The High Road of Suspense (Keep it clean?)
The High Road of Suspense
I’m sitting here at my desk, surrounded by empty coffee cups and crumpled notes, and I’ve come to a realization: I just might be going insane.
When you tell people you’re writing a book - thriller, suspense, or mystery, there’s an unspoken expectation. People assume that to be "edgy" or "gripping," a book needs to be drenched in raunchy scenes and peppered with every four-letter word in the dictionary. So when I told people I wanted to write a 'clean book' that preteens, YA, and even adults can enjoy, they gave me this weird look.
People don't read clean books?
Trying to write a book that is clean but still deeply intriguing is, quite frankly, a massive struggle. It’s actually much harder than the alternative. If I’m stuck on a scene, I can’t just throw in a gratuitous moment or a string of profanities to manufacture "intensity." I have to work for it. I have to make the stakes higher, the dialogue sharper, and the mystery more layered. I have to rely on the actual craft of storytelling to keep you leaning in.
I want my readers to stay up late because they have to know what happens next, not because they’re being hit with cheap thrills. I want to prove that you can have a "clean" book that still feels dangerous and high-stakes. It’s about the shadow in the corner of the room, the lie that’s hidden behind a smile, and the slow realization that nothing is what it seems.
It’s been a long road of editing and re-editing, stripping away the "easy" fixes to find the heart of the story. It’s a labor of love, even when the labor feels a bit more like a workout I didn't sign up for. But when the tension clicks into place without needing a "parental advisory" sticker, there’s a unique kind of satisfaction in that.
If you’re looking for that kind of story—one where the adrenaline comes from the mystery and the characters rather than the "grit"—I’d love for you to check out my latest project, One Lie Too Far. It’s a heartbreaking twist that keeps the lights on and the pages turning, proving that a clean story can still be an amazing ride.
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