September 2008 Archives

The 731 Legacy, a Cotton Stone mystery, is the fourth in the exciting series of books written by Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore. Published by Midnight Ink, the paperback goes on sale Oct. 1.

While the story is fiction, it's based on facts that make it plausible-and terrifying. At the heart of The 731 Legacy is on-going scientific research into retroviruses, the remnants of which are carried in the human genome. Scientists have been able to revive some of these viruses to no ill effect. But the premise of The 731 Legacy is that such a virus-one that devastated the earth thousands of years ago-is "reactivated".

Sholes, a native Floridian, has done extensive research into the sciences and archeology. It was an article in Discover magazine that led to the idea for the first Cotton Stone mystery, The Grail Conspiracy, which involves the fictional, but plausible-premise that the traces of human blood found preserved inside an ancient cup at an archeological dig site in the Middle East are those of Jesus Christ. The story asks what if someone used the DNA to clone Christ--someone evil.
    
Moore is a former marketing executive and two-time Emmy winner with twenty-five years in the television industry. The two writers have created a series which has been translated into 23 languages.

Carolyn Haines: Because of the "team" aspect of these books, I'm sure a lot of people will wonder about the process. How do you go about writing something as long and complex as a novel with a co-writer? What is the division of labor?

Joe Moore: The division of duties is fairly equal. After writing four novels together, we've developed a comfortable routine. We might try new approaches or tools, but the routine is solid. Basically, once we come up with the general concept of the book, we construct a detailed synopsis that gives us a general overview and roadmap from which to work. We continuously retell the story to each other, either on a global level or a chapter or scene level so that our "vision" gets as close as possible. At some point, one of us will feel that we have a "handle" on the chapter or scene and will tackle the first draft. It's then emailed to the other for review and revision, and back again. This goes on until we're both happy for the time being. Then we move on to the next chapter using the same procedure. We both do equal amounts of research to add meat to the skeleton of the plot. Because there's so much back and forth needed with each chapter or section, we tend to write slowly.

Also, we know the ending up front and we don't necessarily write in a linear fashion. Instead, we sometimes jump around in the story creating a "snapshot" of a scene that we can work towards.

Collaboration on fiction is not for the faint of heart and I would not recommend it.

As well as being one of the most talented writers working today, Sean Chercover is quite simply one of the best guys out there. His debut novel, Big City, Bad Blood, which introduced PI Ray Dudgeon, has won more awards than I can count, and is topped only by its sequel, Trigger City, which hits stores October 14...

What do you think is the most important influence on a writer?

Reading.  By a mile.  It saddens me to meet aspiring writers who say they don't read much.  They will never make it.  You've got to read, every day.  There's no substitute for reading good books.  Reading is how we first learn the craft of writing.

Life experience is also important, and I gained enormously from my time working as a PI ... but it didn't teach me how to write.

Trigger City is simply impossible to put down. How do you write like this?

First of all, thank you.  I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it.

I think my inability to outline may be a blessing in disguise.  Sometimes you read a thriller, and you can't avoid "seeing" the writer's bag-of-tricks.  You "see" the writer thinking, "I must end every chapter (better, ever scene!) with a question or revelation or new peril or startling plot twist."  But because you see the man behind the curtain, it all feels formulaic and you don't buy into it emotionally.  The tension is lost.

But I'm not good at outlining in detail.  I know how I want the story to end, and I know some major scenes that have to happen in order to get there, but most of the stuff that happens along the way comes to me as I write. So in many ways, I'm like the reader; as I'm writing the book, I want to know how it all turns out.  Since I'm surprised by it, I assume the reader will be too.  I actually have a piece of paper taped to my wall that says, "Just write the story that you would want to read."  That advice has gotten my past many stumbling blocks, and I think it helps keep the tension high.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. That's what kept coming up for me as I charged through Freezing Point (Berkley), Karen Dionne's debut novel, an eco-thriller where the best laid plans end up creating a nightmare beyond anyone's wildest imaginings.

 

In Freezing Point, environmentalist and engineer Ben Maki hits on the idea of tapping into a mountain-sized iceberg in order to provide fresh, clean drinking water for millions of people. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and before long Maki is made to see how flawed his plan really was. Dionne explains that "his lack of understanding of the polar environment coupled with corporate greed creates an even bigger problem that ultimately threatens the entire planet." In a Romantic Times top pick review, the publication said that Freezing Point's "ingenious plot, genuine characters, superlative writing and nail-biting suspense will change the way you look at a bottle of water."

Readers who find themselves breathless at the relentless pace of Freezing Point will be unsurprised to learn that Dionne has a very real affection for the work of Michael Crichton and that her "all-time favorite novels" are The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park.

Alan Jacobson is a chiropractor as well as a bestselling author, so he knows a lot about twists and turns...and how to get the spine to tingle.  His latest thriller, The 7^Th Victim (just out in hardcover from Vanguard) brings back FBI Special Agent Karen Vail - a smart, tough and emotionally conflicted agent on the track of an insidious serial killer.  The Bill Thrill chatted with Alan about his books, his process, and his choice of a female protagonist.

 

Few male writers try to crawl inside the head and feelings of a female protagonist, and yet you do so with apparent ease.  Tell us about how you brought Karen to life.

 

Karen Vail is a very special character to me. Interestingly, I didn't "decide" to write her...let alone write her as a female. I was writing a different novel at the time, and she came right off my fingertips in the course of a chapter. And I couldn't write her lines, her dialogue, her thoughts fast enough. It may sound clichéd, but she really leapt from the page--she had an inherent life and attitude and I felt like I knew this person extremely well. It wasn't until a few years later (yes, I've been researching/working on The 7th Victim that long) that I realized where she came from. I was born and raised in New York, and moved to California when I was 21. When I moved here to attend chiropractic school, I quickly learned that sarcasm and "the New York state of mind" was not going to be well received or understood. Though it wasn't a conscious decision, I lost my accent and the "attitude." That buried, suppressed sarcasm came rushing out through the person of Karen Vail. I think that's why she's so real and so emotionally well constructed. On some deep level, she's a part of me. Okay, I guess you could say she's "my New York feminine side."

 

What drives the action in The 7th Victim?

 

Everything that happens in The 7th Victim is driven by Karen Vail, the first female profiler, who's named to a local task force that's tracking the ruthless Dead Eyes killer. But Vail's personal and professional baggage derail the investigation and cause problems she must deal with--all while attempting to stop the serial killer who's operating in the FBI Academy's "backyard." Vail is well-meaning, but sometimes she mucks things up because of the actions she takes. As a result, she and the killer find themselves crossing paths in ways neither could have anticipated.

Thriller writer Eric Wilson has led an interesting life. He spent his formative years overseas, traveling with his parents when, he says, they took "Bibles behind the Iron Curtain." He spent time in Eastern Europe and China after high school, and more recently traveled to Romania and Israel as part of the research for his new series, the Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy. Though he now makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and two daughters, his extensive travels continue to inspire his writing.

 

As Eric prepares for the October release of Field of Blood, the first novel in the Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy, he took the time to talk to Julie Compton and answer some questions for The Big Thrill.

 

How have your extensive travels played a part in your journey to full-time writing?

 

When I was a kid, just learning to read, my family was traveling across Europe and Asia in seven-ton trucks. My imagination had lots of time to roam, and of course I was being fed with all sorts of sensory stimuli to fuel that imagination. We can be so self-absorbed here in America. I love to tell stories that delve into other cultures and parts of the world.

America.

