Q&A with Author Cara Putman

In addition the high-stakes suspense and sweet romance in each of these novels, you cover heavy topics like domestic abuse and sexual assault. How do you ensure that you handle these subjects carefully yet realistically?

It’s very important to me to honor the experiences of those who have survived domestic violence or sexual assault. I also believe it’s critical to help others understand these journeys and the lasting impacts. To that end I rely on research, experience, and readers who can let me know if what I’m having the heroines and other characters experience is realistic. At the same time I want it to offer hope while not being a trigger for those who have been victims while also being a novel that readers will embrace and inhale. It’s a tricky balance, but extremely important to me.

Readers admire your strong female leads who feel likable and real. How do you create characters that feel like real people?

It’s a lot of effort. I love books where I reach the end and I’m sad to say goodbye to the characters. I want readers to have the same experience with my novels, so I do all kinds of things to flesh them out. I’ll take the Myers Briggs or Enneagram as the character. I’ll think about the Greek archetype the hero and heroine are. For this series I spent significant time thinking about how to keep the heroines unique when they were all turning thirty and attorneys. So I put them in different legal careers and on different sides of the law. Most of all, I try to give them quirks and little foibles that keep them real.