The Romantic Side of Suspense

“A lot of times, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, … I’ll start thinking about my story. … Sometimes, my wife will [notice] me staring off into space and ask me what’s on my mind,” Donnie said. “I tell her I’m having a conversation with my characters, [which she thinks is so weird].”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from three authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for September 2026, with the book’s release date if not available now. Megan Short/Alaskan Survival Tactic Danielle Grandinetti/Sabotage Games (9/22) Lori DeJong/Sanctuary and Sabotage (9/15)

On this special edition episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” I’m talking with my fellow authors, Jayna Breigh and Kimberley Woodhouse, about our Christmas novella collection, The Last Noel. Learn more about our characters, villains, settings, and storylines about these Christmas-themed second chance romance with a dangerous twist! The Last Noel is a riveting Christmas novella collection with suspense, intrigue, and second-chance romance. “Do You See What I See?” by Sarah Hamaker Oakleigh Wright’s estranged foster sister reappears late one night desperate to hand off her children. Oakleigh agrees to bring them to their aunt out of state, but her travels […]

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from four authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for August 2026, with the book’s release date if not available now. Lynette Eason/Twilight Tactics Elizabeth Goddard/When the Silence Breaks Monique DeVere/Guarded by the Sheriff Hope Welborn/Taken Without a Trace (8/25)

“Probably the hardest part of [writing romantic suspense] is … keeping the characters in danger, direct threats to their lives, throughout the book. It can be hard to keep them in that kind of danger without them taking stupid risks or the villains coming out as inept,” Carol said. “I enjoy the suspense part—that’s always my favorite part to write.”

“My husband and I went to Scotland on our honeymoon, and all we did was run around visiting all these estates [with all their stories],” Joanna said. “It made something come alive in me. … There’s something so unique about a house that has lasted so many generations and seen so many stories. … That makes these houses worth something that’s so unique.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from three authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“I’ve always been a prolific writer—nothing ever gets in my way. I’ve never had writer’s block,” Ciara said. “When I first moved onto the trawler, I did. I was writing sweet, small town romance among other genres, and I just was having problems [writing]. So I took all of my fears—if I’m scared of something, I go for it. I don’t hold back. I think part of [writing] was my therapy when we got onboard. It was learning to live on a boat with storms and … those first two books in my Harbor Secrets series were a kind of therapy.”

  During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for June 2026, with the book’s release date if not available now. Darlene L. Turner/Scent of Peril (5/26) Jennifer Chastain/Guardian (6/16) Megan Short/Alaskan Abduction Target (5/26) Virginia Vaughn/Deadly Homecoming Threat in Critical Threat, Volume Two of the Honor Bound Hearts Collection(6/26) Elle E Kay/Blast Radius in Critical Threat, Volume Two of the Honor Bound Hearts Collection(6/26) Sarah Hamaker/Fatal Recall in Critical Threat, Volume Two of the Honor Bound Hearts Collection(6/26)

“I always wanted to be a teacher, and I did spend 22 years in the classroom before my spinal cord injury and other health issues sidelined me,” Marisa said. “But I also wanted to write. Oh, to be able to write a book—everyone will remember my name if I write a book. That was as a child. Of course, as an adult, I think ‘Lord, what do you have for me? And how can I use this gift of encouragement that I have and this gift of wanting to reach out to people?’ That’s what became more important than just having a name out there.”

  During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from seven authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for May 2026, with the book’s release date if not available now. Suzanne Woods Fisher/Chase the Light Donnie Stevens/Back to You Jessica R Patch/The Girl Upstairs Danielle Grandinetti/Shipwrecked Faith (5/15) Gina Holder/The Escape Game Jessica West/Relentless Chase Angela Carlisle/Silent Menace (5/19)

With several romance and historical romance books in her background, Seralynn asked herself, “Where do I go from here? I was having a chat with my editor and she said, ‘You know, all of your stories have elements of mystery and suspense in them, … so you should really be writing romantic suspense.’ I’m thinking, okay, I can do that, so that’s how [I made the switch to romantic suspense].”

“I’m definitely the type of writer who starts with scene one and goes in chronological order from there,” Hannah said. “I hear so many different ways that people do it, and it’s fascinating to me how different people write words and how they can organize it. … I try really hard as I’m writing it to get it [to as clean a first draft as possible].”