People often think of our country in terms of what we see now--diverse people who live together in relative harmony, spread across thousands of miles of land in seamless states. But in the years after the Revolution that freed us from England's rule, America was very much like Soviet Georgia or Iraq . . . an unstable nation where desperate schemers vie for wealth, power, and a chance to shape a country's destiny. In The Whiskey Rebels, the new novel by David Liss, one of the stories of these early days of America comes to startling life.

Ethan Saunders, once among General Washington's most valued spies, now lives in disgrace, haunting the taverns of Philadelphia. An accusation of treason has long since cost him his reputation and his beloved fiancée, Cynthia Pearson, but at his most desperate moment he is recruited for an unlikely task-finding Cynthia's missing husband. To help her, Saunders must serve his old enemy, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who is engaged in a bitter power struggle with political rival Thomas Jefferson over the fragile young nation's first real financial institution: the Bank of the United States.

Meanwhile, Joan Maycott is a young woman married to another Revolutionary War veteran. With the new states unable to support their ex-soldiers, the Maycotts make a desperate gamble: trade the chance of future payment for the hope of a better life on the western Pennsylvania frontier. There, amid hardship and deprivation, they find unlikely friendship and a chance for prosperity with a new method of distilling whiskey. But on an isolated frontier, whiskey is more than a drink; it is currency and power, and the Maycotts' success attracts the brutal attention of men in Hamilton's orbit, men who threaten to destroy all Joan holds dear.

As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders-both patriots in their own way-find themselves on opposing sides of a daring scheme that will forever change their lives and their new country.

The Big Thrill Contributing Editor Cathy Clamp sat down to talk with bestselling author David Liss about this chapter in our country's past:

You've picked an interesting period to write about and a topic that doesn't show up often in the history books. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had quite the "relationship" in the early years of the nation. What sources did you draw on to give characterization to these two larger-than-life people?

I've written about some fairly obscure things in the past - commodities trading in the Netherlands in the 17th century, 18th century elections, etc - and it was often hard to find sources.  I had to work hard and be very creative to get to the point where I felt like I had a handle of the subject matter.  You don't have to work very hard to find material on the Founders, however.  There are numerous popular biographies, scholarly biographies, studies, analyses, monographs on specific aspects of their lives or work.  The problem wasn't finding things, it was filtering through them.  The short answer is that I read as much as I could and tried to sort out the biases of the different writes.  Historians who write biographies of the Founders often begin to identify with their subjects, and it is important to read biographies of rivals to get a sense of a conflict might have been perceived by different actors.  This is particularly true in the case of Hamilton and Jefferson.  Hamilton, in particular, seemed to have more enemies, and it is very easy to get a skewed impression of him from reading biographies of Jefferson and Adams.  

The Big Thrill recently chatted with Claire Langley-Hawthorn about her latest, The Serpent and The Scorpion

Give us a sneak peek at the second Ursula Marlow mystery, The Serpent and The Scorpion

It's nearly two years since her father's death and Ursula Marlow is embroiled in personal and professional struggles. Her relationship with Lord Wrotham has cooled since she rejected his marriage proposal and she continues to fly in the face of society's conventions as to the appropriate role of a woman in Edwardian England.  Now she is besieged on all fronts as she struggles to succeed as an independent businesswoman, despite financial difficulties, labor unrest and arson attacks on her mills and factories.

While on a business trip to Egypt, Ursula witnesses a friend's murder in Cairo's Khan el-Khalili bazaar, and embarks on her own investigation, convinced the Egyptian police and Scotland Yard are mistaken in assuming the death was politically motivated. Days later a young woman dies in a fire in one of Ursula's factories in England and Ursula returns to discover the woman was already dead before the fire started. Driven by her need for justice and the dictates of her conscience, Ursula must rely on her own powers of detection and a growing interest in cryptography to discover a possible connection between the deaths, the return of her Bolshevik ex-lover and disturbing events in the Middle East.

When Shetland detective finds a body in a boatshed it seems to be a straightforward case of suicide. He recognizes the victim - a stranger with amnesia who disrupted an artist's
party the night before. Then another body is found. Perez knows he must break the cycle before another death occurs. But this is a crazy time of year when night blurs into day and nothing is quite as it seems...

'In true Agatha Christie style, Cleeves once again pulls the wool over our eyes with cunning and conviction.' Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse)

'Nobody does unsettling undercurrents better than Ann Cleeves.' Val McDermid

Ann Cleeves worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. Her first book was written on the tiny tidal island of Hilbre. She is Harrogate Crime-Writing Festival's reader-in-residence. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger for best crime novel for Raven Black. She lives in north east England.

High school senior John Vincent Grissom is nicknamed "Johnny Gruesome" because of his love for heavy metal music and horror movies. But when Johnny is murdered in the dead of winter, strange things begin to occur, and soon the village of Red Hill learns the meaning of true fear.

"Johnny Gruesome has a frightening sense of detail that makes it all the more horrific - it's a gruesome ride that you can't stop reading." -- Gunnar Hansen, 'Leatherface' in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre

"Johnny Gruesome is a rarity: bright and clever descriptions, an elusive sense of humor, and high-level pacing. I wish I had written it." -- Herschell Gordon Lewis, 'The Godfather of Gore'

Gregory Lamberson is the author of JOHNNY GRUESOME and the filmmaking book CHEAP SCARES! LOW BUDGET HORROR FILMMAKERS SHARE THEIR SECRETS. A member of the HWA, Greg is also known for his low budget cult horror film SLIME CITY. He created, launched and edits Fear Zone.com, one of the top ten most trafficked horror entertainment websites in the world.

Lucas is an urban explorer who thrives in the hidden spaces of the buildings around us. But when he stumbles into an underground society that takes urban exploring to a dangerous new level, he discovers a deadly secret. Anyone can be watched. No one is safe. And the most terrifying secrets of all remain unseen.

"Hines's dialogue is darkly funny as he explores the depths of the human desire for authenticity....fans of breathless suspense that's a little off-center will enjoy this." -- Publisher's Weekly

"Hines excels at writing gripping supernatural thrillers with plenty of twists and turns; he'll pull you in from page one." -- Library Journal

TL Hines writes "Noir Bizarre" stories, mixing mysteries with oddities in books such as Waking Lazarus, The Dead Whisper On, and The Unseen. His work has won recognitions ranging from the Maryland Writers Association novel contest to Library Journal's "25 Best Genre Fiction Books of the Year" award. 

James Bond with a modern South African twist ... The titel translates as "Red Leopard", which is a code name. Two Afrikaans-speaking secret agents, one of them white and the other black, compete for an elite position in an anti-crime association after one of the top agents is killed. Lana Dubois, a beautiful female psychologist, must help in the evaluation. However, during the course of trying to uncover the mysteries of Hydra, a group specialising in poisons and nerve-gasses, the two agents grow more and more reckless and their year-long friendship is tested to the utmost - until Lana and one of them must try to avert a sinister plot in the deceptively peaceful Cape Town winelands.

"The expectations raised by an acknowledgement to Ian Fleming on the 100th anniversary of his birthday, and a recommendation by top author Koos Kombuis, are all surpassed - if there were an Olympic Games for suspense thrillers, Bloemhof would win gold with the greatest of ease."

"You have no choice but to read it in one sitting."

"One can only hope that Bloemhof will write a follow-up very soon."

Francois Bloemhof is the author of more than 40 Afrikaans books for all ages. He has won numerous awards, most of them in competitions were manuscript were judged anonymously, or where the awards were "presented" by readers themselves. He lives in Durbanville near Cape Town, South Africa, in a house run by cats.

Note: This novel can be purchased at the following South African online stores: http://www.kalahari.net,  http://www.loot.co.za and http://www.exclusivebooks.com.

