Monday, April 8, 2013

A Womanizing Cop Meets His Match: An interview with romantic suspense author Chantel Rondeau

1) Please tell us about Crime and Passion.

It's a romantic mystery/suspense about a womanizing cop who has finally met his match in a sarcastic, sassy woman who is new to town. They are having plenty of problems getting together, because Madeline found a body on the beach, and Donovan is the prime suspect. Madeline believes in his innocence, but the murderer is threatening her life for cooperating with the police. Also, the other officers believe Donovan is the killer. Proving his innocence and catching the true culprit could be a problem for the pair. 

2) Please tell us about your main characters.

Donovan Andrews is a decorated police officer, having been on the force for twenty-one years. He takes exception to men who don't treat their wives and children properly, and this is what causes all of his troubles. Madeline Scott is a grade school teacher who's currently working as a dog walker until she finds a teaching position. She moved to the California coast a few months earlier to heal from the trauma of calling off her wedding after finding her fiance in bed with her maid of honor. The last thing she needs is a new man in her life, especially one with a reputation for the ladies that Donovan has.

3) What was behind your choice of professions for your main characters?

Donovan being a police officer is integral to the plot, since you don't often see a twenty-one year veteran of the force accused for murder, but in this case, the mounting evidence against him is hard to refute. Madeline's job was more one of pure fun. I love the interactions surrounding her job throughout the book and also, I'm an animal lover.

4) What sort of challenges do mixing romance and suspense pose?

Sometimes it is hard to get the characters together like I want too when writing suspense. Of course, the romance is important too, but it's not always simple to be like, "Hey, bad people, back off a bit so my characters can fall in love." However, it is a fun challenge that I really do enjoy. For me, the romance is the most satisfying part of any story, so it is important to me that the suspense doesn't take over too much.

5) What aspects of the combination heighten the intensity the respective elements?

I think having characters who are desperately in love makes everything more intense. Donovan knows that Madeline is next on the killers list, Madeline knows the killer is trying to frame Donovan for the crimes. Because they are also falling in love (with Madeline trying hard to not like Donovan) that compounds the problems. It makes it more than a simple witness to a crime dealing with the responding officer. The stakes are much higher than they would be otherwise.

6) Do you any links to any particular excerpts you'd like to share?

2 comments:

Chantel Rhondeau said...

Thank you so much for having me here today! I really appreciate it!

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