Love in Suspense interviews: Laura Kaye and K.A. Tucker
Romantic suspense lovers, have I got a treat for you today! I'm thrilled to be able to host two bestselling authors, K.A. Tucker and Laura Kaye, as they interview each other on some of their latest thrill-evoking work.
USA TODAY bestselling author K.A. Tucker recently released Burying Water, published by Atria Books, about a girl who wakes without memories, without any idea of who she is other than what she's been told … that she had almost died after a brutal attack. That she was left for dead one night as her body lay broken and bloodied in the worst possible way. Determined to discover the truth, she works to piece her life back together, as clues converge all around her before the truth unravels in the most unexpected way.
Author Laura Kaye interviews K.A. Tucker on this latest romantic suspense novel ...
Laura: I had the amazing opportunity to read your new Burying Water early, and I was blown away, both as a reader and as a writer. So the first thing I want to know is whether you knew Jesse's part of the story first or Water's, or if they came to you at the same time?
K.A.: When I began, I knew very little about either side of the story, besides the concept that Jesse's POV would be told in past and Water's would be told in present. I knew exactly how the story would begin and I knew that the reader would see Water's past slowly unravel before she herself ever fully understood what happened to her. Beyond that ... I sorted it out day-by-day, one painstaking scene at a time. LOL
Laura: What was your writing process in Burying Water? Because I spent the whole time going, Wow! She set that up fantastically! LOL What challenges did you face in meshing Water's present story with Jesse's past story?
K.A.: This is by far the most difficult story I've ever written because of the past/present dual POVs. As a reader, I'm typically not a fan of reading books that flip back and forth between the past and the present. If the pacing isn't just right, it tends to pull you out of the story. If one side isn't as compelling, you tend to rush through it to get to the other. So I knew I had to get the pacing just right, revealing elements in an interesting way. That meant A LOT of revising and writing out of order, which I don't normally do and is especially difficult for me and my linear thinking. I was chopping and shifting sections around so much that I'd forget where I put them. I think I was on version 19 in my saved folder before I finally felt satisfied with the flow.
Laura: What drew you to incorporating a more suspenseful plot into a New Adult story? I've enjoyed a lot of New Adult titles, and this struck me as something new, unique and even daring.
K.A.: For exactly the reason you described. I wanted something new, unique and daring. I'm a reader who tends to get very bored easily (I have no interest in reading the same story over and over again). I'm also a writer who tends to get bored very easily. I like testing a character's moral compass and a reader's comfort level in new ways. To me, Burying Water is a beautiful love story struggling to break free from an ugly reality. I enjoyed the challenge of blending moments of sweet romance with an undercurrent of tragedy. It heightens the conflict and naturally makes the plot more interesting.
Laura: Burying Water explores the themes of second chances and blank slates in a really interesting and compelling way. Did you set out to write about those themes and what role do you think they'll play in pulling readers into this story and these characters?
K.A.: When I set out to write this novel, I was more focused on the theme of truth. But the more into the story that I delved, the more I realized that, for Water, the themes of second chances and blank slates were what would give her the strength to continue on, both in her past and in her present. I didn't want her focus to be completely consumed by what happened to her. I think themes, if done right, are a very powerful way to make a reader feel for the characters — understand them, sympathize with them. The trick is that those themes need to be baked into the plot in a non-contrived way, otherwise it tends to feel preachy.
And now K.A. turns the tables on Laura …
New York Times bestselling author Laura Kaye has written a series rife with sexiness and suspense. The Hard Ink novels follow a team of ex-Special Forces men as they find love and justice, one book at a time. Each installment in the series features a different character and her latest, Hard to Hold On To, is a novella that imparts the story of Edward "Easy" Cantrell — a man who struggles to forget the day he wasn't able to save his friends, who struggles to feel alive until he meets Jenna Dean. Laura's next full-length novel in the series, Hard to Come By, is coming Nov. 25. Derek DiMarzio is willing to lay it all on the line for his colleagues, but when he unexpectedly meets Emilie Garza, he finds himself conflicted by how he feels, whom he should trust and what needs to happen as enemies close around them.
