In MOUNTAIN MURDER INVESTIGATION, your hero is an academic and your heroine is a cop. Was that an interesting dynamic to write? A lot of times, in stories with a cop hero, he tries (with good intentions but also often annoying) to direct the heroine he wants to protect. Does Aiden find it difficult taking his lead from Raven when it comes to his protection? Or do they more so work together?
Great question! Going into the story, I didn’t anticipate any issues. I quickly realized it was going to be a challenge to find balance in their relationship. I’m used to writing take-charge heroes, and I didn’t want to portray Aiden as weak. On the flip side, I couldn’t discount that Raven is the professional. Because Aiden respects her position and experience, he follows her guidance. He’s very protective of her, however—she is the love of his life, the one he walked away from in order to keep safe. He is more concerned with her wellbeing than his own. I hope readers come away satisfied with Aiden and Raven’s journey back to each other and the love they thought lost forever.
Based on the book description for MOUNTAIN MURDER INVESTIGATION, it sounds like there is some conspiracy going on. How is it different writing that kind of book rather than one in which there is danger coming from one villain – whether known or unknown?
Is the tension maintained throughout the book, or would you say there are enough romance or lighter moments to balance things out?
Having multiple villains ramps up the danger, but it makes my job a little harder—more people and details to keep track of. When I switched from historical romance to suspense a few years ago, I made it my goal to balance tension and danger with romance in each book. I wanted my characters’ love story to be believable, and that’s not always achievable if they are dodging bullets on every single page.
In some romantic suspense books I’ve read, the author will throw in the perspective of the unknown villain, in addition to alternating back and forth between the hero and heroine. Do you ever do that in your books?
Due to the guidelines in Love Inspired Suspense and the length of our books, authors are required to stick to the hero and heroine point of view.
Several authors have told me that the type of books they enjoy reading are different from the types of books they enjoy writing. Is that true for you? Favorite books? Favorite authors?
I do enjoy reading romantic suspense, but my favorite genres are Regency romance and YA paranormal. I also like the sweet contemporary romances and have recently gotten into nonfiction books about homeschooling, marriage, and Christian living. My sons and I read children’s books together, and I’ve been impressed with some of the selections. One of those books, Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, actually inspired me to write about a dyslexic heroine. That’s how Raven came about.
What are you currently working on?
I recently finished the final book in my Smoky Mountain Defenders series, WITNESS PROTECTION BREACH, which releases this October. I’m currently writing the first in a new suspense series featuring cowboys on a cattle ranch in southern Mississippi. It’s been fun doing the research on this one, and I’m excited to bring something different to my readers.
MOUNTAIN MURDER INVESTIGATION by Karen Kirst
Smoky Mountain Defenders
Faking his death was the only way for architecture professor Aiden Ferrer to stay alive. Especially when he was targeted for finding evidence of a cheating ring at the university that left one student dead. But threats against his ex-fiancée, mounted police officer Raven Hart, coerce him out of hiding. Now, with the clock ticking, they must expose the identities of all university members involved before the killers strike again.
Suspense | Mystery | Romance [Love Inspired, On Sale: March 29, 2022, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781335554956 / eISBN: 9780369716569]
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About Karen Kirst
Karen Kirst was born and raised in East Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. A lifelong lover of books, it wasn’t until after college that she had the grand idea to write one herself. The pursuit of her dream would take longer than she first anticipated…years, in fact. In the fall of 2010, she got the happy news that Harlequin Love Inspired Historical wanted to publish her manuscript-a true blessing from God. Now she divides her time between being a wife, homeschooling mom, and romance writer. Her favorite pasttimes are reading, hosting tea parties and spending time with friends.
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