Hi friends,
Today I have the joy of interviewing Susan Sleeman. If you aren’t familiar with Susan’s books, you’re missing out. She writes edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense. We’re going to be chatting about Susan’s latest series, Steele Guardians, which is action-packed! Hope you’ll enjoy the interview. It was such a pleasure getting to spend this time with her.
Your latest series is about six Steele women, all with law enforcement backgrounds who inherit a security business from their father. What excited you about writing an all-female cast of main characters?
I LOVE including strong women in books, and I haven’t recently done a series where each book featured a woman as a lead character. So I knew it was time and I had to find a way to make these women strong. I chose a field where a woman was less likely to be working so they have to be even stronger just to survive in their chosen field. And to make it even harder for them, I had their fathers who own the company require that they work five years in law enforcement before joining the family business. We like to think that women are treated equally in law enforcement, but there is still a struggle and it makes these women even more capable.
You pair the sisters with men ranging from an ATF agent to an ICE agent to an Army Ranger. How much research went into learning about the various agencies?
I’ve written over fifty books now so I’ve researched most agencies in the past and pretty much have police and military procedures down. But things change, so I keep up to date by reading about the agencies online. I also have a good friend who is a former law enforcement officer, Marine sniper, and weapons expert. He helps me work through scenarios. I also have sources for forensics and belong to a crime scene writers group where experts are very willing to answer questions. I am very blessed by the experts I have working behind the scene to help my stories ring true.
You clearly have your signature tense, taut suspense in these women’s stories. How do you weave in their romances while keeping the pacing so intense?
It can be hard to include romance when the characters are either running for their lives or investigating a tense crime. But there has to be downtime in fast-paced books or the readers will burn out. So I make sure that the romance occurs during that downtime. It’s usually in the form of the two characters getting to know each other. And if the books occur in a very short period of time, like Forged in Steele, which I am writing now, I make sure the characters have a past relationship that they just have to rekindle. I think that makes falling in love more believable for the reader.
What was your inspiration for this series?
Like most of my series, as I am writing the one that precedes it, a character or a group of minor characters takes hold of my interest and then I try to figure out how to include them in a series. In this instance, Detective Londyn Steele first appears in Night Vision, book 2 of my Nighthawk Security series. Then she continues to appear in this series taking on a bigger role in the final book so the readers get to know her before her starring role in Tough as Steele.
Each sister is so unique as well as the heroes who enter their lives. What kind of character work do you undertake before sitting down to tell their story?
Since my characters appear in every book in a series, I don’t start a series before I learn the basic traits and physical characteristics of every main character. I create a spreadsheet to store data such as hair and eye color, height, etc. Then I also determine the role the character will play in the group, and I determine their background and the couple’s conflict for each book. I add all of that to the spreadsheet so that when it comes time to write the books I have a strong understanding of each character’s basics.
I know this is a hard question, but do you have a favorite character, couple, or book in the series?
This is a similar question to when I’m asked if I have a favorite book. I don’t, by the way. My answer is always the book I’m currently writing because I am so immersed in the book and enjoy watching the characters’ stories unfold. And I love watching the characters find their way to their happily ever after while struggling with a faith issue.
Susan is kindly giving away the first two e-books in her Steele Guardian series. Woo-hoo! To be entered, just comment below. What’s your favorite thing about romantic suspense?
SUSAN SLEEMAN is the bestselling author of over fifty novels with more than one million books sold. She writes romantic suspense novels that are clean with inspiring messages of faith. Readers love her series for the well-drawn characters and edge-of-your-seat action. She graduated from the FBI and local police citizen academies, so her research is spot-on and her characters are real.
In addition to writing, Susan also hosts TheSuspenseZone.com. She has lived in nine states but now calls Oregon home. Her husband is a retired church music director, and they have two beautiful daughters, two terrific sons-in-law, and two adorable grandsons.
To learn more about Susan’s books sign up for her monthly email that includes exclusive excerpts, giveaways, and other goodies. http://www.susansleeman.com/susans-newsletter/
Or stop by any of these locations on the web.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | The Suspense Zone
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My favorite thing is the action, suspense and the romance!
This was really interesting, thank you! I love reading about strong women in a series, so this one sounds amazing! Looking forward to reading it.
Thank you for the Q&A with Susan Sleeman. LOVE this author’s books and always get excited with the announcement of each new upcoming release.
Love everything about romantic suspense stories! You can always depend on Susan to deliver both components seamlessly in a clean read that will have you turning pages quickly, giving a sigh of satisfaction on the last page and wishing the next book was out the next day. By adding the suspense to the romance, I think it kicks it up a notch. Nothing boring or slow paced about it. The edge of your seat suspense just reaffirms that life can change on a drop of a hat, that you need to make the best of the present and that love needs to be grabbed and cherished when it comes along. The romance part slightly softened the suspense making it exciting but to where it’s not a blood and guts thriller. Romantic suspense is the best of both genre rolled into one.
