Today, we welcome Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense Author, Linny Mack, to Novels Alive to answer our inquiring questions so we can get to know her and her writing process better.
What drives your story forward in your books the most, the characters or the plot, or do you feel they are intertwined?
Most of the time the two things are intertwined. I often come up with an idea first and then develop the characters around the idea. However, sometimes an idea involves a specific character or something happening to that character. Once the story gets going, the characters and their actions tend to take over. It also varies for contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Contemporary is often character-driven whereas romantic suspense is often propelled forward by the suspense plot as well as the romance.
If you were a character in one of your books, which would you be? The protagonist, mentor, villain, love interest, etc.?
I’d like to think I bring the main charact energy! However, I could also see myself being the mentor—someone who gives advice to the main characters and helps them along in their journey to happiness.
If you had the power to make any of your books into a film, which would it be and why?
I would love to see the entire Cape May Series adapted into a film or limited television series. The coastal setting, the small-town atmosphere, and the group of friends supporting one another through life’s ups and downs would translate beautifully to the screen.
Is there a particular genre of fiction that you have always wanted to write, but haven’t yet tackled?
I’ve always wanted to write romantic suspense! Now I am! My first romantic suspense novel comes out June 9, 2026, and it’s called Beneath Still Waters. It has been a different experience and forced me to do a lot of research and stretch my creative muscles. I am having a ton of fun with it. I will always love contemporary romance. Eventually I’d love to write a romance that leans heavily into book club fiction as well.
What do you do to prepare your mind to write? To get into the mind of your characters.
If it’s been a few days since I last wrote, I always start by revisiting what I wrote previously. Even if it’s just a chapter or two, I reread it and get myself back in the mindset of my characters and what they’re going through. I also write alongside my outline to make sure I don’t veer too far off my original idea, while still leaving room for my characters to surprise me.
What book as a child/adolescent most influenced you as a writer?
Oh, I read so much as a young girl. For leisure, I most often read things like The Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley Twins books. I think The Babysitter’s Club is where I found my love for multi point-of-view fiction. Each character had its own personality and voice, and I loved seeing the stories unfold through different perspectives.
How much research went into your last book?
My last book in the Cape May series didn’t involve too much research since the setting is very familiar to me. I am also a musician myself, so I know the musical aspects of the story well.
My first book in my Tidehaven Trilogy required a lot, though! My main characters are a marine biologist and an ex-Navy SEAL—two careers I knew nothing about. I talked to the wife of a SEAL and three marine biologists to make sure I was approaching things accurately. I especially had questions about science, academia, the marshlands in South Carolina, and terrapin turtles. It was enlightening and a lot more work than I was used to, but I learned so much!
What’s one of the most important things you’d like your readers to know about you? What defines you most as an author?
My readers should know that they will always have a happily ever after in my stories. I want you to close my books and feel hopeful. I have become known as someone who always writes in a twist of fate that will make you cry or giggle and kick your feet! And lately, I’ve been enjoying a jaw dropping suspenseful twist as well!
Can you tell us what prompted you to write your latest release?
In my debut, Changing Tides, we meet the character Melanie who would really love to be in a relationship with the main male character, Liam, but she gets her heart broken. My newest release, Choosing You, is the third book in the series. It’s where readers will see Melanie get her happy ending. I really wanted to give her that!
As for my newest series, Tidehaven, I wanted to stretch myself creatively. I have read a lot of romantic suspense as a sub genre, but I really wanted to try my hand at writing it. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever written, and I might be the most proud of it.
What’s next for you? What are you working on now?
Choosing You the third book in my Cape May Series releases on March 17, 2026. Beneath Still Waters, the first book in my Tidehaven Trilogy, releases on June 9, 2026. Currently I’m working on book two in that trilogy as well as a passion project that I can’t wait to share with the world!
Thanks so much for joining us today and giving us insight into you as an author!
Publication Date: March 17, 2026
When the past and music collide in this intense second-chance romance, love becomes the melody that heals the heart.
At forty-one, Melanie Glick has made peace with being perpetually single. She’d rather be alone than be someone’s consolation prize. So, she spends her nights tending bar at The Ugly Mug and fills her days writing music, hoping she’ll someday find the courage to perform it. Nothing in her life has ever been quite the same since she lost her best friend, Cara, in a tragic accident decades ago, but the music keeps her going. When Cara’s brother comes flying into town like a blast from the past, he stirs up old memories, new feelings, and a chance at something she never thought she’d have again.
Country music singer Josh Cote hasn’t set foot in Cape May since he was sixteen. After he lost his sister, the charming small town has been a constant reminder of all he’s lost. But with the 25th anniversary of Cara’s death approaching, Josh decides to pass through on a road trip designed to inspire his first solo album. His first stop? The Ugly Mug, where he comes face-to-face with Melanie, his teenage muse. When he spots the tattoo on her wrist in Cara’s handwriting, Josh has the overwhelming desire to get to know Melanie, all over again.
When Melanie offers Josh a place to stay, it feels impulsive—but their connection is instant, rooted in shared grief and a first love that never died. Neither expects the pull between them to grow stronger each day, as their temporary arrangement deepens into something they can’t ignore. But with Josh’s looming departure and a long-buried secret casting a shadow over their budding romance, Melanie and Josh must confront the ghosts of their past if they have a chance at a future. Can new love truly heal old wounds, or are some scars too deep to mend?
Linny Mack grew up a voracious reader and writer. She spent her days of adolescence up in her room writing her own stories and cutting her characters out of the Delia’s catalog. Now, Linny is a debut author of contemporary romance. When she isn’t writing your next book boyfriend, she is spending time with her real-life romantic hero and their three children in New Jersey.
