What's Your Pleasure?

Last night, after rejection #....well, who's counting?....a friend and CP asked where my heart was in terms of what I wanted to write.

My answer is the same as always....Romantic Suspense.

Sure, I like straight romance. But, for me, the suspense ramps up the ante. There's something about a love story with an edge of danger that works for me. It doesn't matter if it's a full-blown mystery or just a little fear on the part of the heroine, either way, I love it.

I will never write a weak, simpering heroine who can't get by on her own. That's just not me. My heroines can drive a truck or rope a steer or string a fence. They can shoot straight. Good enough to hit a bad guy anyway.

But add a strong, sexy hero to the mix and everything changes.

Even a strong woman sometimes needs someone. And there comes the romance! Put a woman who doesn't think she needs a protector with a man who is determined she does and watch the spraks fly!

So, for me, even after a painful rejection, it's got to be romantic suspense.

What's your pleasure, and why?

Comments

  1. I love a great whodunnit! But couldn't write one to save my life..so it's mainly contemporary romance. I've started and gotten stuck on too many suspenses to count, but when I stick with contemporary romance, with a kick of sass and sex, it works.

    So sorry about the low-down-yukky-R, D'Ann... but keep pushing, okay?

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  2. My heart's with women's fiction. I want the romance there--and even the sex--but the story has to be about the people and what happens in their lives, or I truly don't care.

    The cool thing is that there's plenty of room for all of us and our preferences, though unfortunately I don't think most marketing departments feel that way.

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  3. And hugs from me, too, about the crummy R.

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  4. Hmmm - definitely contemporary romance. Even though my laziness begs me to leave it at that, some elements of suspense keep slipping in, and I know next year I'll be diving into a paranormal/suspense plot. I don't want to, I swear - it just keeps happening!

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  5. D'Ann I so agree I can't read just boy meets girl and they live happy ever after. I need meaty stories. I tend to gravitate to write what I read. I write romantic suspense with emphaisis on suspense. I tend to layer it in later I want to get the plot first and add the romance later.

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  6. Give me paranormal or medieval romance with a kick-ass heroine and you've pretty much got me at page one. I can't stand a simpering, always a lady heroine. BTW, so sorry about the "R". Your time is coming.

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  7. I like a heroine who is human, strong but has a blind spot or weakness so that she has something to overcome. Same with a hero. I don't like idiots or simpering people. I like them to have sharp wits. I hate it when the world's well-being rests on the main characters' shoulders. I love paranormal and twisty, unexpected events happen.

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  8. Everyone,
    Thanks for stopping by and letting me know what you like. I really appreciate comments.

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  10. I love a book with a touch of mystical to it. I'd love to do that, especially the lyrical prose. But, for some reason, I gravitate toward teen speak. Don't get me wrong, I love my YA, but the mystical stuff is like getting lost in a fantasy. I also like books that make me feel or think. I'd love to do that for my readers one day and hopefully they'll pay to read it :)

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  11. D'Ann -

    God knows, I don't read nearly as much as I used to, but I love a good ST contemp from SEP, Rachel Gibson, Christie Ridgway. I'm also a fan of many paranormals. I guess most of us write what we read!

    I'm sorry abt the R. As much as we try, it's hard not to take them personally!

    Kels

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  12. "Madam, Will You Talk" by Mary Stewart was the first romantic suspense I ever read. I have loved this type of book ever since. But, I also like a little humor mixed in. A suspense with two much angst can get tiring.

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  13. Writing and reading are two different things. If we're talking reading in strictly romance categories--I love western contemporary stories. Love them cowboys!
    General reads--mainstream, especially Nicholas Sparks. But I enjoy cozy mysteries too. And once in a while throw in a good ol' western.

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  15. I like a good book. I tend to write in a little mystery into everything I write whether it's historical western, contemporary western, or historical paranormal. I think a hint of mystery besides are the hero and heroine going to get together, keeps the reader turning the pages.

    Hang in there everyone faces a file folder of rejections before they get published. Keep honing your art and conjuring up unique unforgettable characters and you'll get "the call".

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