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
8 comments:
Glad to meet you, Mia. I wish you a long and very successful writing career.
Thank you, Jean! Here's hoping I'm around for a while. :-)
Hi Mia. Romance and suspense, what could be better? Much success to you.
Hi Mia. Lovely to meet you! Here's to a long and successful career.
Hi, Rita! Thank you so much. What could be better? There's always a little suspense in romance anyway, isn't there? ;-)
Hello, Marcelle! It's lovely to meet you, too. I hope we all have long and successful careers.
Great to welcome you here Mia! and I love "If there's romance, there has to be crime" LOL.
Hi Mia and welcome. (Picks up a glass of champagne) Here's to romance and mystery.
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