When the charred remains of Tulane professor Henry Youngblood are discovered in the burned-out ruins of his New Orleans offices, the CIA sends maverick troubleshooter Jax Alexander to investigate. Joined in a reluctant partnership with remote viewer October "Tobie" Guinness, Jax struggles to decipher a cryptic set of clues that leads from the devastated neighborhoods of New Orleans to the power corridors of Washington, D.C. Pursued by agents of an influential oil and defense conglomerate with ties to the President himself, Jax and Tobie soon find themselves in a breakneck race against time to stop a ruthless killer and avert a diabolical plot that could devastate America.

"An electrifying ride that rings with authenticity. No question, this is an auspicious beginning for C. S. Graham" -- Steve Berry

"A razor-taut Story . . . Riviting, Provocative, and enthralling" -- James Rollins

C.S. Graham is the pseudonym of writing team Steven Harris and Candice Proctor. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Harris spent more than two decades as an Army Intelligence Officer. He spent ten years in Washington D.C., working at the national intelligence level, where he became involved in the Army's remote viewing program. Candice Proctor is the author of eleven previous novels, including the critically acclaimed Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series published under the name C.S. Harris. A former academic with a Ph.D. in history, she has lived most of her life abroad. The authors now make their home in New Orleans.

Jack hires on to find a stolen samurai sword - a fabled katana known as the Gaijin Masamune - and soon learns that he's not the only one looking for it.

The sociopathic Kickers want it, as do the fanatical Kakureta Kao cult and a crew of murderous yakuza.

The body count rises steadily as the sword changes hands time and again, and Jack must find a way to manipulate and maneuver the rival groups into a showdown that will allow him to spirit the blade away.

Of course, nothing goes as planned...for anyone.

By The Sword is the most frenetic and deadly Repairman Jack novel yet.

More violent and complex than its predecessors, By The Sword serves up the occult thrills fans of Wilson's series have come to expect and tantalizes with the promise of more surprises to come. -- Publishers Weekly

The most welcome discovery, for readers new to the thriller universe, is F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack. -- New York Times

"Jack's saga has become the most entertaining and dependable modern horror-thriller series." -- Publishers Weekly

F. PAUL WILSON is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of forty books and nearly 100 short stories spanning science fiction, horror, adventure, medical thrillers, and virtually everything between. More than eight million copies of his books are in print in the US and his work has been translated into twenty-four languages. His latest thrillers, BLOODLINE and BY THE SWORD, star his urban mercenary, Repairman Jack. JACK: SECRET HISTORIES recently kicked off a young-adult series starring a fourteen-year-old Jack. Paul resides at the Jersey Shore and can be found on the Web at www.repairmanjack.com.

Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry is thrust into his most bizarre, terrifying and twisted case yet as he hunts for the killer of a woman who was murdered with a wooden stake through her heart as if she was a vampire. Meanwhile, beautiful young blues singer Heather Vaughn learns that she has been targeted for a similar death. She frantically searches for answers, not only to save her life but also to find out whether dormant genes from an ancient past are buried inside her. As time runs out, both she and Coventry find themselves swept deeper and deeper into the throes of a modern-day thriller born of ancient and deadly obsessions.

"Vampires, murders, and sex (oh my). These titillating elements commingle in Hansen's latest thriller starring Denver detective Bryson Coventry, a randy fellow who spends almost as much time bedding potential witnesses as he does investigating cases. Coventry's current probe involves the murder of a young woman by a wooden stake through the heart, and little does he know that his latest sexual conquest, a Jamaican beauty named London, has come to Denver to warn blues singer Heather Vaughan that she might be the next victim. Apparently, what Heather and the victim have in common is that they both descend from vampires--that is, from people who were killed ages ago for the belief that they were vampires. Could London really believe that descendants of these unfortunate victims possess powers beyond the realm of human ability? And who could be wanting to see these descendants dead? London is the link that brings Coventry into this dark world, as Heather becomes the pawn in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Way creepy, a little tawdry, but boatloads of fun." -- Booklist (September 1, 2008)

Jim Michael Hansen is a Colorado attorney emphasizing civil litigation, employment law and OSHA. Jim is also the author of the Laws novels, which are hard-edged legal/crime thrillers featuring Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry. Night Laws, Shadow Laws, Fatal Laws, Deadly Laws, Bangkok Laws and Immortal Laws.

As Mattie Carrinton works on her new cookbook her kitchen explodes. and she is plagued with help from her sister Katie and her boyfriend Eugene which alternates between comedy relief and aggravation. When she rents a lakeside cabin to work in peace someone poisons her and the whole thing is beginning to look like a recipe for trouble...

Investigating Pine County's one celebrity, Mattie Carrington's troubles Sheriff Cas Larkin is both helped and hendered by friends, relatives, a local paychic and a faith healer as he hunts for a determined killer.

Jackie Griffey writes in several fiction genres but cozy mystery is her favorite both to read and to write. She lives in Cabot, Arkansas, and is currently working on another cozy mystery. She and her family share their home with a big cat, a little kitten, and tiny but loud Chihuahua who just thinks she's big.

For most thriller and mystery readers, Stuart Woods needs no introduction. Ever since his bestselling debut novel hit the bookstores twenty-seven years ago, Woods has been a household name among those who love an invigorating read that hooks us immediately and keeps us hooked until the last word. That novel, Chiefs, won the Edgar and was subsequently made into a CBS-TV mini-series starring Charlton Heston and Danny Glover.

Not a bad way to start a career.

Since then, Woods has kept himself busy, writing a number of stand-alones, as well as two bestselling series, one featuring Holly Barker and the other, Stone Barrington. The Barrington novels are particularly popular, featuring an ex-homicide cop/lawyer who spends his nights hanging out at Manhattan's world-famous eatery, Elaine's, only to be pulled into a fresh new mystery -- and a fresh new bed -- with alarming frequency.

It's a bit of a cliché to say that Katherine Neville burst on the scene with her first published novel, The Eight (1988). But in her case it's absolutely true. To an extent. "In reality it was fifteen years from spark to ARC," Neville says.

The spark happened during an actual "dark and stormy night" in the 1970s, when Neville was working in Algeria. "I'd been exiled there by my employer, an international consulting firm, and I had just learned that one of our clients, OPEC, had decided to declare an international embargo on the chief export they controlled: petroleum. I saw this 'Third World' move as something completely new in a global game that had been going on since the end of World War II--a shift in the balance of powers."

At the same time, Algeria was celebrating the tenth anniversary of its successful revolution against France. "The  entire scenario reminded me of the French Revolution when all bets were off after the destruction of the nobility, the bourgeoisie, even the proletariat. The picture around me suddenly seemed like a game of chess where an unexpected move had upset the game as well as the rules."

Publishers Weekly called The Eight "daring, original and moving" and "destined to become a cult classic." The book was a huge success and now Neville's sequel, The Fire, is about to hit the shelves. Early reviews have been raves.

I asked Neville what she had learned about writing thrillers between these two books.

Denver author Warren Hammond is well known for the gritty, futuristic detective novel KOP, and its sequel Ex-KOP. By taking the best of classic crime noir, and reinventing it on a destitute colony world, Warren has created some uniquely dark tales of murder, corruption and redemption.
 
In his recent hardboiled science fiction thriller, Ex-KOP, former colony policeman Juno Mozambe is barely getting by as a low-level bagman and photographer for the scandal rags. But it gets worse: his wife is in critical condition and Juno doesn't have the money to pay her bills. Desperate for cash, Juno agrees to help his ex-partner, Maggie Orzo, solve a difficult case. A young girl sits on death row, accused of brutally murdering her own parents. She's confessed to the murders, but Maggie isn't buying it, so she sends Juno out to get some answers.

