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Romantic suspense novels vs. Mystery

My latest novel THE INFERNO COLLECTION, published in hardcover by Five Star/Gale went under their romance category. Actually, the novel is a strong murder mystery thriller with an element of romance. I've noticed that the men who've read my novel enjoyed it just as much as the women. When a mystery novel is categorized as "romantic suspense", does this mean the publisher is saying the book is only for women? Is it a way of saying that mystery is not really an important element in a book? In my case, I spent years writing a novel that I considered quality. Opinions please!

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Permalink Reply by Morgan Mandel on February 22, 2008 at 7:38pm: Sometimes it depends on the market and who you're trying to reach. Romantic suspense seems to be stronger lately,so maybe your publisher wanted you categorized to take advantage of the current market.
My mystery, Two Wrongs, can be either categorized as a romantic suspense or a mystery. It depends on
my audience what I choose to call it, but my publisher has it under mystery, not romance. It came out 2 years ago, so tastes have probably changed since then.
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Permalink Reply by Jacqueline Seewald on February 23, 2008 at 5:02am: Morgan,

I read a lot of mysteries that I would consider romantic suspense as well. Faye Kellerman's work is quite romantic. J.A. Jance and Tami Hoag write mysteries that have strong romance elements. A number of men as well as women have enjoyed THE INFERNO COLLECTION. I would hate to think the audience was limited because the book was placed in a category. This is a problem with genre novels; publishers wants to pidgeon-hole the writing. Very medieval!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mary Dee on February 23, 2008 at 8:19pm: Mystery is a term that automatically attracts me. Romantic Suspense is something I would not touch (actually would avoid) unless very highly recommended by someone who likes the same sort of books that I do. That is just me, but I wonder if others have similar tastes. Most of my men friends do not read romantic anything in public.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jacqueline Seewald on February 24, 2008 at 5:02am: Sometimes there's a narrow line separating mystery and romantic suspense.. Jayne Ann Krentz, for example, is a writer of romantic suspense. This means the romance is more important to the story than the mystery. However, she is an intelligent writer who writes quality fiction so there is always a good mystery in her novels as well. Many mystery writers have strong romances in their novels. It's something of a balancing act. The last John Sanford novel I read had strong romantic elements although it was a mystery thriller. With my novel, THE INFERNO COLLECTION, I also did a balance between the two genres. I confess that the mystery thriller aspect was what guided the story line. However, character development was also crucial. Kim Reynolds is a complex human being as well as a librarian sleuth. Dealing with her personal demons and finding love is a significant aspect of the novel as well.; ▶ Reply to This

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MORGAN'S OWN BLOGSPOT

Are you ready?

I am so not ready for Christmas. I just realized I don't have much time either. One good thing is the DH is off Friday and possibly all next week, so I can give him a few chores to do, which may help some. I'm counting on him to put stamps and labels on the Christmas cards, and do a few things around the house to straighten it out some. Unfortunately, I'm the organizer in the family, so I can't expect too much on the getting-the- house ready front. That's pathetic, since I'm not very organized. (g)

Anyway, I hope to get the house into decent shape before Christmas, when I do my annual meal for the family. There's also that Christmas list to get together. Time is ticking away.

What about you? Are you ready for Christmas? Or do you celebrate another Holiday? If so, are you ready?

Please Welcome Mary Cunningham, Cynthia's Attic Author

Discovering Family in Cynthia's Attic

One of the main reasons for writing "Cynthia's Attic" came from my failure - failure to appreciate my ancestors. Our family stories are probably no more or less interesting than most, and I went out of my way to avoid remembering most of them or asking questions about my grandparents lives.

For instance. Did I bother to ask my grandfather what it was like playing in the first night football game in America?

Or did I try to find out just which relative "supposedly" sold a city block on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles for $20,000? Guaranteed, I would not be sitting here writing a blog had that particular relative held on to the property.

Then there's the story, "Cynthia's Attic: Curse of the Bayou," of my great-great grandfather, Augustus Boilliat who disappeared in 1860 while taking a load of produce down the Mississippi River to New Orleans? Oh, sure I've read different accounts about what happened to him, but lost forever are the stories his grandson (my grandfather) could've told me about facts he'd heard from my great-great grandmother, Marie Julia, about her husband's disappearance.

I remember a few accounts told by my dad about his adventures as a teenage cave guide at one of the largest caves in the Southern Indiana area, Wyandotte, but I only have to guess at some of the adventures he must've had.

That's why I'm writing adventures I wanted my ancestors to have; adventures I can enjoy with them through the eyes and voice of my character, Gus.

The idea for Cynthia's Attic: The Magician's Castle came from detailed genealogy research done by my cousin, Betty. Long before the Internet, she traveled to Switzerland to search for documents that would tie our great-grandmother, Harriet Kistler, to Peter Kistler the First, President of the Republic of Bern, 1470-1480. I've tried to honor the Kistler family in the fourth adventure in Cynthia's Attic.

Thanks, Morgan, for having me as a guest!

Mary Cunningham

Mary Cunningham is the author of the award-winning 'Tween fantasy/mystery series, Cynthia’s Attic. She is proud to announce the release of book four, "The Magician's Castle," Dec 1, 2009. Her children's mystery series was inspired by a recurring dream about a mysterious attic. After realizing that the dream took place in the home of her childhood friend, Cynthia, the dreams stopped and the writing began.

She is also co-writer of the humor-filled, women's lifestyle book, "Women Only Over Fifty (WOOF)," along with published stories, "Ghost Light" and "Christmas Daisy," A Cynthia's Attic short story.

To celebrate the release of "The Magician's Castle," (Quake/Echelon Press, DEC 1, 2009), a winner will be chosen on each blog stop to receive a copy of the "Cynthia's Attic" short story, "Christmas With Daisy!" So, be sure to make a comment!

Mary Cunningham Books
http://www.marycunninghambooks.com/

Cynthia's Attic Blog
http://www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com/

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Cunningham/e/B002BLNEK4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?_encoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=digital-text&field-author=Mary%20Cunningham

Fictionwise
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/a20811/Mary-Cunningham/?

Quake/Echelon Press
http://www.echelonpress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=23&zenid=4ac57b7ae19fa071cab3b4295df7baf3

Please leave a comment to welcome Mary.

Check out the Mystery of the Missing Checks

Monday, I'm over at my group blog, http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/, where I'm blogging about the mystery of the missing checks. Come on over and find out what it's all about.

Thanks,
Morgan Mandel

Can We Talk?

I'm firming up some dates for speaking engagements in 2010. One's tentatively set for March 28, at 1:30 at the Niles Public Library, another probably in mid May at the Schaumburg Township District Library.

Also, coming up is a radio interview at WJJQ again on May 7, at 9:35 a.m. before my booksigning May 8 at Cover to Cover Books in Tomahawk, WI.

I've heard that some people are more afraid of public speaking than of dying. Surprisingly, I find it easier each time I do it. As long as I have my cheat sheet with me to glance down at once in a while for security and I like what I'm talking about, I'm okay.

What about you? Do you like to talk or would you rather not?