If fear of not being able to keep readers on the edge of their seats while rooting for love to triumph has held you back from writing romantic suspense, today’s blog is exactly what you need. Bestselling author Delaney Diamond, with over 50 contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels to her name, is here to share her expert insights. Her wealth of experience makes her the perfect guest to reveal the secrets of blending action, romance, and complex characters into a gripping story that readers won’t want to put down.

Drawing from her own successful career, Delaney reveals actionable tips for starting strong, crafting relatable yet flawed characters, and raising the stakes with heart-pounding suspense. These techniques are key to balancing emotional depth with high-octane action, ensuring that your readers are hooked and won’t stop turning pages until the very end. 

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I started my author career writing contemporary romance, and while it’s still my first love and what I write the most, I’ve developed an appreciation for writing and reading romantic suspense. My current romantic suspense series is The Cordoba Agency, about a group of former government spies and assassins working for a security company in Georgia. They’re highly skilled and kill without remorse.

The positive reviews on my books (I ignore the negative ones, lol) include words like “fast-paced,” “couldn’t put it down,” and “sexy and romantic.” Frankly, writing these books is a lot of fun, and I have some tips on how to write romantic suspense that makes it difficult for readers to put down your book until the very end.

Start strong

Your first job is to hook the reader, and I learned this from James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure. There are plenty of distractions in the world—other books, streaming services, and just life. You want to hook the reader so they set aside everything else and focus on your book.

Grab their attention with a great opening scene and establish the tone of the novel so readers know what to expect. Hint at the mystery or danger so they’ll want to find out what happens next.

I write fast-paced stories, therefore my opening scene always includes some type of action sequence. For instance, in Heart Stealer, the opening scene shows the heroine coming home to find her husband dead. The killers are still in the house and chase her into the safe room. In my latest, Heaven Sent, the hero is in an unnamed South American country planting explosives that blow up the lair of human traffickers. They eventually chase him through the jungle until he’s air-lifted out by his colleagues.

However you start the novel, that’s how you want to continue to meet reader expectations. Just make sure you start strong to create curiosity and excitement about the story.

Write complex characters

Since characters are the heart of a story, the importance of good characterization cannot be overstated. Flawed but relatable characters allow the reader to connect with them, sympathize with them, and root for their success. Not just in the suspense elements of the story, but in the romance elements, as well.

You can create sympathy by writing a character who is the underdog, or write a likable character who is funny and/or kindhearted. Readers also connect with characters who are really good at their jobs. Make sure you show examples of these attributes on the page.

Ultimately, when readers like and care about your characters, they become invested in the outcome of the story and will read to the end—cheering them on every step of the way. The suspense elements should work in tandem with the romance. Use the suspense to keep the couple together and deepen their connection. Readers will root for their happily ever after, as well as a positive conclusion to the mystery.

That doesn’t mean the characters have to be goody two shoes. Remember, my heroes and heroines are killers, but readers still root for them. Why? Because they like them, they understand their motivations, and find them relatable. They want them to get the bad guys and ride off into the sunset together.

Raise the stakes

This is my absolute favorite part of writing romantic suspense! I love putting my characters through the wringer—emotionally, as well as physically.

On an emotional level, you can create conflict by having two opposing viewpoints. The hero might want to be in a relationship with the heroine, while she might be finished with love after getting her heart broken in the recent past. Even better if he was the one who broke her heart. Does she really want to get close to him and risk getting hurt again?

You can also raise the stakes by putting the characters in physical jeopardy. I do that through the use of gun fights, car chases, and explosions. As a lover of action flicks, it’s a great way to add elements of surprise and danger to the story, keeping readers turning the pages to see how the characters will escape the latest dangerous scenario. 

For example, in Until Now, the hero and heroine are riding in an SUV when they’re boxed in and the heroine is kidnapped. A car chase ensues, with the unspoken question being, Will he be able to save her?

You’ll also keep readers on their toes and gasping out loud by incorporating unexpected twists and turns. You can do that by having someone the characters trust betray them. That’s what happened in Until Now, when the heroine was kidnapped. Don’t be shocking just to be shocking. Make sure it makes sense to the story.

I highly recommend Story Trumps Structure by Steven James. As a pantser, I found this book to be very helpful and filled with gems, including a bit of advice that I use to incorporate scenes that raise the stakes. James advises that authors should not be asking ‘What should happen next?’ Instead, they should ask, ‘What should go wrong?’

Write a knock-out ending

End strong—not just in the romance department, but in the suspense department, as well. Make sure readers receive the satisfying ending they’re accustomed to in romance, where the relationship ends with a promise of the characters staying together in a loving relationship.

On the suspense side, the climax often includes a situation where the life of one or more of the characters is threatened, or they struggle to defeat the enemy and stop them from achieving their goals. Making the reader feel as if the characters will fail—in their relationship or in stopping the villain—keeps them turning the pages. When the characters succeed, the reader will be relieved and left with a sense of satisfaction.

But there’s another reason to have a knock-out ending, which James Scott Bell mentions in Plot & Structure. A strong ending sells the next book. If you can make the reader satisfied at the end of the story, they’re more likely to buy your next one.

Final thoughts

Writing romantic suspense is a balancing act which involves capturing the reader’s interest with a romantic story while incorporating suspense elements to make their hearts race. By starting strong and keeping readers engaged with complex, relatable characters, an emotional love story, and scenes that raise the stakes, you’ll be able to keep readers turning the pages and anxiously waiting for the next book to drop.

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