Joshua Corin's debut novel may soon be a motion picture. His book caught the eye of Producer Kristy Hamer of Sentinal Entertainment, who says, "Beyond being hilarious and truly unpredictable, Nuclear Winter Wonderland engulfed me completely. I was having such a great time and so involved in the story, I didn't realize until I finished the book just how attached I'd grown to these characters. I knew I had to make this movie."

College Senior Adam Weiss wants to be home for the holidays, even if home is in New Jersey. When a lunatic nuclear terrorist kidnaps his twin sister Anna from a rest stop, Adam's plans take an abrupt twist. In his quest to save his sister, he teams up with a dyspeptic ex-mob thug and a Spanish-speaking female clown, creating an oddball rescue squad that is soon busy dodging the police and defeating an army of shadowy opponents. Not only must Adam save his sister, but the plot escalades as he realizes he has six days to save the world from atomic annihilation. Nuclear Winter Wonderland is an offbeat tale about a frenzied race from the icy Pocono Mountains to the dark heart of Walt Disney World.

In Jeremy Robinson's latest thriller, Antarktos Rising, a phenomenon known as crustal displacement shifts the Earth's crust, repositioning continents and causing unimaginable death and destruction. In the wake of this global catastrophe, the living struggle to survive and Antarctica, freshly thawed and blooming, has emerged as the last true hope. Rather than wage a world war no nation can survive, the leading nations devise a competition, a race to the center of Antarctica, with the three victors dividing the continent.

Mirabelle Whitney, one of the few surviving experts on Antarctica, grouped with an American special forces unit, finds that the dangers awaiting her team are far worse than feared - because the continent is already occupied by Biblical creatures long thought dead.

The Bible has always been a source of story material for Robinson. "I think the Bible is full of amazing stories, creatures (yes, creatures) and world altering events, many of which are still shaping humanity today. In the thriller genre I noticed that these subjects, from a positive, yet mainstream perspective were severely lacking. We have an abundance of books that rewrite or attempt to dispute the validity of Bible stories, but none that for the sake of a killer story, accept the Bible as fact. We do the same thing with mythology all the time in the genre, why not the Bible? After all, this mode of thinking is what gave birth to Indiana Jones."

Contributing editor, Keith Raffel, caught up with Alex Kava to discuss her latest novel, Exposed.  

Publisher's Weekly said Exposed was your most terrifying book yet.  Why?

The Ebola virus, in and of itself, is frightening. I think the prospect of a killer using it as a weapon is terrifying. It's invisible. It's deadly. It's extremely contagious. The vaccine is new, limited and hasn't been approved yet by the FDA. I remind readers that the Unabomber was successful in sending bombs through the mail and the Anthrax Killer sent weapons-grade anthrax. Is Ebola next?

Your last book Whitewash was a standalone.  With Exposed you've returned to your bestselling Maggie O'Dell series.  Which book was easier to write?  Which was more fun to write?

I like doing both, and I think switching off rejuvenates my writing. Each presents a different set of challenges and rewards. With standalones I get to wipe the slate clean, so to speak, and create new characters, new scenarios that aren't limited to the boundaries of a series. However, returning to Maggie is like attending a reunion, only I get to choose who'll be there. The challenge with a series, though, is to constantly keep it fresh.

How has Maggie grown as a person since A Perfect Evil, the first in the series?

For one thing she's developed a sense-of-humor, though it's a bit dry and subtle. A good friend of mine who's a deputy prosecutor insisted on it. I don't think I understood the importance of a sense of humor until I became friends with some of the men and women who visit crime scenes on a regular basis.

Contributing editor, Andrew Peterson chats with Stacy Dittrich about her debut thriller, The Devil's Closet.

I first met Stacy Dittrich online after seeing her listing on Writers Marketplace and noticed we have the same publisher and the same editor, Don D'Auria at Dorchester Publishing, Inc. After we exchanged a few emails, I knew Stacy would become a lifelong friend.

In October, the Devil's Closet launches Stacy's career with a knock-out punch:

When five-year-old Hanna Parker vanishes from her front yard, an amber alert launches one of the most horrifying cases of Detective CeeCee Gallagher's career.  The little girl is found a few days later murdered, but not just murdered - made up like a doll.  But Hanna is only the beginning for a twisted killer who begins to taunt CeeCee at every turn.  After the FBI enters the picture, her world is thrust into turmoil.  Special Agent Michael Hagerman, the man she fell in love with during a case that nearly destroyed her, will be her liaison.  To complicate things further, her husband - who's also a fellow officer - has been surreptitiously seeing a new trainee.  She can't afford this kind of personal distraction, because in a thrilling climax, CeeCee Gallagher will not only come face-to-face with her worst fears, but a cunning and demented killer as well.
 
I read this book in two sittings and loved it! Romantic Times Book Reviews agrees:

"Dittrich explores every parent's nightmare in this chilling police procedural. The drama is intense and the plot terrifying as Dittrich's police detective heroine leads readers through an intricate maze set to entrap her. CeeCee Gallagher is a highly complex heroine whose private life is in shambles, but whose dedication to the job is impeccable...four stars!"

The Devil's Closet exposes the darkest aspect of humanity.  If you're prone to spooking easily, make sure you don't read this book alone at night.  And yes, the devil's closet is an actual place. Let's just say I'd never want to find myself in there, armed or not!

Despite its subject matter, the book never crosses certain graphic lines, it doesn't need to - Stacy's writing style carries the story.  It's a fine line to walk, but she pulls it off nicely.

By way of introduction I thought it might be best to situate myself. Picture a house on a hillside with a view of whales in a bay called rather obviously False Bay because it's no bay at all, especially not in a storm. I gaze south down the Cape peninsula which tapers off some thirty kilometres away into the Atlantic Ocean. Thirty kilometres the other way is the beautiful city of Cape Town beneath the towering face of Table Mountain. At this time of year the peninsula's at its best: the summer winds haven't started, and the spring clarity turns the mountains across the bay crimson at sunset. But to more thrilling matters.

About six weeks ago an email from David Hewson did the rounds here letting us know that membership fees to the ITW had been ditched. Also he was on somewhat of an international membership drive and wondered if there weren't some writers in South Africa who mightn't want to join. Well, some seven did straight off and then a few weeks later, such was the local enthusiasm, 11 joined over a two-day period. As of the beginning of this month the SA chapter stands at 26, some of us writing in English, some in Afrikaans, and a lone representative of the Zulu language, although he arguably has the biggest readership in our country. He just needs a translator so he can reach an international audience.

What I thought to do with this opening column was provide a short history of the crime and thriller genre in South Africa because although the general literature is of long-standing, the genres have not had many practitioners, mostly for political reasons. But before I go there, it's worth giving links to three secure reliable online bookstores where South African crime thrillers can be bought: Kalahari, Loot, and Exclusive Books . And then, for an up-to-date list of those SA crime writers working in English there is a Who's Who on a blog called Crime Beat. This lists authors, titles, and crime fighters. It's a work in progress and being expanded to include Afrikaans crime writers. Also in Crime Beat's archives are interviews with many of the authors who've joined ITW.

New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan is about to bring out her ninth novel, Playing Dead, the final book in what she calls her Prison Break Trilogy. Brennan notes that she writes trilogies differently than most authors. "They all stand alone-meaning, they have a unique hero and heroine, a complete story and resolution, and readers don't have to read them in order to enjoy the book. However, I do use recurring characters within my world."

