CITY SUSPENSE Vs. ISLAND SUSPENSE

                                 

Hi all,

As this is my first blog on Not Your Usual Suspects, let me introduce myself. I’m Laura Carter (*waves*) and I write sexy romantic suspense novels. My debut series, Vengeful Love, follows Scarlett Heath, a high-flying London lawyer, as she pitches to work for devastatingly attractive billionaire, Gregory Ryans. She wins the work, only to find out that the takeover Gregory is about to embark on is hostile. Cue a dark and twisted thriller, underpinning a passionate romance that sees Scarlett and Gregory mingling with high society in the glossy skyscrapers of London and Dubai.

I started writing Vengeful Love as a business lawyer living and working in the heart of London. It seemed like the perfect setting for an erotic, white-collar thriller. I had the backdrop of glitz and glamour—champagne, cocktails, sky views, limousines and black tie dinners—mixed with the ominous streets of the city. My hangouts looked something like this…

(View from the Shard, London)

Here’s the thing, six weeks ago, I changed my life by moving to a small island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. And as I sat down to my laptop in my new surroundings for the first time, I thought, Oh Crap! What have I done?

I went from dry martinis and the hustle and bustle of the city, to bottled beer and a sleepy, small-town beach life. My new style…

(Sunset British Virgin Islands)

Don’t get me wrong, the serenity of the island is wonderful. Being able to read and write in a hammock is pretty great. But I write CITY suspense novels. How am I supposed to make a beautiful sandy beach grave and threatening? I thought.

I worried about this for a couple of weeks, no kidding! Then I had that ‘lightbulb’ moment we all know so well. It came one day as I was driving past the island’s prison. It’s kind of idyllic for a prisoner—a low security compound with a garden and, from what I hear, pretty relaxed rules, with an outstanding view out to sea. I mean, this place would make the Count of Monte Cristo giddy!

So, I started wondering, what could a person possibly do to wind up in prison on this peaceful rock? And a few things dawned on me…we’re in the middle of the sea, accessible from all angles by boats and private planes…in other words, perfect for trafficking people and drugs—erm, hello gang crime and cartels! Then I thought, if you’re on the run, this is actually the PERFECT place to hide. It’s so small it barely gets a spot on the world map! And, given the fine waters for sailing, the low taxes and little regulation compared to, say, London or Manhattan, this is a billionaire’s paradise! Put all of that together and you get dark and (potentially) glamorous with no rules (*excited dance*).

It took some time and it was unexpected, but I started to see the small-town, island setting as having endless possibilities for crime and suspense novels. As an author, I think it is incredibly important to be able to draw inspiration from just about anything, to conjure a story from nothing. It’s what makes us a quirky (?) breed of species and, in my opinion, what makes our job one of the best in the world.

So, I ask you, authors, what is the most unexpected source of inspiration you have had? And to you, readers, do you prefer the backdrop of the dark and dangerous city, or the unsuspecting, kind of eerie, sleepy town?

If you’re interested in the Amazon bestselling Vengeful Love series you can check it out here:

Amazon US: amzn.to/1Tle3O3

Amazon UK: amzn.to/1M2lfqT

Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/1pd17Nm

Kobo: bit.ly/21mwLnN

iBooks: apple.co/1WeIGD2

GooglePlay: bit.ly/1RceZxQ

Come hang out with me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lauracarterauthor 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lcarterauthor 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lauracarterauthor 

Website: www.lauracarterauthor.com 

Something to Do

This is my first post for Not Your Usual Suspects, so I'll begin with … Hey, y'all!  So glad to be here.

If you're wondering who the heck I am, you're not alone. Until November of 2015, no one had heard of me. Ah, the life of a debut author. So, to borrow a phrase, allow myself to introduce … myself.

As you can guess from the y’all, I’m a southern girl. I was born and raised in a small town. I haunted the library from the time I was old enough to read, and I always wanted to write my own stories.

However, I didn’t always want to write romance.  When I picked up a pen a few years ago, I had a story to tell about brothers – all about choosing your life and making your family. As I told the tale, it became a romance between the hometown hero and his brother’s best friend – the girl who got away.

By the way, it’s a really awful story. (As in, "it's hidden on my computer and I refuse to look at" it awful.) It’s full of great characters, but they don’t have anything to do. There is no conflict, no plot, and no real goal other than to live happily-ever-after.

That’s how I ended up writing romantic suspense. I needed something for my characters to do. It was sort of a natural leap for me because I have a morbid curiosity with true crime and forensic television. That external conflict pushes them together and makes them form a team. It gives them motivation, a common enemy, and a goal. It makes them face something in themselves that’s frightening. 

Well, that and I can’t write mysteries – I can’t keep a secret for a whole book. I think a lot of the thrill of reading is when you can see the danger coming, and you’re hoping the characters see it before it’s too late. It’s one of the reasons we yell "don't go in the basement" during horror movies.

But there’s more to it than figuring out the villain before the characters do. A few days ago, I got into a discussion with a guy at the post office. I told him I write romances, and the conversation went like this:

Him: “But no crime?”

Me: “Well, I write romantic suspense, so, yes, there’s some crime - generally blood and mayhem, probably a murder or two.”

Him: “I thought so. If there’s romance, there has to be crime.”

And you know, he’s sort of right. Romance and crime are two very emotional aspects in fiction. Combined, they heighten each other, sharpen the characters’ relationships and the plot as a whole. 

If you look at one broad definition of crime, it’s: “any offense, serious wrongdoing, or sin. A foolish, senseless, or shameful act.” Every genre of romance has that, doesn’t it? The older brother who’s gambled away the family fortune, leaving his sister no choice but a marriage of convenience. The hero who’s returned home to recover after a horrible accident. The heroine who’s escaping a bankrupt business.

All those “serious wrongdoings” put the characters in an emotional blender – everything is more intense. It makes it more fun to read and tons more fun to write.

Romance gets a bum rap for being “escapist.” But what’s so wrong with that? Sometimes real life is too quiet. Escape from our calm routines might mean adventure that sends tingles up our spines and passion that steals our breath.

So, it’s nice to meet y’all. I’m Mia, a new writer who loves to write romantic suspense for the adventure of it all. Buckle up and hang on. And don't go in the basement.   

Mia Kay

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How to Create Holiday Suspense

For suspense-lovers, the holidays are a perfect time to generate a feeling of anticipation. There are many ways you can do this…

• Order so much online merchandise that you don’t remember what’s in the boxes that arrive days or weeks later.

• Wrap all of your gifts in September, so you’ve forgotten what they are by the time you put them under the tree.

• Start your day (every day) with a hunt for a creepy elf. (See Julie Lindsey's post from earlier this month!)

• Watch Christmas movies. Our favorite suspenseful "holiday" movies are: The Ref, Trading Places, Die Hard (yeah, it’s a Christmas movie AND a romantic suspense!), A Christmas Story (will he get that BB gun??), and Home Alone.

Photo courtesy Pinterest.com

• Take a walk through the woods. In the dark. When it's cold and snowy. (There'll be a full moon this Christmas!)

• Read holiday-themed books (preferably with murder and mayhem)!

How do you create holiday suspense in your household?