Patricia here, wishing everyone a happy Wednesday! Today, we’re welcoming Deborah Fletcher Mello to the blog. Deborah started her writing career in contemporary romance before adding romantic suspense. Her stories are full of emotion and packed with tension. How does she do this? Read on to find out. Deborah, you’ve got the stage!

Writing What I Know

With Valentine’s Day behind us for the year, I am reminded of how I transitioned from writing romance to writing stories with characters that don’t make it to the end of the book.

The year was 1986 and me with my bright ideas decided to shake up my usual Valentine’s routine. It was early in my first marriage and I thought I’d surprise the husband by picking him up at work in nothing but a trench coat. It was during a Connecticut winter. We skidded along the road and ended up stuck in a snowbank. The ensuing argument was one for the record books.

Three hours later, two state troopers and a tow truck finally got us home. I had ice formations in every crease and crevice of my body. The husband had attitude, swearing the tow truck driver got a peek at my goodies when a gust of wind blew up that trench coat. Two days later, I was bedridden, battling a nasty bronchial infection and a touch of pneumonia. I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day with my clothes off anymore, at least not if I’m planning to leave the house.

This was also the moment when my career as a suspense / mystery writer began to evolve. What’s that old adage? Write what you know? Me plotting how to kill the husband and blame it on a tow truck driver with a state trooper as a witness wasn’t as daunting as I’d initially imagined. In fact, it was surprisingly easy and I’ve not looked back since.

I love a good mystery. A stellar hero with a badge and a heroine who shoots first and asks questions later is icing on some very sweet cake! My most recent release, An Innocent Hostage, is romantic suspense gold and I say that with every ounce of bias I can muster. It’s the story of FBI agent Marcel Broussard and private investigator Alexis Martin. They have a complicated past and despite having broken Alexis’s heart, Marcel now needs her help to stop a baby trafficking ring that is holding his daughter hostage.

Writing what I know, I throw a lot of myself into every story I pen. I bring the dynamics of big family and sibling rivalry. I’ve had a broken heart, or two, and writing how that feels has been cathartic. I’ve also found great love with a really good man and I spin that into the romantic relationships I create. I’ve written about small towns, big cities, and exotic locals that took my breath away. There’s trust, betrayal, faith, and every now and again, pure unadulterated evil. And let’s not forget the occasional well-placed kiss. I’ve known well-placed kisses, and I’ve written some really good scenes about them. But that might be a blog for another time.

Writing what I know also encompasses much of what I don’t know, most especially in a good, who done it. The occasional serial killer or murder trope pushes my already vivid imagination to a whole other realm. It can also have me looking at myself with a serious side eye. Heaven help me if anyone ever discovers the search history on my computer!

I love the art of writing. With character development, I am able to incorporate the admirable qualities of my late father, my favorite guy, and other influential individuals into the portrayal of my protagonists. World building lets me reconnect with memorable people and places. Writing what I know is about sharing my stories and that is a privilege I value deeply. I’m blessed and grateful for this gift.

Readers, what genre of crime fiction would you write if you focused on writing what you know? Cozy mystery, traditional mystery, suspense, psychological thriller, Southern gothic, something else? Choose your own adventure—and let us know in the comments.

About An Innocent Hostage

His daughter is being held hostage by a cult…Can his ex, and a cult survivor, help?

FBI Agent Marcel Broussard knows recruiting PI Alexis Martin into his undercover cult rescue plan is risky. Their past is complicated, and she herself was the victim of the same cult in her youth—a group that’s currently trafficking babies. But saving his infant daughter depends on convincing the leader they’re married and fully indoctrinated. Soon, neither can deny their lingering feelings…even as their lives hang in the balance. Can Marcel trust the woman whose heart he broke to put aside the past and help him take down the evil in their midst?

About Deborah Fletcher Mello

In addition to crafting fiction and poetry, her writing experience encompasses twenty-plus years of scripting technical resources and training documentation for numerous corporations throughout the United States and abroad.  

Deborah’s first novel, Take Me To Heart, was a 2004 Romance Slam Jam Best New Author nominee. In 2008, Deborah won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best Series Romance for her ninth novel, Tame a Wild Stallion. Her book Craving Temptation was a Publishers Weekly Best Books for 2014 and was also nominated for a 2015 Emma Award for Book of the Year. Her novel Playing for Keeps was a Library Journal Best of 2015 and winner of the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award for Best Multicultural Romance. For Deborah, writing is as necessary as breathing. Weaving a story that leaves her audience feeling full and complete, as if they’ve just enjoyed an incredible meal, is an ultimate thrill for her.

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