It's Father's Day, and like some mystical surprise gift, a fellow male author from New Jersey (I lived there the first half of my life and left a piece of my heart to beat again when I visit) connected with me.
Richard Brawer will talk about how he handles romance and about his upcoming romantic suspense novel. I hope you'll comment.
RICHARD: My novel, Murder at the
Jersey Shore is a volume of three full length mysteries featuring detective
David Nance and his girlfriend Bobbie Walsh. The stories are set in Eastern
Monmouth County New Jersey in the towns of Red Bank, Colts Neck, Rumson, Fairhaven,
Sea Bright, and Asbury Park. This area is generally referred to as The North
Jersey Coast.
Bob has asked me to
comment on the following question: My blog readers are mostly
romance writers or readers. You're a mystery writer. How do you handle romance
or the lack of it in your stories?
The majority of detectives in the mystery stories I have read have a
girlfriend. Most of the girlfriends are minor characters and do not have much
to do with the story except to have sex with the detective. In my mysteries,
the detective’s girlfriend works with him to solve the murders.
To keep the readers involved with the relationship between the detective
and his love interest, I gave them a number of conflicts. It is conflicts that
keep the readers turning the pages to see how the characters resolve their
problems. David and Bobbie fight, make love, break up and re-connect. As a
result the novels, although true mysteries, do have a romantic aspect to them.
The following are excerpts from the 29 reviews on Amazon for Murder at
the Jersey Shore.
“I especially like
the way David and Bobbie play off each other throughout the three novels.”
“What really grabbed
me was watching the hero deal with his issues, eventually with a measure of
success, while his girlfriend dealt with him and her issues involving him.”
“The on again off again relationship between David Nance, the
detective, and Bobbie, his girlfriend, adds another dimension to his vivid
characters making them sympathetic as well as engaging.”
Another of my mysteries, Murder Goes Round and Round set in a
fictional decaying New Jersey Resort also has a romantic aspect to it. The sale
of a million dollar antique carousel is the motive for the murder. Here are
excerpts from some of the reviews:
“Lots of fascinating
info on the history and making of carousels and the rather sweet romance that
develops.”
“There was also a
sideline romance which took place. I could have done without that personally,
but it didn't take away from the story. Very worth reading.”
“The story was
romantic.”
In conclusion,
whether to incorporate a romance in your mysteries is up to you. It can be done.
Readers looking for a pure mystery may not like the romance as you can see by
the middle review above. Others may find the romance an integral part of the
story.
Personally, I like to
write the romance aspect because then my books will appeal to more than just
mystery readers. With the practice I garnered writing the romances in my
mysteries, I wrote my first romantic suspense novel, Love’s Sweet Sorrow,
coming out in September.
Love and faith are tested as Jason
and Ariel are caught in a battle to expose smugglers selling weapons to
terrorists. Read more about Love’s Sweet Sorrow at my website below.
Richard Brawer writes mystery,
suspense and historical fiction novels. When not writing, he spends his time
sailing and exploring local history. He
has two married daughters and lives in New Jersey with his wife. Read
more about his books at his website: www.silklegacy.com [check out Richard's covers on his website]
THE new JERSEY BOYS
Richard Brawer Bob Richard
