NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Steamy Side of Suspense


*At the end of the week we're giving away a stack of ebooks (possibly a couple of print books too) to one lucky commentator. The more times you comment, the more times you'll go into the 'hat'. See this post. We'll name the winner on the blog next Monday.*

I guess you could call me a redheaded stepchild of the group. I blend two genres -- romantic suspense and erotic romance. I've published more than two dozen books and more than half are erotic romance. Suspense is relatively new to me, but I think I'm catching on. Finding the right balance between the erotic and the suspense can be a challenge. Here's the trick -- the hero and heroine must be able to dodge danger and solve the crime yet still have a reasonably safe place and time to have some seriously hot sex. The erotic side of things demands plenty of long, spicy scenes that don't distract from the danger, and sometimes add to it.

So without further ado, here's an excerpt from Protective Custody, my spicy romantic suspense. Megan Jackson is alone at her office late at night. She is about to leave when something catches her eye in a window across the street.


After shutting off the electronics and the lights, she entered her office and reached for the pull cord on the miniblinds, mindful of the paper skeleton hanging from it, but movement in the storefront across the street stilled her hand. The building had been vacant for months, since the gift shop had moved to the mall, but there were definitely two people in the display window—a man and woman. She leaned closer for a better look, and her breath fogged the glass.

The woman was young, maybe the man’s daughter. No, her skin was darker than his, perhaps Asian. He had thick dark hair and was tall and bulky. His back was to her, but there was no disguising the vicious slap he dealt the woman’s face or the brute force he used to yank her long dark hair, jerking her head sideways. The woman backed away, shaking her head. He smacked her again, and she stumbled backward, covering her face.

Bastard. Megan gritted her teeth. She should march over there and stop him, but getting in the middle of a lovers’ quarrel or family spat could be dangerous. Her ex-boyfriend had the battle scars to prove that interrupting a domestic assault could be dicey, even for professionals. No, she should call the police. Will would know what to do.

She turned and picked up the phone on her desk but stopped when the man closed his hands around the woman’s neck, strangling her. The woman cowered and struggled to escape.
Megan banged on the glass. Oh God, no. Couldn’t be.

The woman punched and pummeled him, but her slim frame was no match for his bulky strength and broad shoulders. Her strikes didn’t faze him.

Megan pressed closer to the window, unable to look away, transfixed by the terror in the woman’s dark eyes.

The woman shook violently, flailing her arms, fighting for her life.

Oh my God! I have to help her.

Megan’s hands trembled, and she dropped the handset. She couldn’t tear herself away from the gruesome spectacle.



Blurb:



Witness to a murder, but no one will believe her...


Shocked by the brutal crime she witnesses through the window of her small office, Megan Jackson calls the police and is devastated when they question the truth of her story. With no body and no evidence of a crime, she's written off as a nutcase.


Megan suspects the killer saw her face. Terrified, she calls the only person she can trust—her ex-boyfriend and former police officer, Will McCoy.


Despite a devastating breakup, Will jumps at the chance to help the woman who broke his heart. When the killer ramps up the stakes, Will is forced to take her into hiding—where the passion they once shared reignites, deeper and hotter than ever. But can Will keep Megan alive long enough to win back her heart?



Buy Link
Author Website

13 comments:

Maureen A. Miller said...

I read Protective Custody and loved it. Who wouldn't want to be locked away in a cabin under the care of an ultra-hot guy!?

Wynter said...

Thanks, Maureen. I know I would!

Kathy Ivan said...

Great excerpt, Wynter! Just the right amount of tension to make you want to come back for more. Plus put me in a cabin with a hunky protector--what more do you need? Candles, a soft rug in front of the fire . . .

Elise Warner said...

Excitement, romance, sex and love. What more does any woman want?

Unknown said...

Wonderful excerpt, Wynter!

Wynter said...

Thanks Kathy and Elise. There are definitely candles and fireplaces involved;-)

Toni Anderson said...

Wonderful excerpt, Wynter :) I have you on my ereader. I need to hide away and just reader for a month solid!

Wynter said...

Thanks, Toni. Me, too! That darn life thing keeps getting in the way of my reading time.

Marcelle Dubé said...

What riches this week! This is a great excerpt, Wynter.

Jane said...

I love romantic suspense and erotic romance so I like your blend.

Stevie Carroll said...

Great excerpt there. I really want to read more.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, this one sounds good!

Clare London said...

Excellent excerpt, it really racks up the tension! Thanks for sharing :).

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