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

Monday, March 17, 2014

Reunited (and It Feels So Good)

That spark of passion that can't be denied. That invisible bond of a shared history that can't be ignored. That feeling of a second chance at a happiness that was meant to be...
These are the reasons I love a reunion story—a book that brings a couple back together after something has torn them apart or brings them together in a different way, with a new, deeper, richer layer to their relationship. 
Dark Deeds (Mindhunters, Book 4), which releases today, is such a story. Becca and Diego first met (as secondary characters) in Book 2 of this series, but Becca has been in all of the other books and my readers wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after. I like Becca too, so I was more than happy to give her a hero of her own. But she's a feisty female, so she needed a strong male who could go toe-to-toe with her, with a connection she couldn't ignore. Writing their story presented unique challenges and unexpected emotional depth that has me wanting to write more of these types of stories.
The pros of writing a reunion story? I enjoyed revisiting characters I'd already developed, who were practically living and breathing people already. Plus, there was an added depth to their relationship because of their shared history. It made their romance, when it came together, that much more satisfying and believable.
The cons? Of course, I wanted to be true to what had already been written about them, so creating a story bible of their previous encounters was helpful, but required additional time and energy. And, whatever had torn them apart or kept them from becoming involved in the previous story had to be overcome. 
I had a lot of fun finding ways to help Becca and Diego get their act together and confront their feelings. And I'm so glad they found each other again. Everyone deserves a happy ending.
Do you like reunion stories? Do you have a favorite couple (movies, TV, or books) whose relationship put them through the wringer, yet they ended up stronger for it?

Dark Deeds Blurb:
Walking away from sexy Detective Diego Sandoval was one of the toughest things security specialist Becca Haney ever had to do. But her past is a direct threat to his future, to the career he’s working so hard to rebuild. Now, with a witness from a horrific case implicating Diego, Becca must decide whether to listen to her head or her heart.
Diego is a big-city lawman used to cracking the hardest cases, but he’ll never understand why Becca ended their passionate affair. When he’s assigned to help keep her safe from a human trafficking ring, he’s determined to stay by her side and learn about the woman behind the passion—scars and all.  
But Becca has another admirer. Known only as “the Fan,” he believes he’s the perfect partner for her—and he’ll kill to prove it. When the stakes are raised in the killer’s deadly game, Diego will be called upon to save lives—including Becca’s.

Anne Marie has always been fascinated by people—inside and out—which led to degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, and Counseling.  Her passion for understanding the human race is now satisfied by her roles as mother, wife, daughter, sister, and award-winning author of romantic suspense.  
She writes to reclaim her sanity.
Find ways to connect with Anne Marie at www.AnneMarieBecker.com. Sign up for her newsletter for the latest about her books, special sneak peeks, and giveaways.

11 comments:

Ana Barrons said...

Reunion stories are possibly my favorite type. Even when the history between two people is painful it adds such depth to the relationship in the present. I'm looking forward to reading this story!

jean harrington said...

Anne Marie, I love reunion stories. Maybe because people from my past sometimes haunt my dreams, and I wonder what if . . . but in my stories, I have only one reunion couple and they were not fated to be together. Just as well; she might have ended up killing him. In fact . . .

Toni Anderson said...

I love reunion stories. I can't wait to read this one!

Rita said...

I think they are my favorite also. Hubs and I broke up three times before we decided we couldn't live without wach other.

Anne Marie Becker said...

@Ana - Thanks! I really love reunion stories too. So much rich territory to mine and explore. :)

Anne Marie Becker said...

Oh, Jean, you gave me goosebumps with the "people from my past sometimes haunt my dreams" comment. Sometimes I wonder what's happened to the people from my past who shaped my life in some way.

Good luck with the murder! LOL

Anne Marie Becker said...

@Toni - thanks!!

@Rita - that is so romantic. Sometimes I think, like tortured heroes, tortured ROMANCES are sexier.

Elise Warner said...

They read like an exciting pair. glad you got them together.

Anne Marie Becker said...

Thanks, Elise - I'm so thrilled for Becca and Diego. Funny how our characters come to seem like real people we want to root for!

J Wachowski said...

Can't wait to read more about your reunion couple, Anne Marie! I love those kinds of stories too. My sister and I have a running joke--"If it's not a happy ending, the story isn't over."
That's my motto.

Anne Marie Becker said...

@J. - I love that motto! It certainly was an interesting challenge to bring these two together after the past they shared...and the secrets they didn't. ;)

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