Thriller 101

Send me a Text Message! What do you do when your main character is too much for some readers? In this episode, Holly Kammier shares how she built Alex Campbell, the disgraced Hollywood medium at the center of her new thriller, The Oracle. She explains the ten-trait checklist she used to rewrite her opening chapter around 20 times, why she chose to lean into Alex's hardest edges instead of softening them, and how she layers in pacing and a ticking clock after the first draft. Holly sees this...

Send me a Text Message! What if your villain truly believed he was helping people? In this episode, Yasmin Angoe shares how she built the serial killer at the center of The Ferryman's Daughter, a man who was a great dad, a respected psychiatrist and a murderer with a whole belief system behind what he did. She explains how she researched serial killers, how one email got her a tour of her local coroner's office, and what she's learned from ride-alongs with her sheriff's office. Yasmin also ...

Send me a Text Message! Register for the free webinar! You’ve got an idea. Maybe it’s huge, with characters and twists and an ending you can already see. Or maybe it’s one unsettling image. So how do you know what it’s supposed to be? In this short solo episode, I talk about this question that's been nagging at me. How big is your story? So I'm hosting a free live webinar with literary agent and Fractured Lit editor in chief Tommy Dean. How Big Is Your Story? Tuesday, ...

Send me a Text Message! Can a thriller be scary and funny at the same time? In this episode, bestselling author Jason Rekulak talks about his new novel, Look What the Cat Dragged In, a supernatural story about a cartoonist, a very strange cat, and a comic strip that keeps getting darker. Jason explains how he built the rules for his demon, why he brings his illustrators in before the manuscript is done, and how Roald Dahl and Stephen King's Misery shaped the way he mixes humor and dread. Ja...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, Timothy Hedden shares why he self-published his debut, Dead Housewives of Philadelphia. He talks about the formatting mistake that pushed him to learn Vellum, why he cut the prologue agents kept passing on, and how he's marketing the book himself with local TV, a mailing list, and merch built from his characters' taglines. Perfect for thriller writers deciding between querying and self-publishing. Timothy also reveals what he spent his vacation money.....