Guest Interviewer: Melani Blazer

Author Melani Blazer sat down with me today to grill... er, ask my opinion on some frequently asked romantic suspense questions. Thanks, Mel, for joining us today.

Melani Blazer: What makes The Living Legend romantic suspense rather than plain old romance? Or, to someone who's genre illiterate, what makes a book fit this category instead of another?

EWP: To answer the second part of the question first, romantic suspense generally involves mortal danger to the hero and heroine, plus a mystery of some sort. In the process, the hero and heroine fall in love, of course.

What makes The Living Legend romantic suspense? There's more than one mystery for Kate and Patrick to unravel, each a Pandora's box all its own. And they're definitely in fear for their lives.

Melani Blazer: What are some of your recent favorite romantic suspense novels?

EWP: I really hate admitting the answer to this question. First, you have to understand that I wouldn't be able to write romantic suspense if I didn't love the genre, but to be honest, writing it comes with a price: I can't read it while writing. Doing so wreaks utter havoc on my own plots, characters, and confidence.

Of course, that doesn't mean I never read it. Temptation does win out now and then, as was the case with Nora Roberts's Blue Smoke and Shannon Stacey's On The Edge. And, I'm happy to add, both were well worth the havoc afterwards. Both author's characters sucked me straight into the story and I was a total goner from there.

Melani Blazer: What makes you write this genre?

EWP: Mostly, I think it's because I grew up on a steady diet of romance, thrillers, and classics. There's a lot of the classics in both romance and thrillers -- and by that I mean story structure, character arcs, etc -- so I nicked my favorite bits from them all and decided to follow that sage advice: Write what you love.

Melani Blazer: Do you often relate more to the heroine or the hero? Or is it based on the plot line?

EWP: While reading, I suppose I relate more to the heroine, although I'm usually more interested in what's happening to or with the hero.

Writing's a completely different animal, and totally story-centric. It never fails that one character's got it a bit rougher than the other, and whoever's got the most pain headed their direction is normally the one I relate to more. Not that I'm big on pain or anything, it's just that I know that character a little better on a deeper level.

Melani Blazer: What do you think draws the reader to this genre?

EWP: I think a lot of it has to do with the types of heroes found in romantic suspense, as well as the mystery and suspense elements. I've always loved trying to figure things out and having my pulse raised by a story. Plus normal people in normal situations are dull. Give me a character in trouble any day of the week -- they're far more volatile and unpredictable. Make me raise my brows at something, and I'm your reader for life.

Melani Blazer: A typical romantic suspense, in general, seems to have some storyline features that are necessary to keep it in the genre. For example, many have a heroine in danger, and the hero has to save her. There's also often a lack of trust between hero/heroine that needs to be resolved in order to find a true happy ending. What does an author do to keep this from being too predictable?

EWP: I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. (just kidding)

Honestly, no matter how hard we as writers try for new, unusual, or different story elements, there's really nothing new under the sun, especially in a genre like this where the reader knows the good guys will win and the guy will always get the girl.

The only true safeguard we've got against predictability is characters. What they're like, what can happen to them, and what they'll do about it. That's it. Maybe doesn't sound like much, but that's pretty huge when you think about how different 'real' people are.

Melani Blazer: Heroines have become much more active and heroic in recent years, and it seems like readers applaud this. On that note, does this make it harder for the hero to "save the day"?

EWP: Not necessarily. This probably isn't the time or place for this discussion, but I think the entire world's gotten too far away from the days of Diana when the powers within men and women were separate but equal. Each had distinct strengths that complimented one another, and it's no surprise to me when a book with a stronger heroine but a day-saving hero draws a strong positive response from our audience.

Melani Blazer: Follow-up to the last question: If the heroine is the one who ends up saving the day, is that wrong? Does it hurt the macho image/heroic nature of the hero?

EWP: No, it's not wrong, but I do think its consequences for the hero might trod none too lightly on reader expectations. That's maybe a good place to stop, so people can respond to this question for themselves.

Hero vs heroine: Who should save the day?