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[Brenda B.]

Sorry to post and hide. Life interfered. (see Chat)
I haven't done any research beyond reading lots of romantic suspense (that's generally the genre written on the spine of the paperback). But I think Kathy pretty well nailed it, thank you Kathy.  I especially like the phrase "gut emotion over intellectual puzzle." 

[JacquelineSeewald]

I'm coming back here to an older topic on the forum which I find troubling. I believe that romantic mysteries are mystery novels with an element of romance whether sexual or non-sexual. The key here is that the mystery is the dominant plot factor. In my two Five Star novels, THE INFERNO COLLECTION and THE DROWNING POOL, the novels were placed under the "romantic suspense" label, much to their detriment.
They are both mystery novels but with romantic elements which help to define character.  I think this is a problem many writers who cross genres face.

[Kelly K.]

Interesting that this thread is still going  I remember thinking I'd asked a stupid question.

I haven't touched mine since a couple of summers ago, but this has me thinking about going back to it.  I kind of liked my story -- or stories, the mystery and the romance -- I'd like to see if I can do something with it.

The romance part is boy-meets-girl, girl-and-boy-mistrust-but-are-attracted-to-each-other, circumstances-help-bring-them-together.  I think that pretty well follows the romance formula.

I'm not sure whether the mystery part falls too much in the suspense category, but there is definitely a who-dunit thread running through (as well as a what-did-they-do element).  We'll see how that goes.  I'm also trying to learn to trust my instincts and just write what comes out a little more than I tend to do. 

I guess I don't have a question right now, just needed to think it through with an audience who understands. 

[daringnovelist]

Glad to see this thread still alive. 

My current W.I.P. is a cozy mystery/comic suspense.  There is a very strong romantic element, but it really doesn't follow romance tropes.  The heroine is a committed spinster - she really likes being single, and would definitely not do well living with anyone else ever.  But there is a strong attraction with the hero - who is something of a soul mate, and who has girl troubles of his own.

My biggest problem is that I keep running up against standard romance tropes.  I have to worry about raising expectations that don't reflect where the story is going (not exactly anyway).  But I think I've got a handle on it, in that I need to pull those expectations out in the open as soon as they might come up, and do something with them. 

Camille