BOOKS BY MY FRIENDS: BARBARA JEAN MILLER

Likely Suspects

May 30, 2023

Welcome, Barb, to Books By My Friends! You’re going to tell us about a hot new book that released yesterday! It’s called Likely Suspects, and it’s a Regency romance and mystery novel. Let’s talk about Likely Suspects right now.

JH: What’s the blurb for your book?

BJM: To protect her destitute, pregnant sister and nine-year-old niece, Roslyn Clary must appeal to the new lord of the manor, Mark St. John. He is generous with money, time, and attention, though he holds the hereditary title only loosely. Roslyn is hoping her sister will deliver a boy child to supplant Mark. In spite of his kindness, Roslyn, who has vowed never to marry, is suspicious of Mark.

Strongly attracted to Roslyn, Mark conveys her, her sister, and her niece to the safety of his mother’s house in London. He desperately wants to court Roslyn but must first find out who murdered his brother, and why. Both he and Roslyn could be murder suspects, yet both are also potential victims if the murderer is not found soon.

JH: What inspired you to write Likely Suspects?

BJM: We control so little in the real world, I take refuge in the worlds, stories and characters I create. Of course, those worlds have their own problems. But by solving fictional problems I am often inspired with how to solve problems in the real world, or at least not take them as seriously.

I love a good mystery, so I plant a mystery in every book whether Regency or contemporary. In the case of Likely Suspects I wanted a lot of suspects to make it more complex. It took some time to decide who was guilty of which crime. The characters came to me long ago, but I needed to invent an impediment to the marriage of Mark and Roslyn. I invented several. Almost being killed and not knowing who is after them really inhibits romance.

JH: What one thing do you love most about writing?

BJM: Likely Suspects is an entirely new story this year, but The Wild Rose Press is republishing the Regencies I did for Cerridwen Press five years ago. I take joy in revising them and seeing new covers created for them. Of course, I am still writing. For me, it's sort of like breathing.

BIO:

Barbara Miller teaches in the Writing Popular Fiction MFA program at Seton Hill University. She writes mostly action adventures romantic suspense, both historical and contemporary.

JH: Thanks for visiting BBMF, Barb. It’s exciting that you have a new series of Regency romances coming out. Please come back soon!

All good things,

Joy