Here’s a secret.
I don’t start with the plot.
Not at first.
All novels, and Romantic Suspense novels are no different, start with characters. Period. Characters.
Amanda Hocking, the young cause célèbre who just got a six-figure advance for her self-published books, made a very astute remark. I’ll paraphrase what she said:
The reason my books sell is because they are about characters. Most novels I read are about ideas in search of . . .