Introducing Raquel Byrnes and her novel, Purple Knot!

Raquel Byrnes lives in Southern, California with her husband of sixteen years and their six children. She considers inspirational fiction a wonderful way to minister to others. She writes romantic suspense with an edge-your-seat pace. Her first book the Shades of Hope Series, Purple Knot, releases on June 3rd from White Rose Publishing. You can visit her at her website: www.raquelbyrnes.com and her writing blog, Edge of Your Seat Romance.




As part of her blog tour to promote her book and writing, Raquel stopped by here. Sit back and have a visit with Raquel!

What would you be doing if you couldn’t write?

I apprenticed for a pastry chef when I was first married and I think I’d go back to that if for some reason I couldn’t write. European pastries are my favorite!

If you could trade places with anyone who would it be?

With my son, Noah, just for a day. He has autism. He’s high-functioning and doing great, but I’d love to see the world as he does. 

Many writers think of writing a novel long before they actually do it. Was there something that pushed you to finally get it started?

I had a bunch of notes in a journal from an experience with a friend of mine. All the worry and hope from those days called to me for a story. I found a way to convey those feelings through a novel idea I’d been playing with for some time.

What is your favorite genre to read?

I do like a good romance, but I’m also a huge fan of the police procedural. Cop dramas really get my imagination going.

Are you a procrastinator or self-motivated? 

Maybe too self-motivated. My husband has to remind me to take a break when I’m really on a roll. He helps me with balance in my life.

Would you consider your writing style more of a designer or a builder? Meaning do you give your stories plenty of room to unfold their own way naturally, or do you build them one step at a time? 

Both really. I have a solid structure of what and where and when. Then use the framework to let the who push the story. I outline to the hilt and then often deviate from that outline in a big way. It’s kind of my security blanket.

Describe for us your perfect hero/heroine.

I think someone I would spend time with in real life. Would I have coffee with this person? I spend months with characters that are flawed but ultimately redeemed and I like how they think. A perfect heroine is someone who has a heart for God and trusts Him no matter what.

Do you use setting as another character or simply as backdrop?

More and more so setting and weather have become like characters in my novels. Especially when the setting is new or very different from where the character is used to it can be very effective as a sort of antagonist.

What do you find hardest to write, beginning, middle or end?

The beginning is hard for me because I don’t have that intimate knowledge of how a character will react or what they will say yet. Once I’ve been with them through some conflicts, it gets easier and then the story just rolls.

What story element is usually first to come into focus for you? Plot, characters, theme?

I like to think of a plot first. Then I figure out the worst possible personality to face that conflict. It makes for very interesting situations.

What draws you into a story?

The love aspect. It’s tough to weather conflict as a couple. I find it fascinating to see how two people manage to not only survive, but thrive in a situation that would blow others apart. It’s the push and pull of indecision and insecurity or past experiences that may be affecting the relationship that ultimately hook me.

Have you bought a book based solely on the back cover blurb?

Yes. That is how I usually buy books. Do I feel compelled to answer the questions on the back cover? Did I get hooked on the premise?

What do you love to hear from your readers?

I like to hear them talk about the characters as if they go on after the novel. I love being asked if I plan to bring them back. If a reader misses a character, got so involved that seeing them in another book is exciting, then I’ve earned my keep.

Thanks so much for stopping by Raquel! Good luck with your future writing and sales for your current book, Purple Knot. (available on Amazon now!)

Purple Knot Blurb:

A killer strikes. A love rekindled. A life-altering choice. Reyna, returns to the life she fled to solve her best friend's murder. Forced to join with her ex-fiance, James, as their romance relights, so do the memories of the tragedy that tore them apart. Can they stop a killer before it’s too late for a second chance at love?