Tags
50 Shades of Grey, Alicia Dean, Gone with the Wind, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Oklahoma, Romance, Scrimshaw Doll, Suspense, Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll, The Wild Rose Press
Suspense! No? Yes it is, and I’ll prove it. No matter what genre you think is your favorite, the reason you read it is for the suspense. All of the following novels are, at the heart, suspense:
Hunger Games…Will Katniss survive the Hunger Game where the only way to escape with your life is to win?
Gone with the Wind…Will Scarlett overcome the horrors of war? Will Rhett win her love?
Twilight…Will Bella choose Edward or Jacob?
50 Shades of Grey…Will non-descript college student Anastasia be the woman to win the heart of too-gorgeous-to-be-real billionaire Christian Grey?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone…Will orphan Harry Potter heed the call of his wizard destiny?
See. I told you. In all of these successful books, the suspense is what keeps readers turning pages.
I am a full blown, out of the closet suspense fan. I love mystery, thrillers, horror, paranormal, and all kinds of suspense. That’s what I love to read and what I love to write.
What kind of suspense do you like to read in a story? A secret waiting to be revealed? An insurmountable challenge you’re dying for the character to rise above? An impossible love you’re waiting for them to overcome at all odds? Or something more sinister?
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My contribution to the Tale of the Scrimshaw Doll series is a romantic suspense, Thicker than Water:
Sometimes, secrets refuse to stay buried…
A ten-year-old accidental killing and an ancient cursed doll are only part of Julia Bennett’s problems. When she returns to her hometown of Covington, Oklahoma for an old friend’s funeral, she’s thrust into the middle of a murder case—and discovers she never stopped loving her high school sweetheart.
Jake Devlin is now the sheriff of Covington and faced with solving a murder. He isn’t surprised to find Julia in the middle of things. She still seems like the troublemaker whose reckless mistake caused a man’s death years ago—and who broke his heart when she left him without so much as a goodbye.
Jake makes it clear he’s over her, and Julia can’t wait to leave Covington behind. But when another friend dies, she knows she must stay. Can they put the past behind them and stop a killer before he claims another victim?
Available at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Wild Rose Press
If you want to know more about me or my other titles, go to my website:
http://aliciadean.com/
Exciting News!!! For a limited time, all of the Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll stories will be on sale for 99 cents each. Go to Amazon for a complete Kindle list or go to www.AliciaDean.com for buy links for both Kindle and Nook.
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Cheater!
But you are right. I love the suspense of a hero and heroine finding their path to HEA. I especially like when you think there’s no way possible for them to overcome and win…and then they do.
And who said cheaters never win???
I agree. Even though a reader knows, going into a romance, the hero and heroine will find true love, the suspense of figuring out how they get there and what they have to deal with in the meantime is the reason we read.
Right. And some writers really have the art of suspense and keeping a reader guessing down to a fine art. I hope to be that clever and good one day.
Very true! It’s the suspense that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I’m like Calisa, in that I love the suspense of finding out whether the characters will get together by the end of the book.
Yes, I do too. But I will admit I like the suspense of ‘Oh my God, will she survive???’ a bit more. Thanks for stopping by Jessica!
Haha! Some of them are not that straight forward of a success.
That’s so true, Jeyna. (Love your name btw) That’s when I have to just enjoy the story for what it is–fiction–, or put it down.
Some of the ones on my list? Hmmm, they seem pretty successful, even if a few of them are head-scratchers as to ‘why’ they’re successful.
Thanks a bunch for stopping by!
Well, said. Its the suspense in anything we do, read, or write, isn’t it. Even in a straight romance will she accept his apology for some stupid thing he did (because he’s a man, after all). Will his prejudicial parents respect is wishes in finding his true love…blah blah blah. Suspense IS the name of the game.
Gosh, I love being right.
Good way to put it, Kathy. We’re all suspense junkies, whether we realize it or not. Thanks for stopping by!
I can’t help incorporating suspense in my writing. It’s what I love to read. Who’s sabotaging the starship? Will they save the universe? Who is really the bad guy?
Absolutely. Love that edge of your seat, oh my gosh, will they make it, and if so, how????? kind of suspense. Thank you for stopping by, Diane!
I think there is suspense whether you write suspense or not, perhaps, the word is anticipation…aka suspense!
Right. That’s the bottom line. All stories are suspense. (anticipation) But my favorite is the will they LIVE kind of suspense.
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I agree with Kathy. It might be the suspense of anticipation, but it’s all suspense.
I like the suspense of ‘will they, won’t they?’, and also ‘when will they?’ In fact, the conflict that the h/h have in every romance book is really suspense. Will she have him even though he has a rake’s reputation? Did he marry her only for her money? Will their ‘arranged marriage’ work out? Who will declare their love first? Good stuff.
excellent stuff. Exactly how I interpreted it!
I agree. I love the angst and the longing and the build up. So much fun to watch characters suffer until they’ve earned their happy ending.
Anticipation…is making me wait. For some reason that Carly Simon tune just popped into my head after I read this.
Hahaha, Diana. Now I’ll have that song stuck in my mind. What was that commercial that played that song? Was it a syrup? Like, the thickness of the syrup made you wait?
nope. Ketchup. Think it might’ve been Heinz. I know it is a pesky little song.
Hahaha Yeah, I thought about it later and realized it was ketchup. I would be more anxious for syrup than ketchup.
Part of the fun in reading is seeing how the character will handle the crisis in their story. I love it when a character does something I didn’t see coming but I’m able to think back on different things in the story and think “Should have seen it coming.”
I know. I love that too. It’s great when an author can pull that off.
As a school secretary, every day is suspenseful. ‘Do I have enough bandaids and coughdrops to go around? Will someone sneeze on my phone and give me a virus that I will promptly take home and give to my family?’ And my personal favorite ‘Will spring break ever get here?’
Yikes! All of that is TRULY frightening.
talk about suspensful!
Frankly, I totally agree with you, Alicia and Kathy. Just recently I read Toxins in the Food Chain (Protecting Our Planet) by Sarah Levete, and I COULD NOT put it down. A page-turner to the very end! And did I see it coming…no way! Scarrr-eee!
Highly descriptive article, I loved that bit. Will there be a
part 2?