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:

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Website: www.lauracarterauthor.com 

Location, Location, Location

When my first romantic suspense novel, The Paris Secret, was on submission to publishers, I was stunned when an editor rejected it because of the Parisian setting. This editor said that foreign settings didn’t work for her readers. Really? I’m a reader and I certainly enjoy books set in foreign countries. And I know I’m not the only one. Can you say Stieg Larsson? Reading about far off places I’ve never been brings those places alive for me. They take me on journeys I might not otherwise take and all from the comfort of my own home. Here are some of my favorite mystery/suspense/thrillers set in foreign countries.

Murder in the Marais By Cara Black – This is the first book in Cara Black’s wonderful series set in Paris and featuring half French half American private investigator, Aimee Leduc. In this first book, Aimee encounters neo-Nazis; corrupt government officials and fierce anti-Semitism.

Garnethill By Denise Mina - Set in a Glasgow suburb of the same name, Garnethill features troubled Maureen O’Donnell, a woman just released from a stint in a Glasgow psychiatric institute who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a social worker.

Labyrinth By Kate Mosse – If you’ve read my book, The Paris Secret, you can probably tell I’m a big fan of ‘timeslip’ novels. Set in the Languedoc region of France, Labyrinth features two heroines born centuries apart and connected through time by a quest for the Holy Grail.

Haunted Ground By Erin Hart – The first book to feature American pathologist Nora Gavin and Irish archeologist Cormac Maguire. The two meet when the perfectly preserved head of a young woman is found in a bog west of Ireland.

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death By MC Beaton – This is the first book that introduced the world to the unforgettable Agatha Raisin, a London publicist who takes early retirement and moves to a village in the Cotswold’s. When she cheats by entering a store bought quiche in a local competition, a judge ends up poisoned and Agatha is the prime suspect.

Vodka Neat By Anna Blundy - features Faith Zanetti, the new Moscow correspondent for a leading newspaper--chosen for the job because she married a Russian when she was a teenager. But the minute she steps on Russian soil, she is instantly arrested in connection with the murders, fifteen years before, of a couple from a neighboring apartment.

What about you guys? Do you like reading books set in foreign cities?

Angela : )

Too Stupid to Live...a familiar trope?

The other night I watched an episode of Waking the Dead, a popular and often shocking crime thriller series in the UK (and no, I don’t watch *just* to ogle the yummy Trevor Eve). One of the characters came home late at night, to her flat where she lived alone, having been through a traumatic experience where her younger sister was kidnapped. She crossed the living room to find the balcony window open. The curtain fluttered in the breeze. She looked startled, as if she didn’t remember opening it herself: looked warily around the room.

Then took off her jacket and settled on the couch.

Now come on! How many of us would do that? I can tell you, I’d have been back out of that flat faster than Speedy Gonzales, locking it behind me and racing down to the police station. Doesn’t she ever watch those programmes on the TV?

But no, she sat there until (as anticipated) the spooky villain appeared in the flat, terrifying her. Even then, she didn’t dial 999, but called her sister with a tearful warning. He approached: she backed up to the balcony.

Hey! Again! I’d have done everything I could to get back towards the front door, or maybe the kitchen where I could have grabbed a knife to defend myself.

No. She backed up, toppled over the balcony and died from the fall. No clue left as to who he was, no fibres under the fingernails, no blood spatters from even an abortive knife defence, no scribbled note of his name, no thumping on a neighbour’s wall to alert them she was in trouble.

Amazing that Trevor and his team caught the villain in the end at all!

Well, of course, we know that faced with this horror in real life, most of us – I know I would – would be a blubbering wreck, not a calm-thinking, ballsy heroine. So the show was far more true to life than fiction. But with my tongue just slightly in my cheek, how often do we read about the heroine – or hero, for that matter – suffering from the TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) syndrome?

You know how it is. They follow a suspected murdered down a dark lane / into a forest / up the stairs of an abandoned house. They pursue the fleeing villain, never calling for backup, without any weapon, never telling anyone where they are. They open the door that’s been locked for 10 years / they confront the person they think did it / they fall for the suspect who has a very dubious past or unusual obsession… etc etc.

My favourite? Their witness calls and says “I’ll tell you who did it when you get here”. We all *know* that witness will be murdered by the time our hero/heroine gets there. Why on earth don’t they *insist* the witness gives the info over the phone? Or text it? Even the initials? Please? *sigh*


I’ve been accused in the past of daft plot devices, of allowing my heroes to be distracted by Sexy Romance when they should be concentrating on Devious Mystery, of allowing them to Miss The Critical Clue that any reader with half a brain can spot! (though possibly with the benefit of hindsight *heh*). It’s a tricky job to balance romance and mystery and plausibility. Do you have any helpful tips – so I don’t fall for that again?

In conclusion, Authors, heed this warning: “A damsel in distress does not equate to a stupid woman, so a writer must be careful to draw the reader into the experience without insulting her intelligence”. (Suite101.com).

Or maybe just: “Clare, no Sexy Romance when the balcony window curtain is fluttering.”