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To Kiss or Kill: What Makes a Successful Romantic Suspense?
Maureen Smith

If you’ve ever picked up a novel by best-selling authors Tami Hoag or Sandra Brown, you already have a pretty good idea of what a romantic suspense novel is. What you may not know are the ingredients necessary for writing a best-selling romantic suspense. As with any other genre, there are assigned rules and formulas.

In most cases, the relationship between the hero and heroine is the most important aspect of the story. Ask any romance editor, and they’ll probably tell you that the romance between your two protagonists must be fully developed in order to meet their requirements. By fully developed, I mean that there must be a complete progression of your protagonists’ relationship, from beginning to end. There’s a reason the genre is called romantic suspense, not suspenseful romance. The romance must come first. Achieving the perfect balance between the two can be tricky. Unlike other fiction genres, you’re straddling the fence between two readerships. How do you keep your diehard romance fans happy without repelling them with excessive violence and a subplot that detracts from the romance? Conversely, how do you lure mystery fans to a novel that promises romance between the main characters?

“It’s really important not to get carried away with the suspense plot and forget the romance,” says award-winning author Kayla Perrin. “The romance is equally important, if not more so. You want the readers to care enough to root for the couple to conquer whatever evil forces are in their lives. You need an edge-of-your-seat suspense (one that will keep the readers turning the pages), as well as a touching romance that still has all the conflicts between the hero and heroine that a traditional romance does. The suspense is not the conflict.”

Literature is subjective, and there’s no surefire way to please everyone. But there are steps you can take to ensure that your plot is as tightly woven as possible. If nothing else, a well-written story has an increased likelihood of making it past an editor’s desk rather than languishing in the slush pile.

Introduction of Villain

Have you ever read a story you thought was heading in one direction and then, all of a sudden, something totally unexpected happened, and you spent the remainder of the book trying to figure out what you missed? Romance authors who try to incorporate suspense subplots when they are not totally comfortable with this device often fall into this trap. The result is a story that seems forced and contrived. When this happens, not only does the suspense element seem unrealistic, but the romance between the protagonists suffers as well.

There are two things to keep in mind when writing romantic suspense: Do not wait until the middle of the story to introduce the villain, and never underestimate the power of foreshadowing. A few chapters into the story, readers should at least have a hint that danger lies ahead. At the end of the book, readers do not want to be introduced to a villain that they have never met or heard of before.

Authors employ different methods for introducing the villain. Mary Higgins Clark often incorporates the ominous “watching stranger,” the unidentified figure whose presence is enough to serve as a chilling reminder of things to come. Tami Hoag successfully presents readers with a lineup of possible suspects; throughout the story, you’re trying to figure out the bad guy’s identity based on each character’s actions and likely motives. In each example, you’re kept on your toes until the stunning revelation at the end.    

Once you have decided to write a romantic suspense, do a character sketch of your villain, just as you would with your hero and heroine. Decide on the villain’s background, characteristics, motivation (revenge, greed, hatred, or lust). Pretend you’re Mike Wallace from 60 Minutes and conduct an “interview” with your villain. Like Mike Wallace, be bold. Don’t shy away from any questions. Find out what makes your villain tick, what thought processes contributed to his/her current state, and what made the character decide on the course of action he/she has taken.

Taking these steps will help the two of you become better acquainted, which will prevent your villain from seeming like a cookie-cutter character. Instead of a caricature, the villain will come across as a real person, complete with a believable past and sincere emotions. The villain should possess the capability of doing real harm to your hero and heroine. Readers must be convinced that your protagonists are in real danger. If readers themselves aren’t afraid of the villain or the threat the villain poses, they will have a hard time fearing for your hero and heroine.   

Ultimately, only you can decide just how sadistic your villain will be. Most publishing houses have guidelines for the level of violence allowed in their stories. Familiarize yourself with what is acceptable before submitting your work to an editor.

What Are You Willing to Do to Your Heroine?

Many authors would rather confine their heroine’s pain to heartache over a lost love, rather than subject them to actual physical damage at the hands of a nemesis. The bottom line: No woman wants to be abused or assaulted, let alone be responsible for inflicting violence upon another. But the reality is that times are a-changin’, and contemporary romance novels reflect our evolving culture. The heroines of today’s romance novels are no longer perceived as meek, docile women whose sole purpose in life is to please the knuckle-dragging man they’ve had the misfortune of falling in love with. Today’s heroines can hold their own against the best of them. They are police detectives, FBI agents, hired assassins, even international spies; in historical romances, they’re often the cloaked swordsman that the awed villagers have been whispering about. The increasing popularity of female action heroes immortalized on the silver screen attests to this trend. (For example, see the butt-kicking antics seen in Charlie’s Angels and by Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.)

Many authors are realizing that it’s no longer taboo to allow their heroines to get roughed up a little. Tami Hoag certainly isn’t one to shy away from this aspect in her novels. Her female protagonists have had their ribs and hands broken, have been badly beaten, and some have even been shot. The worse they’re treated, the more triumphant you feel when they overcome the villain. By the way, today’s heroines aren’t always rescued by the man they love—they themselves are often the rescuers.

Conclusion

Incorporating suspense into a romance novel can be very advantageous. There’s nothing like the dynamics between two people who find themselves thrown together against a common enemy, especially when an attraction already exists between them.

“The danger heightens the tension between them and adds dimension to the relationship,” says Ruth Glick, author of the Moon series published by Berkley (writing as Rebecca York). “Making love may be taking a risk. But they might take that risk because they know people are trying to kill them, and they want to grab some happiness with each other.”

Like it or not, the increasing number of romantic suspense novels being published today shows that the genre is here to stay. If you’re going to tackle romantic suspense in your own writing, you might as well make it as memorable as possible.

“I love writing stories where I can put my hero and heroine in grave danger, then reward them with a wonderful, loving relationship that will last a lifetime,” says Glick.

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