Emma’s life has always been grounded in books of some kind. Her mother was an avid reader and read 

Brier Rabbit to her and her sister so often that her sister, two years older but only four at the time, 

memorized it and read it to her. She and her family took turns reading and exchanging whatever came 

their way, but her mother instigated her love of romance. She’s always wanted to write, but life got in the 

way and dreams became just another hassle to deal with. She gave it up for awhile until she realized 

dreams may be hard to develop but they’re impossible to ignore. She would always have this 

“something missing” if she didn’t follow her heart. To this day, Emma follows her dream of writing while 

working full time as a legal assistant. Emma lives in Texas with her husband.

A teaser from ONE WRONG MOVE 
It's only going to take one wrong move and DEA Agent Camden Alexander's cover is blown and the 

female reporter he's fallen for is dead…

A teaser from HOLDING FAST
When race car driver Wesley Webb is accused of murder, can ex-fiancée Caitlyn Daniels clear his name 

while holding fast to her conviction not to fall for him—again?

Welcome romantic suspense author, Emma Sanders, to Love Romances and More. We are excited to have 

the opportunity to speak with you and learn more about your work.

Thank you for having me.

How long have you been writing; was it something you have always wanted to do?

I’ve been writing my whole life, but seriously for about five years. It is something I’ve always wanted to do, 

but it took me awhile to figure out it was something I had to do if I ever wanted to feel complete.

What inspired you to write in the first place? Does the same thing inspire all of your writing? 

Many things have inspired me to write, including my mother, who loved to write but died when I was 

fifteen and never had the chance to be published. What keeps me writing are the characters and the 

stories in my head that won’t go away, and this feeling of never being completely satisfied unless I’m 

working on a story.

What influenced you to get published? How long did it take you to get your first book published?

The knowledge that writing stories is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life influenced me to get 

published, and it took almost two years after my first book was complete to get published.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, reading, watching movies, outdoor 

activities such as kayaking, hiking, photography, exploring, and I love to travel when I can.

Often a writer’s first book is the toughest to write. Was this true for you? If so, what helped you get through 

it? If it wasn’t the first, which one was the most difficult to write? The easiest?

Oh yes, it was definitely the hardest, and took many rewrites for it to be clean enough for submission. 

Online classes and a lot of reading how to books helped me to get through it and to learn along the way. 

Though I should say my third book, which I’m still working on, was my easiest because you get better with 

practice, actually my second was the easiest so far. I knew the heroine well, because she was the 

secondary character in my first book, and she didn’t keep secrets from me. Everything seemed right about 

that book and I knew where I wanted it to go without over thinking it.

Do you usually outline your stories before you write, or do you "go with the flow"?

I go with the flow. I structure my characters somewhat, but they always end up changing on me. I have a 

basic plot and plan, character questionnaires, charts, etc, but ultimately I just start writing. After the first 

few chapters, I outline somewhat, but nothing in depth.

Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favorites? Have 

any influenced your writing?

Yes, I read every chance I get. Though my favorite is romantic suspense, I love just about anything, even 

non-fiction. My favorite authors are Sandra Brown, Suzanne Brockmann, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lisa 

Gardner, and Karen Robards. Sandra Brown was a huge influence in my writing. I fell in love with romantic 

suspense when I started reading her books, whereas originally I thought I’d be happy writing contemporary.

Congratulations on the release of HOLDING FAST from The Wild Rose Press. Could you tell us little about the 

story? What was your inspiration?

HOLDING FAST is a story I’ve had in my head for at least ten years, before I truly started writing, and it 

started with a hero centered on racing cars and a heroine he loved but lost. It has gone through numerous 

changes in my mind from the original plot. It was meant to be a contemporary at first, until I learned my 

heart lay in writing suspense. When I first dreamed up the plotline, you didn’t see many auto racing heroes, 

and since my husband loves cars, I thought it’d be fun to have a hero who loved cars. Basically, the story 

is about a race car driver who is at the pinnacle of his career, but who hates the limelight. His ex-fiancée, 

Caitlyn Daniels, is a journalist who shows up for a story on him just when his main rival is murdered. Wesley 

becomes the prime suspect, and they work together to clear his name, let go of their past and eventually 

fall in love, again.

