we’ve had a guest author on the blog, but today we’re in for a treat! Author Karyn Good is here to talk about what she loves about the romantic suspense genre. Be sure to leave a question or comment for Karyn in the comments section following this post. Someone who leaves a comment at one of the stops during her blog tour will win a $25 gift card. If your Amazon wish list is anything like mine I’m sure you can think of many ways to spend such a fun gift. 

Thank you for hosting me on your lovely blog today. I’m very happy to be here talking about my love for romantic suspense.

You’re welcome Karyn. It’s my pleasure.

Life can be hard and ugly. Pick up a newspaper or watch the evening news. The lucky among us never see that ugliness but from a distance. And some people walk out the door on a warm September afternoon and run right into it, as Lily does in Backlash. For me the appeal of writing romantic suspense is in introducing a grave and dangerous situation and pitting ruthless villains against heroes and heroines who act with honor and compassion. Whether they want to or not. To take a regular person and pit them against something evil. That was the basic concept for Backlash, taking a person living a very comfortable and safe life and placing them in the path of a gang leader and a killer, to whom violence is a way of life.

Humans, as a species, are capable of causing huge suffering to each other. The story possibilities are endless…and frightening. But what does dark and edgy mean for the feel-good, happily-ever-after expectation of the romance novel? It’s still there. That’s another reason I’m drawn to romantic suspense. Love and hope exist within the darkest of circumstances, are perhaps intensified by it. They may no longer be the cure all of the past, but they do enable the reader to envision a future for the hero and heroine beyond the last page.

But a villain is only as good as the people willing to risk everything to stop him. In Backlash the villain is willing to do whatever he has to to win. To survive. I love to stack the odds against the protagonist. The stakes are clear from the very beginning and there’s nothing we like better than rooting for the underdog. The key is to create a hero and heroine with the emotional satisfying combination of strong and vulnerable. They may not be perfect but they’re real.

The path of twists and turns has to be strong and convincing. I like creating those ‘what if’ moments that keep the reader guessing at what’s going to happen next. I love the idea of a future reader lifting her eyes of the page, staring into space and thinking, “Holy crap, did she just go there?”

It’s about holding nothing back and leaving it all on the page. Sometimes I resisted. One scene in particular from Backlash comes to mind. Chase’s reaction to his worst nightmare coming true. He loses it. Some would think it tame and some would not. In the context of the rest of the book it’s intense. I knew if I compromised on this scene it would become easier to compromise on others, until I was left with a lukewarm, watered down version of original idea. Death to a romantic suspense novel.

It’s important to honor your writer instincts and see it through. To be as brave in the face of failure as the characters you’re creating.

Blurb From Backlash:

What he’s sworn to protect, she’s willing to sacrifice to save those she loves…

When dedicated teacher Lily Wheeler interrupts a vicious gang attack on one of her students, she vows it won’t happen again. But her rash interference puts her in the path of a cold-blooded killer and the constable tracking him—a man she has little reason to trust, but can never forget.

Constable Chase Porter returned to Aspen Lake to see justice done, not renew old acquaintances. But when he rescues the woman he once loved from a volatile situation, he realizes his feelings for Lily haven’t lessened over the years.

Now, the dangerous killer Chase has sworn to capture has Lily in his sights. Can Chase and Lilly learn to trust each other again before it’s too late—or will old insecurities jeopardize their future?

Excerpt From Backlash

“I remember you.” His arms tightened.

Her heart sighed, and the scent of him cast a spell. A trace of soap, a whiff of man, and a fragrance so familiar it made her think of bush parties, bonfires, cheap wine, and the back seat of an ’86 Firebird.

She remembered every little detail.

“What’s this about, Lilypad?”

That he remembered that awful nickname he’d labeled her with when they were kids was a visceral punch to the gut.

She wrinkled her nose. “I hated that name.”

“I know. I’d have been disappointed if you hadn’t.”

“Why ‘Lilypad?’”

“I don’t know. I thought of it one day when a bunch of us were catching frogs.”

“You’re such a sweet talker.”

He hadn’t moved an inch, yet he seemed closer. “You don’t want a sweet talker. Remember?” He ran a finger down the side of her cheek. “You want someone who’s going to let you know exactly what he plans to do to you. And believe me, there won’t be anything sweet about it.”

In the second needed to catch her breath, she changed her mantra to: Live in the moment. Forget Tessier and his bag of terrors. Forget everything. For the next hour. One more hour.

About Karyn Good

I grew up on a farm in the middle of Canada’s breadbasket. Under the canopy of crisp blue prairie skies I read books. Lots and lots of books. Occasionally, I picked up a pen and paper or tapped out a few meagre pages of a story on a keyboard and dreamed of becoming a writer when I grew up. One day the inevitable happened and I knew without question the time was right. What to write was never the issue – romance and the gut wrenching journey towards forever.

Keep Up With Karyn

Website and Blog:  http://www.karyngood.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karyn-Good/168409826555843

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/karyngood