  During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from two authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for February 2026, with the book’s release date if not available now. Joanna Politano/The Life She Forgot (4/21) Carol J. Post/Witness Safeguard Mission (4/28)

“I can write the fastest and the most if I write within an hour of getting up in the morning,” Camy said. “But then my wrists starting getting worse, so I started doing voice to text dictation. I found it was really hard at first to get into the dictation, but after I got used to it, I found myself writing at least at the same speed as I was when I was typing.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from five authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“Character development is my favorite part of writing,” Lori says. “I love making people and living with them. I’ll live with them for a few weeks before I’ll actually start writing the story. … I know their birth order, their love language. I know what they drive, where they live and how they dress.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from seven authors about their romantic suspense books.

Jacqueline’s stories start “with an inciting incident. It could be from a show, or from the news. There’s just that little bit of a granular, that little spark. Once that happens, sometimes, I’ll think this would be really cool,” she says.

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from four authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for January 2026, with the book’s release date if not available now. Jodie Bailey/Buried Mountain Justice Megan Short/Trapped on the Alaskan Glacier (1/27) Jessica R. Patch/A Killer in Texas Julie Klassen/Whispers at Painswick Court

When Jennifer wrote her first book, “I didn’t know what I was doing, but it kind of felt natural to me, this kind of storytelling. … I had a lot of crafting to learn, but the story was still there.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for November 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Camy Tang/The Lone Rice Ball Danielle Grandinetti/His Boss’s Little Sister (11/18) Kerry Johnson/Abducted in the Woods (11/25) Patricia Bradley/On the Edge of Trust (11/4) Hannah Linder/The Red Cottage Darlene L. Turner/Trail of Mountain Secrets (11/25)

Charlene started writing romantic suspense “probably for the same reason I started to teach. I like action, I like tension,” she says. “You never walk into a classroom two days in a row and have the exact same thing happen. It’s always different. It’s always changing. [That’s what I like about writing romantic suspense.]”

“I actually find the romance part hardest [to write] but the most satisfying,” Megan says. “On the other side, I love putting together the mystery, the whodunit. I’m kind of a diehard fan of mysteries from a young age, so that’s the most fun part for me.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from five authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for October 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now.   Sarah Hamaker/Fatal Past (10/14) Jacqueline Adam/Kidnapped for Ransom(10/28) Terri Reed/Texas Christmas Cover-Up (10/28) Laura Conaway/Last Chance Christmas (10/28) Lori DeJong/Mistletoe and Malice (10/21)  

“It is very difficult [to combine the four threads of faith, romance, history and suspense together in my stories],” Cindy says. “It takes a lot of time, a lot of research, … a lot of rewriting and a lot of editing.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for September 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Lynette Eason/Final Approach Danielle Grandinetti/The Recluse’s Vindication (9/12) Jennifer Pierce/Trail of Suspicion (9/30) DiAnn Mills/Canyon of Deceit (9/9) Charlene Amsden/Kage (8/31) Kate Angelo/Girl Lost (9/23)

“I have met the most wonderful people through my writing journey, and some of them have become such dear friends to me,” she says. “Writing can be pretty isolating, and when I can call another writing friend … to talk me through [whatever I’m struggling with], I’m really grateful.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from two authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for August 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Darlene L. Turner/Danger in the Wilderness (8/26) Heidi Glick/Gazing Into Darkness (8/12)

“[My inspiration for plots] comes from everywhere,” Rebecca said. “I’ll start typing and something will pop into my head or I’ll here something and it’s interesting.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for July 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Cindy Kay Stewart/Unending Hope (7/22) Danielle Grandinetti/The Neighbor and the Gifts (7/15) Megan Short/Alaskan Police Protector Dana Mentink/Fire Mountain Elizabeth Goddard/Perilous Tides (7/15) Angela Carlisle/Shadowed Witness

“I mainly live in the 1800s [in my books], and I’ve always wanted to write romantic suspense,” Penny said. “I love reading it. My grandfather was a police officer with the San Diego Police Department, and he had amazing stories to tell us. So I thought why not try my hand at writing one? Of course, I fell in love with [writing romantic suspense].”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from three authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for June 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Laura Thomas/The Final Word (6/5) Darlene Turner/Echoes of Darkness (6/24) Sally Jo Pitts/Sweet Double-Cross