Your book ONE WRONG MOVE, also from THE WILD ROSE PRESS, centers on law enforcement and drug 

trafficking. How do you approach writing a story with these themes, was a lot of research involved?

Yes, research was involved, but I work in criminal law, so this was the easiest story for me to research, which 

may be why it was also the easiest story for me to write. In HOLDING FAST, I read everything I could get 

my hands on involving auto racing, watched TV events and used the internet to learn. I love to research. 

If writing wasn’t my passion, I might consider some type of career in research, so it doesn’t bother me. 

Your writing features mystery, suspense and non-stop action. What draws you to the romantic suspense 

genre? What are the challenges you face writing in this genre?

I love reading these types of stories and can’t get enough of them, so I write them. I like adventure in my 

stories, as well, and try to combine my passion of these things into creating characters and a plot that we 

will all love. It’s a challenge to make sure what I’m writing is feasible, believable and not coincidental and 

it’s a challenge to write about something I’ve never done before, such as auto racing. Though we all 

know what it feels like to drive a car, even fast, I have to go outside that realm and really “think outside 

the box”. It’s kind of like the movie, STRANGER THAN FICTION, where the woman was stepping off the 

desk to understand what it would feel like to fall. Maybe not that extreme, but similar. 

Your characters come to life in your books. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write? 

Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Can you name an example?

They don’t necessarily take over a part of my life, but they do feel like a part of it. When I’m writing a scene 

with a character, it’s like that character is writing through me and if I try to do something the character 

doesn’t want, or something that goes outside the character’s personality, the scene falls flat. Sometimes 

I’ll get stuck for days until I go back and try to determine what happened. Picture yourself being mad 

at your husband and not speaking to him for days. That’s what I feel my characters do to me sometimes 

when I write something they don’t like.

Do you find it difficult at times to write love/sex scenes?

You know, writing sex scenes never bothered me before, until my family (uncles, cousins, great-aunts or 

old friends) learned I was published and now ask where they can buy my books. I have to let that all go 

when I’m writing those scenes, and sometimes it takes great effort. I have to put my two characters in 

bed and block out everyone who may be judging me, or “looking in” so to speak.

I see that you also write stories for children; could you tell us about these projects?

My mother was a huge influence in my love of romance because she gave me her romance books at a 

young age and let me read them. I’ve written two short stories that are holiday-themed in hopes that 

women will help develop their children’s love of reading and romance. I’ve heard several people (even 

a female co-worker) say that romance novels or fairy tales place high expectations in women’s minds on 

how relationships should be, but I disagree. Some of the women I know who don’t read are the ones with 

high expectations, LOL.

Have you ever suffered from "writer’s block"? If so, what did you do to get out if it?

Yes, I have. Usually, writer’s block for me is because my story requires more research, or I’ve written 

something that isn’t right for the story. It’s best for me to get away from it for awhile and don’t push 

myself. I think everyone gets burned out no matter what they do, and I need a break every now and 

again. But then I get right back to it and write or do the research I need.

If you could write and be guaranteed publication of any genre of book, what would it be?

Just what I’m doing now…romantic suspense.

Are you working on anything right now? Can you tell us a teaser about these projects?

Well, I hate to share much about my works-in-progress, but it is almost complete and ready for submission. 

It is set in the ski slopes of Montana, and features an FBI agent and a graphic designer. I will soon start 

writing my fourth, which is about the brother of the FBI agent.

Any final advice to aspiring authors?

Don’t give up. Write what you love, do your research, not only on the story but on the agents and 

publishers, and don’t get too frustrated.

Do you have anything to add?

I love to hear from readers, authors or even aspiring authors, so please feel free to email me at 

emmasanders@emmasanders.com. Thank you for taking the time, I appreciate the interview and had 

a fun time answering your questions. 

Thank you so much for spending time with us at Love Romances and More. We wish you the greatest 

success in all of your future endeavors.