An example is Mitch Bianchi, the hero of Playing Dead. He was a secondary character in the previous novel in the Prison Break Trilogy, Tempting Evil. "So I early on set him up to be a cop who bends-and breaks-rules, though for the right reasons. In Playing Dead he's dealing with the consequences of his decisions in book two. The Prison Break trilogy is probably the most connected of my trilogies, because each book stems from an earthquake at San Quentin that is the first chapter of Killing Fear and Tom O'Brien's story is hinted at."

Tom O'Brien is one of three primary characters in Playing Dead. He has spent fifteen years on death row for crimes he didn't commit, the murder of his wife and her lover. Brennan says, "During an earthquake, Tom escapes with the goal of tracking down a law student who claimed he had evidence that Tom was framed. When he can't easily contact the kid, he confronts his daughter, Claire, who had testified against him with the new theory. An insurance fraud investigator who believes everyone lies, Claire doesn't believe him, but her curiosity had her investigating Tom's claims."

Mary SanGiovanni's novel Found You is a sequel to her Bram Stoker-nominated debut The Hollower. Once again, she brings the monster out from under the bed and dresses him in a trench coat and fedora. But the Hollower is a monster for grownups. He preys on the fears and guilt of his victims, his sole purpose to torment and destroy them.
 
Where did you get the inspiration for the remorseless, evil, yet  psychologically complex being that is the Hollower?

Well, I had a difficult time a few years back -- made a lot of big life changes, going back to school among them. And I think the Hollower was a natural extension of the fears of moving forward, of facing life and one's place in it, and of relying on oneself to make important decisions. I wanted to write about something that would scare me, something that would, at the very least, add something a little different, a little modern to the body of supernatural horror fiction out there. I've always believed people were complex, mostly good, and very often insecure creatures struggling to find their place among billions of others. So I created an enemy for them that was even more complex, utterly alien, thoroughly aware of their insecurities, and capable of manipulating and exploiting them to destroy these people from the inside out.
 
What lessons did David need to learn in the sequel?

I think the most important thing David learns is that peace of mind can't come from people's outer perceptions of you, or your endeavors to change or maintain those perceptions.  True peace of mind, and a true sense of self-worth, comes from understanding your limitations, and recognizing and believing in your strengths, and having faith in your own ability to make decisions.  "Getting the girl" isn't, and never was, the real goal, because it wasn't about being someone she could fall in love with. It was always about being someone you could be proud of.

Deborah Leblanc is comfortable with the paranormal. Or perhaps "comfortable" isn't quite the right word.

"I have been shoved down a flight of stairs by something 'unseen'," said Leblanc, a Louisiana native.

Her experiences in 12 years of ghost hunting inform her latest novel, Water Witch, set for release in October by Dorchester Publishing.

Set in the mist-wrapped bayous of Louisiana, Water Witch follows Dunny, whose sixth finger seems to function as a tuning fork for the spiritual world. Her extrasensory gifts help her track down two children who have been swallowed by the swamp. What Dunny finds amid the bayou's ghostly inhabitants, though, reveals grave danger to not only the children, but to their would-be savior.

Leblanc said writing a book set in her native surroundings was a natural.

"There isn't a better place on the planet than Louisiana for inspiring a perfect setting for a supernatural thriller," she said. "The dark, seemingly endless bayous, the unusual customs and traditions of the Cajun people, the practice of Voodoo in New Orleans, the influence that pirates, the mafia, and a corrupt government had on building the state. They're all jewels tucked away in this writer's treasure chest."

The Flynn brothers have inherited more than a New Orleans plantation. They've inherited a ghostly presence... and a long-kept secret. Aidan Flynn, a private investigator and eldest of the Flynn brothers, scoffs at the haunted-house rumors--especially since Kendall Montgomery, a tarot card reader who has been living in the mansion. Forced together to uncover the truth, Aidan and Kendall realize that a serial killer whose victims seem to vanish into thin air has long been at work...and that their own fates are about to be sealed forever unless they believe in the unbelievable.

New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels, many of which have been featured by the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and translated into more than twenty languages. Heather enjoys her south Florida home, but loves to travel as well, to locations such as Cairo, Egypt, and even to her own backyard, the Florida Keys. Heather is a member of many writing groups, including RWA, HWA, Ninc, MWA, and International Thriller Writers. Originally a theater person/back-up singer/bartender, she is very proud to be a Killerette in the Killer Thriller Band, along with many fellow novelists she greatly admires. She is also the founder of the Slush Pile Players who do a facsimile of entertainment for many venues. Heather hosts Writers for New Orleans each Labor Day, and is happy to hear from readers. Visit her at theoriginalheathergraham.com, heathergraham.tveheathergraham.com, or her myspace page.

In The Armageddon Conspiracy, first novel by author John Thompson, Uber-fundamentalist Christians frame the wrong man when they steal a billion dollars in a thriller set in the world of Wall Street finance. Framed for murders he didn't commit and falsely accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars, Brent Lucas is alone and on the run. Wounded and fleeing from both the FBI and his would-be killers, Brent runs to Maggie DeVito, his ex-fiancée, a beautiful cop assigned to a federal anti-terrorism taskforce. Convincing her of his innocence, he must now survive long enough to prevent a strange alliance of Christian extremists and Muslim terrorists.

John Thompson uses his experience in the world of finance to create a chilly story of religious fanatics, money and terror. -- James O. Born, Author of Burn Zone

It's amazing to me that The Armageddon Conspiracy is a debut novel. It's pace is breathtaking, and yet the characterizations are deep and full, and the plot is both intricate and intelligent. I think John Thompson is more than on his way. I think he's there. -- Anne Rivers Siddons

John Thompson's writing is lean and sharp, his narrative voice as assured as a veteran writer's. There's not a false step in this fast-paced thriller--a smart, suspenseful, believable book. I'm waiting for the movie. -- Josephine Humphreys

John Thompson spent 25 years as an investment banker in New York before retiring to write full time. He lives with his wife and daughter and divides his time between Charleston, SC, and a mountain home in Hawley, PA. 

From an American suburb incongruously set into a jungle clearing to the sleazy bars and high-rise offices of Jakarta; from a teeming neighborhood floating on a river to the dense, steaming rain forest -- Flight of the Hornbill is a thrill ride through an exotic Asian landscape peopled with unforgettable characters; some desperate to make a buck, some willfully ignoring their past, and most unforgettable of all, Ray Sharp, expatriate corporate investigator, struggling to find his place as an outsider in someone else's world. Flight of the Hornbill is loosely based on the facts of the real-life Bre-X gold fraud.

Brilliantly capturing the lone-man-on-a-mission archetype that has been Dick Francis's forte for so many years, Stone puts to good use his knowledge of the horrifying treatment of women in a violently male-dominated society and turns out a heart-stopping ending. Not for the easily frightened." -- Library Journal

"[Flight of the Hornbill, Stone's] third outing (Grave Imports, 2007, etc.), written with panache and attention to evocative detail, recalls at its best the work of Ian Fleming." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Rich in atmosphere, intrigue and eroticism, Flight of the Hornbill recalls the best of Graham Greene in its ability to transport us to cloying, sinister climes we can smell and taste... Stone knows of what he writes and his authority comes through on every page, giving this thriller not just a propulsive pace, but suffusing it with the weight of authenticity; of hard-earned and world-weary experience of the sorry depths of human wickedness in pursuit of wealth." -- Craig McDonald, author of Edgar, Anthony and Gumshoe nominated Head Games

Eric Stone's Flight of the Hornbill is the third in the Ray Sharp series of detective thrillers set in Asia and based on true stories. His previous series books include Grave Imports and The Living Room of the Dead. Shanghaied, the fourth in the series, will be out next year. Eric is also the author of Wrong Side of the Wall, a true-crime / sports biography. Eric worked for many years as a newspaper and magazine writer and photographer in the U.S. and Asia, covering everything from economics to crime; politics to sex, drugs and rock & roll. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Boston P.I. Remy Chandler has many talents. He can will himself invisible, he can speak and understand any foreign language (including the language of animals), and if he listens carefully, he can hear thoughts.