“The real answer to that is my playlist,” Cate said about what she needs to write. “Because one of the first things I do when I start a new book is to find the music I need that connects me with the characters and the story.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from four authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for May 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Jessica Ashley/Echo Jamie Jo Wright/The Tempest at Annabel’s Lighthouse Megan Besing/Rescued Heart (May 13) Terri Reed/Standing Watch (May 27)

During this special episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from 13 authors in the Long Hot Summer: Christian Romantic Suspense collection. The four volumes will release May 2 through July 4 with ebook as well as print versions. You can check out the series here. Sami Abrams/Mine Jersuha Agen/Trapped Jessica Ashley/Lima Sara Blackard/Tracked Secrets Jenna Brandt/Branded by Fear Sara Davison/One Nine NY Dunlap/Taken Across Oceans Sarah Hamaker/Fatal Past Lily Hann/Alaskan Family Ties Kristen Hogrefe Parnell /Beneath the Crushing Waves Cara Putman/Mistaken Justice Laura Scott/Road to Redemption Helena Smrcek/Shadow of the Mill

“Adding in those emotional layers [is the hardest part for me in writing romantic suspense],” Kelly said. “You can have a suspenseful theme, and that’s great, but you also need to have some romantic tension as well. So knowing when to add in certain beats and how to layer those emotions [can be difficult]. You just want characters people care about.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from seven authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“[I like writing romantic suspense] because there’s no lull,” Jeannine said. “If things start getting boring in this genre, you can throw in a car chase or gun shots can ring out and then you’re off on another leg of your adventure.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for March 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Sarah Hamaker/Justice Denied (3/18) Jerusha Agen/Waylaid (3/27) Jane Daly/Lipstick and Gunpowder (3/15) Kristen Hogrefe Parnell/Watch Your Back Laura Conaway/Rescued Duty (3/11) Lynn H. Blackburn/Break My Fall (3/18)

“I have a bit of a wanderlust in me, and every know and then, I think where are we going to move next?” Christina said. “My husband’s retired now and he said, ‘I don’t know that we’re moving again.’ That gives me a little bit of fear sometimes.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from six authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for February 2025, with the book’s release date if not available now. Jennifer Chastain/Lethal Connections Terri Reed/Trained to Protect (2/25) Robin Patchen/Protecting You Sarah Sundin/Midnight on the Scottish Shore Lynette Eason/Serial Burn Elizabeth Goddard/Storm Warning (2/18)

“I am a romance junkie—any kind of romance,” Jennifer said. “But if I’m going to sit down and watch a show, it’s always been a mystery, a murder, a crime. There’s going to be something that needs solving. So when I started writing, … I realized writing romantic suspense is just as fun as watching it on TV.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from five authors about their romantic suspense books available this month.

“I have a one-year-old in one hand and type with [the other] hand, and then I have a three-year-old next to me on the couch,” Jessica said. “They can be kind of tricky but it works for me. … I try to [write for] two, two-and-a-half hours but sometimes the baby tries to delete with his feet what I’m writing because he wiggles in his sleep.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from five authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for November 2024, with the book’s release date if not available now. Terri Reed/Search and Detect Jaime Jo Wright/Specters in the Glass House Katy Lee/K-9 Christmas Guardians (11/27) Danielle Grandinetti/Investigation of a Journalist (11/19) Patricia Bradley/Deadly Revenge

“I hardly will ever order hot tea when I’m out because I know it won’t be good enough. … I worked in a tea room and that kind of spoiled me for properly brewed tea,” she said. As for writing romantic suspense, “ultimately it’s because that’s what I most love to read. So I already loved the genre, and when I had an idea for my first book, that’s what I naturally gravitated to.”

“I’m a huge reader,” Shelley said. “I’m always drawn to mysteries, romantic suspense, thrillers—I find those books fun to read. Even though I do write a lot of straight romances, I love to have a romance suspense book in my back pocket. … It was fun as a writer to keep the pace going.”

During this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense” podcast, you’ll hear from three authors about their romantic suspense books available this month. Here’s the list of authors and books for October 2024, with the book’s release date if not available now. Kelly Underwood/Guarding Truth (10/15) Jessica West/Deadly Stalker Kimberly Woodhouse/70 North (10/15)

“There’s only character I sort of regret killing off,” Amanda said. “But it had to happen for the story. I just loved this character so much and I enjoyed writing the character in The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocer and he has a tragic ending to his story.”