Chichester novelist wins major award for romantic thrillers

The award comes in the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s annual Romantic Novel Awards for 2022. The awards celebrate excellence in romantic fiction in all its forms.

Suzanne writes historical fiction, predominantly dual timeline and set in France. Her books feature courageous women in extraordinary circumstances with love and family at the heart of all her stories. She also writes mystery and suspense as Sue Fortin where she is a USA Today bestseller and Amazon UK number one bestseller. She has sold over a million copies of her books and been translated into multiple languages. Suzanne said: “I’m absolutely delighted to win the Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller award, especially with such a strong field of shortlistees. I’m equally delighted that the sub-genre of romantic suspense is championed by both the RNA and Simon & Schuster so well.”

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Sharon Ibbotson, the awards coordinator for the Romantic Novelists’ Association, added, “Suzanne Fortin’s novel is a heartbreaking and suspenseful story told over two timelines that beautifully brings the thriller and romance genres together. We are delighted to see her win the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers in 2022, and offer her our sincere congratulations.”

Since their inception in 1960, the Romantic Novel Awards have recognised outstanding Romantic fiction and previous winners include Phillipa Gregory, Joanna Trollope and Rosamunde Pilcher. The award categories for this year were as follows: The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award, the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers, the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award, the Christmas / Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award, the Shorter Romantic Novel Award, the Romantic Saga Award, the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy, the Historical Romantic Novel Award, the Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, and the Popular Romantic Fiction Award (voted for by librarians, booksellers and book bloggers / reviewers). The Outstanding Achievement Award will be presented later this year.

The winners of the awards were announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Novel Awards ceremony, which was held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, 8-14 Cooper’s Row, London.

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As for the book:

2019. After the death of her husband, Imogen Wren finds a beautiful abandoned chateau and starts to rebuild her life among its ruins. But a dark web of secrets surrounds the house, and it all seems to centre on the war ...

1944. Simone Varon’s sole aim in life is to avoid the German troops stationed in her village. That is until one soldier befriends her and she gets to know the man behind the uniform. Then the Resistance comes calling and she must choose between love and duty - with devastating consequences.

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