Saturday, October 03, 2015

Changing Genres by Fran McNabb


SAVING THE CHILDREN was published here in the Crimson Line in April. Lori Graham is my editor, and I’m excited to say I’m waiting for the release date for my second book with the Crimson Line. I call this new one KEEPING HOPE ALIVE, and the story follows one of the teammates of the hero from the first book.

Signing this second TWRP contract started me thinking about writing romantic suspense. Before SAVING THE CHILDREN, I had six other books published, none of which are romantic suspense. They are either historical or contemporary romances, so I have to ask myself why I switched genres.

That’s a good question, and I think the answer is very simple. I didn’t intentionally write something that was different, just something that fell into guidelines that fit a different genre. In reality I write what I feel at the moment and, well, I guess I felt like upping the angst a little bit with this book.

I love reading books with military heroes, and yes, SAVING THE CHILDREN, has a hero in the Special Ops—Major John Dawson. I always fall in love with my heroes, and it wasn’t any different with John. John is captured after he is wounded on a compromised mission. To keep him alive so the rebel leader can kill him himself, the rebels also capture Victoria Lafferty, a nurse working with orphans in the jungles of South America. When Victoria and John are thrown together in his jungle hut, they begin a journey to rescue six orphans in the midst of a hostile jungle with dangerous rebels. At the same time they save themselves from deep seated emotional baggage.

When I think about this story, I know it does fit into the romantic suspense guidelines, but still I have to say, writing romance and writing romantic suspense are not too different. All the elements of the novel are there. Plotting is heavier in RS, but it can’t stand alone. Without well-developed characters and a strong setting, no genre would be worth reading.

I’m proud to be part of the Crimson Line, and I hope if you read SAVING THE CHILDREN and like it, you’ll want to know what happens to John’s teammate, Max, in KEEPING HOPE ALIVE.

To find SAVING THE CHILDREN by Fran McNabb
twrp
http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6186
Amazon
http://amzn.com/B00V7CSRV

Fran McNabb
http://www.FranMcNabb.com

2 comments:

stanalei said...

I love the Crimson Rose line, Fran! Congrats on your second contract!!

Fran McNabb said...

Thanks, Stanalei. I've have a good experience with the editorial staff here.