Nostalgic Moment with Irene Hannon

 

                                                                      

NOSTALGIC MOMENT



Friday, December 29, 2017

One Genre—or Two?



By Irene Hannon


I write in two genres—contemporary romance and romantic suspense—and I’m often asked how this came about and how I make it work. So, let’s talk about that for a few minutes.


My very first book was a romantic suspense novella—and it was really, really, really bad. (Sorry for all those adverbs, but they capture the badness!) One of the many reasons it was so bad is because I had no contacts in law enforcement (a serious problem if your main character is a police detective) and there was no internet. We’re talking the Dark Ages here.


Stymied, I decided to switch to contemporary romance. While most books in that genre do require some research, in general it’s less intense and technical than the kind needed for a heavy-duty suspense novel.


After writing three books, I connected with a publisher and was off and running in contemporary romance.


Or so I thought.


Problem was, after two of my three contracted books were published, the line I wrote for was discontinued.


I did connect with another publisher eventually…then another…and my career picked up momentum.


Twenty-six books later, I got the urge to try romantic suspense again. This time, I not only had contacts, I had the internet. Piece of cake, right?


Wrong.


My 26 mass market series romance books didn’t mean a thing to single-title, trade-paperback publishers—especially since I was an unknown in romantic suspense.


In the end, I did connect with a wonderful publisher, and now write both contemporary romance and romantic suspense for them under the same pen name.


I think this has worked well for me because my books share three common elements.


First, romance is central to all my novels. A reader who picks up an Irene Hannon book knows it will contain a central love story and that the ending will be happy.


Second, my focus in both genres is on my characters. I use the plot to deepen character development as well as to propel the story. As a result, my suspense books are not action/adventure novels, where characters’ lives hang in the balance on every page while shots fly, and bombs explode, and planes are hijacked. Instead, I build toward a suspenseful climax while delving deep into my characters’ minds (including the villain’s), taking readers along with me. Those who read my books know they’ll get an in-depth character dive in every story I write.


Third, all my books contain moments of mirth, deeply emotional scenes, and relatable heroes and heroines the reader can connect with and root for.


As a result of these common elements, I have many readers who enjoy my books in both genres.


That said, some of the suspense readers have dinged me in Amazon reviews because my contemporary romances weren’t to their taste. There are also some readers who enjoy my contemporary romances but find my suspense tales too scary. So, the crossover isn’t one hundred percent.


My publisher does differentiate between the two genres with two very different cover styles, and that helps readers make choices consistent with their tastes. It’s pretty obvious that Sandpiper Cove and Dangerous Illusions are not in the same genre!


Bottom line, writing in two genres has worked for me for the reasons outlined above. But if you’re thinking of writing, say, young adult dystopian fantasy and regency romance—different pseudonyms might be in order!

Irene Hannon is the bestselling author of more than sixty novels, including the long-running Hope Harbor series, as well as Point of Danger and the Code of Honor, Private Justice, and Men of Valor suspense series, among others.

Her books have been honored with three coveted RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, and she is a member of that organization’s elite Hall of Fame. Her many other awards include National Readers’ Choice, Daphne du Maurier, Retailers’ Choice, Booksellers’ Best, Carol, and Reviewers’ Choice from RT Book Reviews magazine, which also honored her with a Career Achievement Award for her entire body of work. In addition, she is a two-time Christy Award finalist. Learn more at www.irenehannon.com.

The Chapter Checklist

Irene Hannon

Every writer knows there is no one right way to write a book. It’s a process unique to each author. While one may procrastinate, then use deadline-producing adrenaline to race to the finish, another maps out their schedule with precise daily or weekly word counts and builds in time to coast to the deadline. Whatever works for you is the right way.

But when it comes to polishing writing—a more mechanical than creative process—there are some general guidelines that can work for every author. And an amazing amount of creativity can creep in at this stage, too.

One polishing techniques that has worked well for me is the chapter checklist. I’m in the weekly-word-count-coast-to-the-finish camp, and I write polished drafts. That means I have a master document (the polished manuscript), and no chapter gets moved into it until it’s “done.” At the end, I have a finished book, ready to turn in with only a final read-through for smoothing and minor editing.

The chapter checklist helps me achieve this painless finish. Before I move a chapter into the master document, I give it a rigorous going over. Here’s what’s on my checklist:

1. Do a global search for overused words. This list is personal for every author, but we all have pet words that creep into our writing far too often. My list has grown over the years and is now much too long, making the process tedious—but by searching out these words and finding alternatives, my writing stays fresher and less repetitive.

2. Cut adverbs. I again use global search to do this, putting ly in the search box. Many authors fall into the trap of using too many adverbs—which don’t make for the strongest writing. My rule is no more than two per manuscript page…and in general, I have one—or less.

3. Skim through the chapter and check the first word in every paragraph. It’s easy to become repetitive here—e.g., using too many he, she, first names, etc. Vary paragraph openings with different parts of speech. My basic rule is that no two sequential paragraphs should start with the same word—dialogue being the exception.

4. Run spell check. This is my last step before deeming a chapter ready to move into the master document.

If you’re a writer who writes the whole book in one fell swoop and later goes back to clean it up, this exercise is still worthwhile. But it’s less overwhelming if you do it chapter by chapter.

And you’ll be amazed how much of a luster this puts on your work.

Irene Hannon is the bestselling author of more than sixty novels, including the long-running Hope Harbor series, as well as Point of Danger and the Code of Honor, Private Justice, and Men of Valor suspense series, among others.
Her books have been honored with three coveted RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, and she is a member of that organization’s elite Hall of
Fame. Her many other awards include National Readers’ Choice, Daphne du Maurier, Retailers’ Choice, Booksellers’ Best, Carol, and Reviewers’ Choice from RT Book Reviews magazine, which also honored her with a Career
Achievement Award for her entire body of work. In addition, she is a two-time Christy Award finalist.


Learn more at www.irenehannon.com.