Thank you for the fabulous chance to win the first three books in her Steele Guardian series. Super exciting giveaway! Shared and would love to be the very fortunate one selected.
I love the sense of adventure and thrill – but don’t have to leave my couch to get it!
My favorite part of romantic suspense is the blend of the romance and suspense, not too mushy and not too serious. Thanks for having this giveaway!
I love Susan’s books! They have all of my favorite things: mystery, romance, fantastic characters, and a great story!
Oh, I’d love to read those books. Love Susan’s writing style 🙂
Great interview!
I’m always up for romance. Suspense gets my brain thinking. It’s good to train your brain and keep your mind fresh!
I admire suspense authors’ ability to weave a plot with sustained tension that ebbs and flows like a wave. This interview was fun and informative. Thanks for sharing.
Great interview, Susan! I’ve always loved reading romantic suspense. What I like most is the combination of both the growing romance that’s clean and the escalating suspense full of unexpected twists and turns in the plotlines. Romance without suspense doesn’t do it for me. Neither does suspense without romance.
Romance woven into suspense adds depth to the story and makes the characters more realistic, strengthening them through their trial and offering hope for the future.
Suspense in the story give us something else to look forward too. I’m always trying to figure out the “person or people” that is causing the trouble. (Whodunnit)
I love reading, and suspense – especially romantic suspense is my favorite genre. I love trying to figure out who done it, and resist the urge to go to the end to see if I’m right. Lol!
Susan’s books always capture the characters and make you feel as if you know them. The stories are intense but she does allow downtime so you as a reader can catch your breath. Some suspense writers jump in from the first chapter and keep it going, which can at times be too intense. Susan has a great balance.
I love that romantic suspense offers the fun of a romance but with a real story line. I just finished reading Susan’s Nighthawk series, so I look forward to reading Londyn’s story and meeting the rest of the Steeles!
I always love the suspense with a dash of romance and Susan Sleeman does this very well.
I love to read romantic suspense books as it keeps you guessing & interested to know what will happen next. The hard part is wanting to get to the end but not really wanting the story to end!
Romantic suspense has intrigue and real life characters. Love Susan’s other books! Can’t wait to read the new ones!
I like the clues that are woven through a story, and trying to figure out who is lying &/or hiding something… I usually don’t figure it out until the end-which makes for a good read for me!
I love how the mystery unfolds,and the hope and help a blooming, or rekindling, relationship brings into the suspense.
My favorite thing is trying to figure out which way the plot is going to go but being so caught up in the story I’m not sure I’m right. :o)
Thank you for sharing your stories with us, Susan and Dani!
I like some suspense in the books I read especially if they’re about strong women. Romance is secondary. I think I world enjoy these books.
I like that they make for exciting reads in every way.
The strong women, the exciting plots and the men who understand the strength of these women. Have read several of Susan’s series and have enjoyed each one immensely.
I enjoy the process of figuring out the crime while learning about the people charged with solving the crime.
Great blog post. I love the blend of mystery, suspense, and romance In romantic suspense books and trying to figure out whodunnit.
My favorite thing about a romantic suspense story is definately the adventure and suspense .
This looks great!! Romantic suspense is the best. 😀
I love the suspense with a bit of romance.
I enjoy romantic suspense because it has romance and mystery Loved hearing about Susan’s books!
I love Susan’s books. She gets just the right amount of romance to blend with nail-biting suspense.
Currently working on a romantic suspense myself and it is much easier said than done. So I appreciate the books I’ve read from you, homeland heroes especially. And yes, I think it’s the most catchy when you built up the history of a secondary person in the series and their relationship before giving a book all to them.
Sounds silly—but it is the “romatic suspense!” Love a love story and love not knowing what is going to happen…
I was glad to see that you interviewed Susan Sleeman because I love both of you as authors and I try to read all your books. I would love to win an ebook copy of Susan’s Steele Guardians series!!
I love the suspense that keep you on the edge of your seat.
Love your books and love Christian Suspense. I would love to win a book!
I’ve started the series and really love it! I’m not a huge suspense reader, but I started reading it to preread before my teens. Now I like certain authors.
I appreciate the interview and would love to win a copy for one of my children.
I love the Romance and the suspense. I first read your book. Dead Ringer from the Truth Seeker series. As I got it free. I was hooked. I had to buy the whole series. Then went on to buy the Cold Harbor series and then The Nighthawk Security series. I read them all one right after the other. I love the way the books interact with the characters from the other series.
The thing I love about romantic suspense is seeing two people work together to overcome a challenge in a way that strengthens their relationship. The majority of us don’t face life-threatening situations (thankfully!), but seeing couples work together as a team while playing to their individual strengths is always inspiring for our own daily life. Plus the fact the stories are so gripping you just have to read them in one sitting!