Comments on: Rumors of Death Greatly Exaggerated?

By: Colleen Thompson

Colleen Thompson — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:51:31 +0000

I think romantic suspense is a larger subgenre than it appears because so much of it is labeled suspense or romance or contemporary or even “novel” by the publishers’ marketing/sales teams as they strive to figure out in which section of the bookstore these titles sell best. I know that mine, like many others, can be found either in romance or mystery/suspense, depending on the store/chain, the individual book’s cover art and whether the word “bad boy” describes the hero in the book’s blurb. (Just kidding about that last one. I think.) Depending on the degree of romance, grittiness, and each author’s voice, her works’ audience may include a large percentage of men, hard-core mystery/suspense readers, and a lot of folks who don’t think of themselves as romance readers. (Although we know they secretly love it!)

I think it’s tough to measure the impact and success of a less-cohesively-marketed subgenre, but the authors are still out there.

I’m very happy to still be writing romantic suspense. Since Carrie wasn’t sure, I’ll put in that I’m excited to have a new one coming in November, a 2-in-1 called Deadlier than the Male, written with Sharon Sala (whom I greatly admire as a writer and adore as a person) from Silhouette Romantic Suspense and have other irons in the fire, though I have no further books in the works with Dorchester.

Thanks to everyone out there who still loves and buys romantic suspense. It’s still my favorite thing to read and write, and I hope to have the opportunity to do so for many years to come.

By: elainec

elainec — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:39:25 +0000

I prefer historical romance, but sometimes I’ve gotten some connected books that were romantic suspense. One problem I see is that most of the R.S. books I’ve read came out in hardback. Even discounted, that is a chuck of change. I will buy Mary Balogh’s books in hardback because I love them and reread them.
Does anyone know why these R.S. books so often come out in hardback?
Books in general are taking up most all of my discretionary funds with authors writing 2, 3, and even four books in year!!!
I used to have very organized library shelves, but now I have piles of them on the floor next to chairs and in corners. I am overwhelmed by them. I read a lot, but can’t keep up. Of course, there are worse problems.

By: Mary G

Mary G — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:42:47 +0000

I a huge rom. susp. fan & that’s probably the genre I read the most. The rest are contemps & erotica. I read very few historicals & paranormals unless my fave writers are writing them & then I will try. I think historicals have taken over because that’s what is out there. What choices are there after I’ve read all the ones listed by Anne & Ida above who’ve mentioned all my faves. If you look at the book awards out there only historicals are broken down into Regency, Gothic, Victorian, etc. There are so many categories for historicals. Who decides the trends, the editors, the publishers? Since it takes months & longer to get a book to market who decides what I will buy? Is this a chicken or egg thing? We buy what’s on the shelves – what is fed to us? If I don’t find what I want I’ll just reread my faves.

By: Anne W

Anne W — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:25:14 +0000

Romantic suspense tops my list as favorite romance subgenre. I do, however, read other genres quite often, including many, many historicals. I’m a fan of the deep and dark suspense as well as the lighter romantic suspense. There may be fewer readers choosing the romantic suspense genre but I don’t agree that there are any less romantic suspense books from which to choose. I read between 3 and 5 books a week and I’ve yet to have a problem finding a book to keep my interest. I read with an open mind and although there are certainly authors whose books I enjoy more than others, I’m certainly finding plenty to keep me entertained. I must admit that I am enjoying the newer authors and their fresh new ideas and material at the present time.

Among my very favorites are Christy Reece, Pamela Clare, Karen Rose, Lisa Castillo, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Cindy Gerard, Stephanie Tyler, Nina Bruhns, Elisabeth Naughton, Kate Brady, Roxanne St. Claire, Beverly Barton, Shiloh Walker, Leslie Parrish, Colleen Thompson and Jaci Burton. A relatively new author to me who is making her mark is Jill Sorenson, whose books I have enjoyed very much.

Other favorites that I read often are Kylie Brant, Joyce Lamb, Shannon McKenna, Sandra Brown, Linda Howard, Carla Neggers, Lisa Jackson, Amy Fetzer, Lauren Dane, Meryl Sawyer, Debra Webb, Cherry Adair, Lisa Gardner, Karen Robards, Carla Cassidy, HelenKay Dimon, Ava Gray, Suzanne Brockmann, Cynthia Eden, and Marliss Melton.

I stuck my toe in the waters of the paranormal and urban fantasy and decided it just wasn’t for me. I’m willing to give most any genre a chance but I find that I always return to my first love — romantic suspense!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:25:50 +0000

Romantic suspense may be my favorite genre, although I don’t like them too dark or grisly. I second the recommendation for Laura Griffin. I also like Debra Webb, especially Traceless, Nameless and Faceless.

Jill Sorenson is a fairly new author that has a lot of potential, and I think Colleen Thompson is still writing R.S. Elizabeth Naughton’s Stolen Fury was great, but I think she’s just released a paranormal!

I’ve enjoyed several Cindy Gerard books, and recently bought a book by Dee Davis, who is new to me.

By: marcella

marcella — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:59:32 +0000

I know it might not be considered RS as such, but there are/were some great authors writing for Harlequin. My favorites are Kylie Brant and Diana Duncan. I hope DD gets a new contract somewhere soon.

By: Ida R.

Ida R. — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:33:31 +0000

While I do agree that there may be less romantic suspense being released or publicized, there are still some great books and authors being published. Some more knew authors that have debuted only in the last few years are Stephanie Tyler and Christy Reece, both good writers. And Roxanne St. Claire and Pamela Clare are both fantastic romantic suspense writers. For me, it helps that I have never just read one romance genre, I have auto buy authors within the paranormal, fantasy, historical, contemporary, and romantic suspense subgenre of romance, so I never have to wait for something to read.

By: Barb in Maryland

Barb in Maryland — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:17:11 +0000

Hmmm, I notice people not mentioning Nora–most of her stand alones (like Northern Lights, Blue Smoke, etc, etc) have a strong suspense storyline as well a really good romance (though the suspense is not as taut in The Search as in others, but it is still an important part of the story). And no one has yet mentioned Elizabeth Lowell–her latest (Death Echo) has a really good romance in with a really good thriller. JAK’s usually have a mystery element, no matter which genre (or name) she’s writing in. And those three authors are just the tip-top of my go-to list for when I want romantic-suspense.
Like all other subsets of romance it is hard to do well and so easy to mess up–the authors already mentioned are the ones who do it well.

By: Leslie Parrish

Leslie Parrish — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:50:45 +0000

PS: Lynn–thank you so much for the great review of Cold Sight today. I’m really happy you liked it.

By: Leslie Parrish

Leslie Parrish — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:48:19 +0000

I’ll admit, I was really worried when RT contacted me to interview me for that article. If romantic suspense is dead, nobody told me. Reminds me a little too much of s.t. romantic comedy dying…right in the midst of my s.t. romantic comedy career at HQN. Sigh.

But I’m not giving up. I love reading them, I have to think other readers do, too. So I’ll keep plugging along! I started writing in 98 and at that time, everybody just KNEW paranormal was entirely, totally, completely dead and nobody was buying it.

Hmm…

FWIW: Karen Rose, Alison Brennan and Lisa Jackson are my three faves in dark romantic suspense. Roxanne St. Claire in lighter r.s.