We’re talking today to Kerri Nelson about her latest romantic suspense novel, Cross Check My Heart.
Thank you for this interview, Kerri. Can we begin by having you tell us why you chose to write romantic suspense novels opposed to other genres?
That’s an easy one … I have a degree in criminal justice and law enforcement. I’ve worked in various areas of the legal system for over fifteen years. Add to that the fact that I’m a great grand daughter of a U.S. federal marshal and you’ll see that all things legal run deep in my blood. Therein derives my love of creating and solving the mystery in suspense novels.
Q. Did you outline before you wrote your book or did you just go with the flow?
I’ve tried about every method you can think of to plot a book. What I’ve found is that whenever I try to do plotting, I’ll spend more time creating the outline than I do actually writing the book!
I’m clearly what is known as a “pantser” in the industry (meaning I write by the seat of my pants)!
Q. Who was your favorite character in Cross Check My Heart and why?
Now this is a tough one. I love all my characters because they are all a real part of me. That being said, I’d have to say that Danny (the hero) is my favorite simply because he’s such a tough guy with a heart of gold. You absolutely cannot avoid falling in love with him.
Q. Who was your least favorite character?
I really don’t have one. Even the bad guys were fun to write. Even though you really hate them at heart, they are still an integral part of the story. So, I have to say that I love to hate them.
Q. Can you tell us about the setting and why you chose it?
Yes, this story is primarily set right outside Chicago, Illinois, which is where the U.S. hockey team actually does their training. I researched this fact and set my story accordingly. I loved doing the research for this story. I mean, who doesn’t love being forced (for authenticity sake, of course) to look at Web sites featuring hunky hockey players?
Q. What was the hardest part to write?
The hardest part to write was the ending. I wanted to wrap up everything in a neat little package but yet I felt that I could easily keep the storyline going. Sometimes you have to know when to quit and let the story end. Sometimes telling a writer to stop writing is the toughest challenge of all. This one turns out to be a fairly short novel but I really think it ended accordingly.
Q. What was the inspiration behind the story? Where were you when you came up with the idea?
The inspiration behind the story is simply the fact that I love hockey. Even as a Southern girl, I’m a fan of the sport. I’ve always wanted to write a hockey themed romance and when this story came to me—and the Winter Olympics were on the horizon—I figured that it was now or never!
I come up with about 90 percent of my story ideas while taking a shower. I often joke that my muse is a real minx who only likes to visit me when I’m nude. But I think the real truth is that she only visits me when I’m alone and with three children in the house, the shower is my only alone time of the day!
Q. Do you plan on writing more romantic suspense novels?
Absolutely, I’m currently writing four different novels at the moment and all of them have romantic suspense elements of some form or fashion. No matter what the genre of the book turns out to be, you can rest assured that I almost always will have some sort of suspense element included.
Q. Thank you for this interview, Kerri. We wish you much success!
Thank you for having me. I really appreciate your time and interest in my stories. I encourage readers to give me a try and I’d love to hear what you think of Danny and Jana!
You can visit Kerri’s Web site at kerrinelson.com.