K.A.: This is the first series I've read that involves a team of ex-military Special Forces men and I found it to be a refreshing change. What was impressive is that you were able to create each of these characters with their own unique voice and identity, even though they are all driven by the same code and very similar in many ways that could dominate a personality (protectiveness, strength, alpha, etc.). While writing this series, was creating this cast of characters ever especially challenging for you?
Laura: There is such a huge cast of characters in the Hard Ink world that it can be a challenge. But since characters come to me first, they're usually pretty distinct in my head. The way they sound, the way they talk, even the way they feel in my head is all different. And, of course, when you have a large character list, you have to give them distinct traits to help readers keep them straight and see them as individuals, so Shane's the former medic who talks with the Southernisms, and Easy's the quiet and withdrawn one and the only African-American of the group, and Nick's the leader who's also a tattoo artist, and Marz is the funny one who knows all things computers, and so forth. Characters are my fave!
K.A.: You've done something unique with this series in that you've written a continuous series but have kept it fresh by focusing on a new member of the Special Forces team with each book. Is this something you planned from the very beginning? What made you decide to write the series this way and were you worried that readers would feel a disconnect with the main plotline?
Laura: From the beginning I knew the five surviving members of this disgraced Army Special Forces unit had to solve the mystery of how and why they got kicked out of the Army. So I knew there was going to be an overarching suspense plot that would unfold across all the books in the series, only making so much progress with each book. But I wanted readers to have some closure, too, which meant the team members' individual romances would wrap up entirely in their respective books. While some readers have wanted all the answers right away, most have totally embraced the mystery and it's great fun hearing readers' speculations! The thing is, I didn't really "plan" the series this way so much as this was the way the story came to me …
K.A.: Based on some previous questions to you, I know that you have experience with the navy and this, along with a lot of research, allowed you to write this series with some level of expertise. You managed to weave a lot of technical content into the story in an easily digestible way for the reader, giving just enough for us to know critical elements and make the story feel authentic without going overboard and boring the reader. This is a real challenge for most writers. Any tips on how to get this balance right?
Laura: OMG, it is such a balancing act. But here's the other thing — as much research as I've done for every part of this series, I'm not an expert on most of it. So I also think about giving enough detail to be authentic but not so much that I get something wrong. One of the things I can do is tell a highly technical scene or information from the character who's not the expert, and that way it wouldn't be expected for that person to know and recount all the details (and get it all right). I think another key to achieving this balance is to have a critique partner or beta reader read it — if they get bogged down, you have more detail than you need.
K.A.: This is very much "romantic suspense" — where you need to straddle the romance aspects of the story with a meaty suspenseful plot that extends over several books — and I think you did this very well. Where do you see romantic suspense going in the future? The edgy New Adult category has made a significant impact in the market over the past two years and a common complaint I'm seeing/hearing from readers is that NA romance books being released lately don't have enough depth to their stories. Do you see the NA market swinging more toward romantic suspense for that depth or is there simply a missing ingredient in today's general contemporary romance that NA authors should look at?
Laura: The thing I like about romantic suspense is that there's built-in conflict and real, life-and-death stakes. Those can be harder to achieve for straight contemporary (though totally doable!). I think more suspenseful plot lines would be a natural fit for New Adult, since many New Adult stories contain some sort of past trauma or tragedy that you could imagining coming back to haunt the characters in the present time of the book. And since paranormal is often filled with suspense anyway, the rise of more and more New Adult paranormal titles (a la upcoming books by Jennifer L. Armentrout and Cora Carmack, for example) could create another avenue for suspense in New Adult. The suspense and mystery in your book was fantastic, and it would be great to see more like that!
To learn more about K.A. and Laura and their books, visit their websites at www.katuckerbooks.com and laurakayeauthor.com.
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Vilma Gonzalez is a blogger, reader, marketer, wife and mom. She has an insatiable appetite for happily ever afters and a deep love of the written word. You can find more about her and read full book reviews at Vilma's Book Blog. Please e-mail Vilma at loveinsuspense@gmail.com about content related to this column. Due to the volume of mail, e-mails may not be answered personally, but all will be read.