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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

WHY DO WE LIKE SUSPENSE FICTION?



Linda J. White writes "white-knuckle fiction," FBI thrillers with a twist of faith. Her goal in life is to keep readers up all night turning pages. Born in Washington, D.C., her great aunt dated J. Edgar Hoover. A national-award winning journalist, Linda lives in rural Virginia now, near the FBI Academy where her husband worked for 27 years. She has three grown kids, four grandkids, 1.5 cats, and a Sheltie who tries to herd them all. When she's not writing, Linda loves being with her family, at the beach, or doing something with dogs.



What keeps you on the edge of your seat? A woman in danger? A man thwarted? A puzzling crime? Why do we read (or write!) suspense fiction?

Stories fascinated me even as a little kid—stories of struggles, of heroes, of people overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. I can remember playing “Lost in the Arctic” in hip-high snow, plunging through drifts, exhorting myself not to lie down no matter how tired I was lest I freeze to death. (Had I read Jack London at that point?) Of course, all the time I was in my backyard. My mother was probably in the kitchen shaking her head at my drama while making hot chocolate for me.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”

As a child, I needed those “brave knights” and that “heroic courage.” Even as an adult, the struggles of life often send me scurrying for fortitude. In suspense fiction I find good guys and bad guys, a puzzle to solve and problems to overcome. I find heroes. And Christian suspense not only prompts me to be courageous and to persevere, but reminds me to trust God, the Author of the Great Story which we are all living.

That’s why I love these books. Now, why do you read suspense?

Leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of Linda's novel, SNIPER! (U.S. only) 

Shocked by the murder of a friend, FBI Special Agent Kit McGovern vows to bring the killer to justice. Then the shooter kills again, and again … and again.

Saddled with an unpredictable partner, forced to put her personal life on hold, Kit doggedly pursues the sniper. Quantico sends a
geographic profiler to help identify him, but the killing of a young woman outside the probability zone casts doubt on that technique. As panic grips the Hampton Roads area, pressure mounts, and Kit soon finds herself in the crosshairs of failure—and death. 



20 comments:

  1. I love reading suspense. I like the edge of the seat adventure and never knowing what will happen next.

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  2. I love to read suspense. Call of the Wild by Jack London was my first introduction to suspense books. My father kept us interested in suspense by his stories he would tell at night. There was no shortage of suspenseful books in our house. Since my dad managed the theater at Goodfellow Air Force base in San Angelo Texas in the evenings whenever there was a good suspense movie my father allowed us to go to the movies with him. Alfred Hitchcock is the best director as far as suspenseful movies. I like to read Irene Hannon and I have never heard ofl Mrs White so I am going to have to try her books out.

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  3. I love fast-moving, page-turning books.I love trying to put clues together to solve the mystery!

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  4. I love suspense because I like the thrill of figuring out what is going on, the adrenaline rush as the characters cleverly weave a story of intensity and wanting the book to not end,

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  5. At a writers' conference, I heard a mystery/suspense author say that mystery and suspense fiction is a battle between "good and evil." That really captured my attention. It's true. There are heroes and villains. And in our stories, the heroes prevail through their faith, their courage and their commitment to find justice. It's exciting!

    Welcome to the Suspense Sisters, Linda. We're so glad you're here!

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  6. Welcome! Nice to meet you. I'm somewhat familiar with your part of VA. Spent lots of summers at VA Beach. I love suspense novels with twists and turns and the uncertainty of how they will turn out. Blessings to you for your writing.

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  7. I love suspense because...have no idea, it just draws me in. lol Sniper is next on my books to read, like starting tonight. :-) And welcome to the Suspense Sisters!

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  8. Mrs. White would be a new and author to me and what better way to be introduced than Sniper. It looks like a great read :)

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  9. I love suspense, and this book sounds incredibly fascinating!

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  10. Welcome to Suspense Sisters, Mrs. White! I love reading suspense!

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  11. Yay! Love reading your suspense books. Can't wait to read Sniper! Your works are never boring!

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  12. My favorite genre' is Christian Romantic Suspense. Welcome to Suspense Sisters - love this group.

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  13. Suspense novels keep me guessing and turning pages when I should be doing other things. I love sweet romances too but there’s just something about suspense.... plus at my age it’s wonderful to keep the ‘ole ticker pumping, sometimes at breakneck speeds. Let’s me know I’m still alive, LOL!
    tumcsec(at)gmail(dot)com

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  14. I love the challenge of figuring out how the hero/heroine will get out of their predicament.

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  15. Suspense is unpredictable. I enjoy trying to figure out who is the "good" guy/gal and the "bad" guy/gal.
    betsylu2@msn.com

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  16. I love suspense novels. The twists and turns of the plots. I hope to be reading yours soon.

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  17. One of my favorite genres is suspense. I like watching NCIS, too! This would be right up my dark alley! Thanks for the chance to win. paulams49ATsbcglobalDOTnet

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  18. I love suspense stories,perhaps because my life is pretty calm!
    Janice
    pjrcmoore@windstream.net

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  19. My love affair with mystery and suspense began with Nancy Drew and it has never stopped! I try to solve the crime or just a mysterious happening with the hints and clues slipped into the story. I love for good to prevail and I especially enjoy the Christian suspense that we are now being offered!
    Welcome Linda!
    Blessings!
    Connie
    cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com

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  20. I love Christian suspense. What you say is true...love the good vs evil with the reminder of God is in all things and I need to trust in Him.

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