Unusual, to say the least--for an ordinary man. But Remy is no ordinary man--he's an angel. Generations ago, he chose to renounce heaven and live on Earth. He's found a place among us ordinary humans; friendship, a job he's good at--and love.

Now he is being drawn into a case with strong ties to his angelic past. The Angel of Death has gone missing--and Remy's former colleagues have come to him for help. But what at first seems to be about tracing a missing person turns out to involve much more--a conspiracy that has as its goal the destruction of the human race.

And only Remy Chandler, formerly known as the angel Remiel can stop it.

Tightly focused and deftly handled, this adult debut from YA and comic book author Sniegoski (The Fallen) covers familiar ground in entertaining new ways. The angel Remiel wanders the Earth in human form as private investigator Remy Chandler, experiencing the mortal life while indulging his fondness for the trappings of noir. When the Angel of Death vanishes, Heaven hires Chandler to find him as well as a missing set of scrolls that could bring about the apocalypse. Sniegoski's choice to frame this high concept with a straight noir detective tale grounds the world for the reader and highlights the mystical elements. Chandler's dog, Marlowe, written with a humorous but heartfelt voice, shows off Chandler's ability to talk to animals and provides some charming comic relief. Fans of urban fantasy and classic detective stories will enjoy this smart and playful story. -- Publlisher's Weekly

THOMAS E. SNIEGOSKI is a novelist, and comic book scripter who has worked for every major company in the comic book industry. As a comic book writer, his work includes Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, a prequel miniseries to international hit, Bone. He has also written tales featuring such characters as Hellboy, Batman, Wolverine and The Punisher. His novels include Force Majeure, Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Monster Island, Angel: The Soul Trade, and Hellboy: The God Machine. With Christopher Golden, he is the co-author of the dark fantasy series The Menagerie as well as the young readers fantasy series OutCast, recently optioned by Universal Pictures. His two books for Penguin Razorbill, Sleeper Code & Sleeper Agenda have just been released, and he has completed the first novel in a new supernatural mystery series called A Kiss Before the Apocalypse. Sniegoski lives with his wife LeeAnne and their Labrador Retriever, Mulder, in Massachusetts. Please visit him at www.sniegoski.com

In the aftermath of the case that reunited them, Hart and Tain find themselves standing over the body of a murdered child, just days before Christmas. The investigation takes a startling turn when the brother of the victim identifies his older sister as the killer, but there's much more to the crime than meets the eye and when the parents receive a ransom demand for the safe return of their daughter, Hart and Tain must investigate the family and their business contacts to try to uncover what really happened and bring the missing girl home safely.

Meanwhile, when a convicted murderer is released from jail and sues everyone involved in the case - including Nolan's father - for malicious prosecution and wrongful conviction, Nolan can't let go of the investigation until he uncovers the truth.

What Nolan learns could destroy him, and as Hart and Tain struggle with personal issues, their case tears open wounds both old and new for both of them, and threatens to rip their lives apart.

"An unflinching look into the dark heart of family dysfunction, The Frailty Of Flesh raises difficult questions and shuns easy answers. Sandra Ruttan writes with passion and honesty about every parent's worst nightmare and the result is an emotionally wrenching experience." -- Sean Chercover, author of Trigger City and Big City, Bad Blood

"The Frailty of Flesh is not only one of the best procedural thrillers I've read in a long time... but the ending knocked me right out of my seat." -- Russel D. McLean, Crime Scene Scotland

Described as "one of crime fiction's hot new voices" by Rick Mofina, Sandra Ruttan is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Spinetingler Magazine and her short fiction has appeared in Out of the Gutter, Crimespree Magazine, Pulp Pusher, Demolition, The Cynic and Mouth Full of Bullets. She had her first newspaper column at the age of 13 and launched the Nolan, Hart and Tain series with her book, WHAT BURNS WITHIN, earlier this year. In November '08 the second book in the series, THE FRAILTY OF FLESH, will be released. For more information, visit her website at www.sandraruttan.com

Twelve years after the zombie apocalypse, a community of survivors has reclaimed more of the city and has settled into a fairly secure life in their compound. Zoey is a girl coming of age in this undead world, learning new roles--new sacrifices. But even bigger surprises lay in wait, for some of the walking dead are beginning to remember who they are, whom they've lost, and, even worse, what they've done.

As the dead struggle to reclaim their lives, as the survivors combat an intruding force, the two groups accelerate toward a collision that could drastically alter both of their worlds.

"A thinking man's zombie novel. Paffenroth has looked beyond the initial bloodshed to what happens after the end of the world. He explores deep philosophical issues while never letting the horror fan go hungry for gore." -- David Wellington, author of Monster Island

"This is existential horror fiction pushed to the limit: terrifying, disturbing, with some surprising moments of humor, and a deep, abiding humanity that extends from his living characters back to his zombies. Life Sentence unfolds like a grand tragic opera, and in the end emerges as a poignant and powerful meditation on love, sacrifice, and mortality...one that also just happens to scare the bejeezus out of you." -- Bram Stoker Award Winner Gary A. Braunbeck, author of Mr. Hands and Coffin County

Kim Paffenroth is a professor of religious studies, and the author of several books on the Bible and theology. He attended St. John's College, Annapolis, MD (BA, 1988), Harvard Divinity School (MTS, 1990), and the University of Notre Dame (PhD, 1995). He has written Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth (Baylor, 2006) - WINNER, 2006 Bram Stoker Award; Dying to Live: A Novel of Life among the Undead (Permuted Press, 2007); and Orpheus and the Pearl(Magus Press, 2008).

A sweeping tale of international espionage set against the backdrop of WWII, Stealing Trinity is a masterfully paced and meticulously crafted thriller that spans the globe and unfolds at lightning speed. From Berlin, to England, to the quiet leisure of Newport, Rhode Island, to the desert wastelands of New Mexico, to the middle of the Pacific, Stealing Trinity is a brisk and expansive tale.

"Stealing Trinity is one hell of a fine read! It's an edge-of-the-chair thriller that's impossible to put down." -- David Hagberg, USA Today best-selling author of Dance With the Dragon

"Has an air of authenticity. The characters are nicely fleshed out, and the plot zings along to a satisfying conclusion. A good read." -- Florida Weekly

"Richly characterized and beautifully written, Stealing Trinity by Ward Larsen is a compelling tale of hot adventure and cool spies in the nail-biting weeks before the close of World War II. If you enjoyed Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, you'll love this book." -- Gayle Lynds, New York Times best-selling author of The Last Spymaster

Visit Ward Larsen's website at http://www.wardlarsen.com/

In 1954, two Bedouin boys unearthed an ancient, jewel-encrusted box in a cave in the Judean wilderness. More than a half-century later, the box has reappeared on the black market. And a rogue CIA agent believes that Army Chaplain Jaime Richards knows its whereabouts--and holds the key to its mysteries.

Jaime is determined to find the treasure before it--and its secrets--falls into the wrong hands. Because this time, the future of the entire world is at stake. And this time, it's personal.

