Imagine my surprise, when, upon finishing my blog for tomorrow, I realized it was for today...sorry, sorry, and surely someone will comment...
I’m not sure how I lucked out–or whether or not I am lucky–but I’ve managed to “write Christmas” for three out of the last four years—RED CARPET CHRISTMAS, WOLF MOON AND CHRISTMAS DELIVERY. And one of my first Intrigues published twenty years ago was CRIMSON HOLIDAY followed by its sequel CRIMSON NIGHTMARE a few years later.
Of course, being that these are all Harlequin Intrigues, ornaments aren’t the only red things in these books. So how does an author who writes romantic suspense approach a novel set at Christmas? How—and why—is combining love and murder during the holidays appealing?
I approached both of the CRIMSON books with a little tongue in cheek—hey, what if I killed Santa Claus? Could I use a little humor, kill him cleverly? Now you might think I have something against Santa, or against Christmas, but I don’t. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday (Halloween running a close second), and Santa is such a great, colorful icon, it actually gave me the giggles to kill him twice for those two romantic mysteries.
As Intrigue matured, writers were asked to put more emphasis on the romance and therefore on the emotions between the couples. And Christmas can be a very emotional time when meeting with loved ones, especially when those loved ones have been parted for years. I actually didn’t think of that connection when sitting down to write this blog, but all three other books–RED CARPET CHRISTMAS, WOLF MOON, CHRISTMAS DELIVERY–have that theme of reuniting loved ones.
I hope you have all our Christmas offerings stacked to read by the fire during the holidays. Whether or not you do, why do you like reading stories that combine crime and Christmas?Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good romantic suspense novel tonight...
Patricia Rosemoor
If you haven't seen the trailer for A Holiday Mystery at Jenkins Cove, which includes Rebecca York's and Ann Voss Peterson's books in addition to CHRISTMAS DELIVERY, check it out!
I don't like the any better than those stories set at other times of the year (sorry). I love Intrigue or Suspense but the time of year doesn't really matter to me.....just that it is realistic.
ReplyDeleteI love reading Intrigue but I do like combining crime with Christmas. I really like reading Christmas novels and I like the suspense that you get from the Intrigue novels.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!!
Like you wrote, Christmas can be an emotional time, and crime inspires many emotions too. So when you combine those two things together, I think the emotional stakes are higher in stories. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteI love reading the Intrigue line. I have never read a Christmas one though. I really enjoy reading Christmas theme books and I would love to see how you pull it off. I can see how you could combine crime with Christmas because there is a lot of crime going on this time of the year, it unfortunate, but it so true.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
I enjoy the intrigue books and I love Christmas novels. I think it is a wonderful combination.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to all.
I do like holiday themed books. I think the contrast between the suspense and the usual Christmas good will is striking. Of course there is a lot of stress and disappointment at Christmas, too, so that adds to the motivations of the bad guys.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
I think it's great that you combined suspense with Christmas. I enjoy a good romantic suspense story and adding in Christmas just makes it better.
ReplyDelete