"So when I began writing," Dionne says, "it was only natural that I ended up with a science thriller." This despite the fact that the author does not have a science background herself. "The fact that I'm not a scientist puts me in a unique position," says Dionne. "Because I don't know the scientific reality, I can conceive a story that a scientist might think outlandish, and then learn enough of the science in the fields that interest me to tell the story plausibly."

Lacking the hard science background, however, Dionne knew going in that research was going to be especially important. "I consulted with microwave experts, explosives experts, and medical experts in the fields that are touched on in my book."

Dionne offers immense props to doctor, scientist, author and fellow ITW member Jeffrey Anderson (Sleeper Cell, Second Genesis). Faced with untangling a particularly twisty medical subplot while writing Freezing Point, Dionne asked for input from several doctors, but says that only Anderson was able to help resolve the challenge. "I asked Jeff why the solution came so easily to him when the others I consulted were stymied, and he said it was because the others were thinking like scientists, and not like writers." Dionne felt that Anderson's input "made the whole book possible. Freezing Point wouldn't exist if not for him."

Dionne was born in Akron, Ohio and lives in the greater Detroit area with Roger, her husband of 36 years. With Freezing Point out this month, Dionne is hard at work on her next writing project, "another standalone that my agent and I both absolutely love; a literate, clue-oriented thriller that takes place across three continents and 4,000 years that blends some really cool science with some fascinating history. All I'll say about the subject is I hope my readers like spiders."

Meanwhile, Dionne is enjoying every second of being a new author and is exploring different ways of letting people know about Freezing Point. For example, at press time, she hopes that the clever online launch party she's created will drive interest.

The "party" includes video commentary about Freezing Point from thriller luminaries David Morrell, Gayle Lynds, James Rollins and Douglas Preston. "When I first asked these authors to record a video clip for the party, I was thinking only that it would make the site interesting and fun. But when the first clip came in from Doug Preston, I was floored. Seeing and hearing him endorse my novel is very powerful."

The Freezing Point Launch Party is here.

Contributing editor Linda L. Richards is also the editor of January Magazine and a contributor to The Rap Sheet.  Her fifth novel, DEATH WAS IN THE PICTURE, will be published St. Martin's Minotaur/Thomas Dunne January 2009.