"Treasure Of Eden is one of the most exciting, thought-provoking, harrowing, sexy thrillers of the year. I look forward to reading it a second time after my blood pressure has returned to normal." -- Nancy Moore, Mystery Lovers' Central

"This is a thriller for the thinking mind; it raises fascinating questions regarding faith, politics and the monetary system...Awesome!" -- Jill M. Smith, Romantic Times Book Reviews

"The story line grips the audience from the onset...This is a superb entry in a fascinating saga." -- Mystery Gazette

"Treasure Of Eden is a top-notch thriller set inside a Bedouin Gone With The Wind--a fascinating backdrop of the last days of a dying nomadic culture." --Mary Ann O'Roark, author of Dancing With The Children I Never Had

"I've determined that an Eden Thriller is like a tub of Kozy Shak pudding--when you bring it home, you have to resign yourself to sitting down and not getting up again until you've finished the whole thing." --Shirley Nice, San Francisco's Book Maven

S. L. Linnea is the pen name of 2 co-authors. Sharon Linnea is a novelist, award-winning biographer, and author of Spidey Super Stories who also teaches writing. B.K. Sherer currently serves on active duty as an Army chaplain. An ordained Presbyterian minister, she holds an M.Div from Princeton Seminary and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University. She's about to deploy to Iraq for the 3rd time. Sharon and B.K. collaborated on a play for their 6th grade talent show and have been best friends ever since.

Within a labyrinth of caves in a small Texas town on the Rio Grande, among walls adorned with ancient Indian petroglyphs, lies a pool of strange, luminescent water...

Twenty years ago, an anthropologist unknowingly unleashed an otherworldly force of a malevolent nature here. Three teenagers spent time in the caves, unaware of the entity that inhabited them. Now they're drawn back to the site to confront not only their pasts, but one another--as combatants in a supernatural war flowing across the globe through the raging currents of the world's rivers...

"Based on actual government programs, Jeffrey Mariotte's River Runs Red is a fascinating blend of espionage and the occult with several jaw-dropping plot twists and one of the best action sequences I've read in a long time." -- David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of The Brotherhood Of The Rose and Creepers

"Mariotte can flat out write. This is a smart, fast, terrific read. This river runs." -- Don Winslow, author of The Winter Of Frankie Machine and The Dawn Patrol

Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the award-winning author of more than 30 novels, including Missing White Girl, The Slab, and the teen horror quartet Witch Season, as well as numerous comic books. He is a co-owner of specialty Bookstore Mysterious Galaxy, and lives on the Flying M ranch in rural Arizona.

Crooked cop Joe Denton gets out of prison early after disfiguring the local district attorney, which doesn't help his popularity. Nobody wants Joe to hang around, not his ex-wife, his parents or his former colleagues. Meanwhile, local mafia don Manny Vassey is dying of cancer and keen to cut a deal with God. He's thinking of singing to the DA if this will set him up for a better afterlife. And he knows stuff that will send Joe down again for a very long time.

Set in the pressure cooker of a very small town, Small Crimes is an explosive thriller that brings the claustrophobic hell of Jim Thompson and James M. Cain right up to date.

"Small Crimes by Dave Zeltserman is one of the finest dark suspense novels I've read in the past few years." -- Ed Gorman

"Zeltserman creates an intense atmospheric maze for readers to observe Denton's twisting and turning between his rocks and hard places. Denton is one of the best realised characters I have read in this genre, and the powerfully noir-ish, uncompromising plot, which truly keeps one guessing from page to page, culminates with a genuinely astonishing finale." -- David Connett, Sunday Express

"This loamy smorgasboard of salvation and revenge has both a violent and comic edge, marking Zeltserman as a name to watch." -- Crime Time

"Zeltserman's breakthrough third crime novel deserves comparison with the best of James Ellroy" -- Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

Dave Zeltserman recently left software development to write crime fiction and study Kung Fu. He lives in the Boston area with his wife, Judy, a homeopathy practitioner. Small Crimes is his third novel.

Contributing editor Karen Harper recently discussed his new James Bond thriller anthology The Union Trilogy with bestselling author Raymond Benson.

How did your background in theatre affect your style in these Bond books?
 
I would say my theatre background informed all of my creative endeavors. I had a great directing professor at the University of Texas at Austin (Francis Hodge) who taught me how to analyze stories, characters, dramatic action, and mood/tempo--all things that can be applied not just to directing plays or films, but to writing novels or scripts.  Basically, through directing plays, I learned how to tell a story--and learned what is important in a story that needs telling well.
 
What advice do you have for other authors writing vivid action scenes? 
 
I always say to "write in slow motion." Divide your fight or chase or whatever it is into individual seconds of action.  Then describe in detail those seconds. If something happens in real time in, say, a minute, then in manuscript form it lasts ten or fifteen. Stretch it out and make it visceral--you need to feel what the characters are feeling: fear, hope, exhilaration, whatever. What kind of noises do they hear? What do they see? What do they smell or taste? All these senses are important in writing action scenes.
 
You certainly have the perfect bio background to write James Bond novels.  What drew you to these books and this iconic character in the beginning?
 
I was a child of the 50s and 60s; thus, when the Bond films hit in the early 60s, I was right there to experience them on the big screen. You must remember that the Bond films were the "Star Wars" of the 60s--they were the blockbusters that everyone stood in line to see--and there was nothing like it until the studios and television began to imitate Bond with the zillion other "secret agent" titles. The 60s had a big "spy-boom" in entertainment...but Bond led the way.  I guess you can say I was just a fan who found a way to turn his love of the character into a career.
 

Novelist (Johnny Gruesome) and filmmaker (Slime City) Gregory Lamberson offers a definitive guide through the world of low budget filmmaking. Half the book consists of lessons based on his own experiences, and the other half features in depth interviews with successful indie horror filmmakers, distributors, marketing executives, and an entertainment attorney.

"It is the best book on filmmaking I have ever read." -- Desmond Reddick, Dread Media

"Wanna make a movie? This A to Z essential tome is the new filmmakers' bible. Forget the others, they are already outdated. Both inspirational and bitter sweet, this book gives you the hard line on what it takes to make a successful go at being a filmmaker in the new age. Lamberson lays out the mechanics for any budding filmmaker seriously intent on making a critical dent, and maybe even a buck, creating their opus." -- Debbie Rochon, Fangoria Radio Host and Cult Movie Actress

Gregory Lamberson wrote and directed the micro-budget horror films SLIME CITY, UNDYING LOVE (aka NEW YORK VAMPIRE) and NAKED FEAR, and worked on I WAS A TEENAGE ZOMBIE, PLUTONIUM BABY, WEST NEW YORK, CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH, and Frank Henenlotter's BRAIN DAMAGE. His 2004 novel, PERSONAL DEMONS, won the Anubis Award for Horror, and he created, launched and edits the popular horror entertainment website, Fear Zone.com.

