I attended the National RWA (Romance Writer’s of America) Convention in Anaheim, California last week. I was a “first timer” and had this wonderful little banner on my name tag that announced my newbie status for the world to see. I was told it would make everyone be nice to me but I didn’t really need it. Everyone was nice anyway. It was an incredibly positive experience with both novice and career authors present. I attended several seminars hosted by names as big as Jayne Ann Krentz, Cherry Adair, Nora Roberts, and Michael Haugue. It was fantastic and I was in awe.

I even did a pitch to an Agent just to try out my presentation skills. Silly me, I picked the only agent that specifically states she’s not taking any new clients. It’s posted in big text on her website — what the hey, there’s nowhere to go but up from that right? I love a challenge.

So, while I was in line waiting to see her, I met a wonderful lady that was also pitching her book. We both talked about our current work and when I told her I write suspense, she asked “Is it a cute suspense or a regular one?”

Huh?

She went on to ask, “Does anyone die?”

“Oh, uh, not really.” I didn’t say that someone dies but it’s not written into the book in gruesome detail. It happens in the background.

“That’s what’s considered a cute suspense then.”

“Oh, thanks. I didn’t know that.” So, in order for a book to be really suspenseful and not just cute — you have to kill someone off in it. Get real detailed too while you’re at it. And if you really want it to be a good suspense/thriller — kill off as many as you can (just kidding). Kill the mom, the dad, the sister, the paperboy — oh, but don’t kill the dog or any babies. That’s taboo. Okay, please forgive my sarcasm — I’m going on a tangent here. The truth is, I understand that it may seem mild not to focus on death and destruction in the suspense, but let me ask you something.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were certain you were in danger? I have.

I remember a time when I was thirteen. I lived in the country and had ridden a bicycle to a friend’s only to find she wasn’t home. On my way back a man in a pickup pulled up next to me. I was on a deserted road with no cars in sight and my home was half a mile away. The man wanted to give me a ride home. Yeah right. Something about him had the hair on the back of my neck rising. I jumped on my bike and pedaled as fast as I could. He followed slowly along. I wanted to scream but knew it wouldn’t matter. I was in nowhere land. Then I saw a neighbor in his back yard. I hadn’t told this weirdo where I lived but there was Mr. K. and he was oblivious to the truck and to me….I whisked my bike into his yard, dropped it in the grass and ran over to talk to him. When the truck saw him, the man in it hit the gas and sped off.  I killed time chatting with Mr. K then rode on home. For weeks, I refused to venture out for fear that truck would return. 

No one died. Not me, not my neighbor, and not the weirdo in the truck. But I can assure you, every pump of my feet against the pedals of that bicycle had my breath gasping. I was terrified and the suspense of worrying that I would not get away from this man permeated every sound, smell, and touch I experienced. Now, looking back, it still scares me. Without a doubt, I knew the man had bad intentions.

There is nothing cute about a situation like that. If written well and described with good emotion it can be as scary as if the man had grabbed me, raped and beaten me, and thrown me in a ditch. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. I’ve always wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t gone to Mr. K? Would it have gone beyond the cute stage? Would I be here to tell this? Had someone else suffered a fate at this person’s hands that wasn’t cute?

I suppose the terminology has me more than a little baffled. Suspense should make the reader feel fear, anger, even terror. The level of gore may be a part of that. And it may not. If you can make the hair on the back of my neck stick up without ever showing me a dead, bloody body or body part — then you’re one great author in my book. And maybe you’re cute too, who knows.

In my writing, yes sometimes someone does die. If it fits the story and adds to the suspense. And sometimes they don’t for the same reason. Sometimes the fear of danger can be incredibly intense for the reader if the writer is able to portray it successfully. In addition, violent death is not that common in real life — so it shouldn’t be in written word either. Still, there should always be an element of fear that sinks into the reader when they read a suspense novel. That’s what I’m aiming for. That sinking, oh my God, is she going to make it out of this feeling.

My debut novel, Numbers Never Lie, is not a cute suspense. Someone does actually die and when that time comes, you will know it was right. However, in my second novel, Bring It On, the antagonist is a ruthless killer for hire. Yet he never kills a soul in the book. Cute? Not hardly — he’s one very scary dude but you will know why he doesn’t kill when you read it and you’ll be glad.

Numbers Never Lie is available for pre-order from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Numbers-Never-Lie-ebook/dp/B008PW30GG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343693484&sr=8-1&keywords=Numbers+Never+Lie

Bring It On will be released in late November. I hope you will read both.