Here's what was featured in the October issue of The Big Thrill

Hot Off The Press

• WATER WITCH by DEBORAH LABLANC
• THE 731 LEGACY by LYNN SHOLES & JOE MOORE
• THE 7TH VICTIM by ALAN JACOBSON
• TRIGGER CITY by SEAN CHERCOVER
• PLAYING DEAD by ALLISON BRENNAN
• THE WHISKEY REBELS by DAVID LISS
• THE FIRE by KATHERINE NEVILLE
• FOUND YOU by MARY SANGIOVANNI
• FIELD OF BLOOD by ERIC WILSON
• SMALL CRIMES by DAVE ZELTSERMAN
• NUCLEAR WINTER WONDERLAND by JOSHUA CORIN
• RIVER RUNS RED by JEFFREY J. MARIOTTE
• EX-KOP by WARREN HAMMOND
• STEALING TRINITY by WARD LARSEN
• THE DEVIL'S CLOSET by STACY DITTRICH
• FREEZING POINT by KAREN DIONNE
• EXPOSED by ALEX KAVA
• TREASURE OF EDEN by S.L. LINNEA
• ANTARKTOS RISING by JEREMY ROBINSON
• HOT MAHOGANY by STUART WOODS
• DYING TO LIVE by KIM PAFFENROTH
• THE UNION TRILOGY by RAYMOND BENSON
• ARMAGEDDON CONSPIRACY by JOHN THOMPSON
• FLIGHT OF THE HORNBILL by ERIC STONE
• A KISS BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE by THOMAS SNIEGOSKI
• THE SERPENT & THE SCORPION by CLARE LANGLEY-HAWTHORNE
• THE FRAILTY OF FLESH by SANDRA RUTTAN
• DEADLY NIGHT by HEATHER GRAHAM
• THE ARCHANGEL PROJECT by C.S. GRAHAM
• ROOI LUIPERD by FRANCOIS BLOEMHOF
• WHITE NIGHTS by ANN CLEEVES
• JOHNNY GRUESOME by GREGORY LAMBERSON
• CHEAP SCARES by GREGORY LAMBERSON
• A KILLER WORKOUT by KATHRYN LILLEY
• BY THE SWORD by F. PAUL WILSON
• IMMORTAL LAWS by JIM MICHAEL HANSEN
• RECIPE FOR TROUBLE by JACKIE GRIFFEY
• THE UNSEEN by T.L. HINES
• IMMUNITY by LORI ANDREWS
  
• There's also South African news from Mike Nicol.
• Plus a Between The Lines interview with international bestselling author Katherine Neville.

Monthly Book Giveaway

Congratulations to Jim Roberts, the winner of this month's BIG THRILL giveaway. Jim will receive an assortment of signed thrillers including The Killer's Wife by Bill Floyd, The 731 Legacy by Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore, Immunity by Lori Andrews, The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson, DNA by W. Craig Reed, Random Violence by Jassy Mackenzie, Southern Fatality by T. Lynn Ocean, Small Crimes by Dave Zeltserman, Aphrodisiac by Allyson Roy, Frantic by Katherine Howell, Playing Dead by Allison Brennan, and First to Kill by Andrew Peterson.

All subscribers to THE BIG THRILL webzine are automatically eligible for the monthly drawing. Click here to subscribe to the BIG THRILL email.

While the nation's attention is focused on a provocative racially-charged presidential campaign, Dr. Alexandra (Alex) Blake investigates the unexplained death of a DEA agent on a Mob stakeout. Within hours, similar deaths occur throughout the Southwest. Is it a naturally occurring epidemic--or has a lethal bioweapon been released in the United States?

"Exciting....Andrews, a real-life authority on genetics, spikes the chills with a talking DNA computer named Sam and insights into hot-button Native American issues." -- Publishers Weekly

"Strong characters and fascinating scientific issues." -- Kirkus Reviews

"From the first couple of pages till the end, Immunity was first-class. I thought Immunity was a mix between a Tess Gerritsen novel and CSI. Need I say more?" -- Goodreads.com

Lori Andrews is the author of a thriller series involving geneticist Dr. Alexandra ("Alex") Blake of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. The American Bar Association Journal described Lori as "2008 Newsmaker of the year -- a lawyer with a literary bent who has the scientific chops to rival any CSI investigator." A frequent guest on Nightline, 60 Minutes, CBS Morning News, and Oprah, Lori is a law professor who advises governments around the world about genetic technologies. She's also taught at Princeton, written for a television legal drama, and published 10 nonfiction books. 

Exercise can really be murder--that's the nasty little secret that investigative reporter Kate Gallagher discovers in A Killer Workout, the second book in the Fat City Mysteries from Signet/Obsidian. The Big Thrill interviewed author Kathryn Lilley, whose latest story combines a fast-paced murder mystery plot with her signature dash of humor.
 
Diet, exercise and body image--how did you come up with that theme for your murder mystery series?

Most mystery series today must have a unifying theme, as well as a continuing cast of characters who grow (or get offed) in each book as the series progresses. (Adds with evil grin). And since 60 percent of the American public is overweight, I figured that diet and exercise  is a theme that might find a large audience.

What's the story behind A Killer Workout?

Think "The Biggest Loser" meets "Workout." Kate goes to an exercise camp to do a little downsizing on her butt, only to wind up sugar crashing it in the middle of a gruesome crime scene.

Variety has announced that a feature-length film adaptation of Irish ITW author Ken Bruen's crime novel BLITZ will be directed by Elliot Lester, with production slated in the first quarter of 2009. The novel was optioned by Lionsgate UK, Brad Wyman and Donald Kushner.

BLITZ, which tells the story of a cop-killing serial killer hungering for infamy, joins LONDON BOULEVARD as the second Bruen option of note. William Monahan, the Oscar-winning scribe of The Departed, will direct his own adaptation of the novel. The film marks his debut as a director.

LONDON BOULEVARD involves the struggle of a London criminal who tries to go straight by working as a handyman for an actress. The book was recently nominated for the SNCF Prize of "Best Foreign Crime Novel" in France.

For more on the BLITZ adaptation, read the full Variety article here.  For the latest on Ken Bruen and his fiction, please visit his website. 

Announcing the International Thriller Writers 2009 Thriller Awards Competition call for entries. This year there are three categories: Best Novel, Best First Novel and Best Short Story. All novels first published in English by a commercial ITW Recognized Publisher within the 2008 calendar year are eligible.

For a complete explanation of eligibility and rules, download the following document.
2009-Rules-Submission-.pdf

Here's what was featured in the September edition of the Big Thrill

Hot Off The Press

• SOUTHERN POISON by T. LYNN OCEAN
• NIGHT OF THUNDER by STEPHEN HUNTER
• 14 by J.T. ELLISON
• THE KEEPSAKE by TESS GERRITSEN
• FIRST TO KILL by ANDREW PETERSON
• RUNNING SCARED by CHERYL NORMAN
• STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF by DON BRUNS
• CROSS COUNTRY by TIM WAGGONER
• RANDOM VIOLENCE by JASSY MACKENZIE
• FORGOTTEN by MARIAH STEWART
• FRANTIC by KATHERINE HOWELL
• UNPRETTY by SHARON CARTER ROGERS
• SALVATION BOULEVARD by LARRY BEINHART
• APHRODISIAC by ALLYSON ROY
• International news from Russel McLean
  
• Bonus: Between The Lines interviews with bestselling medical thriller author MICHAEL PALMER, Pulitzer Prize winner STEPHEN HUNTER, and veteran book reviewer OLINE COGDILL.

ITW Debut author Rebecca Cantrell's vampire screenplay, "The Humanitarian," is a finalist in Shriekfest 2008: The Los Angeles Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival.

In the screenplay, a passionate vegetarian doctor discovers that he was born with a vampire gene that expresses itself on his 30th birthday. The last in a long vampire line, he must battle his father to break free of the family curse before he develops a taste for blood.

 "The Humanitarian" puts a whole new spin on "No Red Meat."

For more information on Rebecca and her upcoming debut novel, A TRACE OF SMOKE, visit her website.

Remember what that first letter in ITW stands for? International. Believe it or not some authors' organisations out there treat anyone from outside the host country as second class citizens. You pay your money and get a cut-down package of what everyone else receives, even, in some cases, being unable to vote or serve.

From the outset ITW saw things differently. We're all equal here, and since membership dues were scrapped for eligible author members in the summer, all you need to join is access to the Internet - there really is no barrier at all.

What we needed to grow was a bunch of keen volunteers ready to spread the word around the world. I'm delighted to say they're now here and they're quite a gang too.  Our new international committee chairs include Linwood Barclay (Canada), Kathryn Fox (Australia & New Zealand), Timothy Hallinan (South East Asia), Pat Mullan (Ireland), Michael Jecks (United Kingdom), and Mike Nicol (South Africa).