The Big Thrill

Thriller News from Ireland

2009-07-02T11:07:37Z

Being a pick-'n'-mix of Crime Always Pays posts for the month of June. To wit:

Reviews of John Connolly's THE LOVERS, Stuart Neville's THE TWELVE, and Declan Hughes' ALL THE DEAD VOICES.

Tony Black gets interviewed to mark the launch of his second novel, GUTTED.

Some chancer called Declan Burke posts the first chapter of his work-in-progress.

Peter James is remarkably generous with his time ...

Debutant Sean Black announces that he's a fictional character.

John Connolly gets jiggy with 'conservative critics' who don't like genre-bending.

Craig McDonald interviews Ken Bruen over at the Busted Flush interweb malarkeybus.

Euro Crime goes crazy all of a sudden and reviews Brian McGilloway, Paul Charles, Tana French, Declan Hughes, Adrian McKinty and Gene Kerrigan.

Score! Free signed copies of Adrian McKinty's terrific thriller FIFTY GRAND.

Contributing editor Declan Burke is the author of EIGHTBALL BOOGIE (2003) and THE BIG O (2007). A freelance writer and novelist, he hosts a website dedicated to Irish crime fiction, Crime Always Pays (http://crimealwayspays.blogspot.com/). He lives in Wicklow, Ireland, with his wife Aileen and daughter Lily, and is not allowed to own a cat.

Dead Docket by Mitchell Graham

2009-06-30T15:45:00Z

When his father's former partner asks for help to settle his daughter's estate, John Delaney get more than he bargained for. The hidden box of tapes Delaney finds in her home provides the first clue the girl's death may not be what it seemed. Through a series of twists and turns, Delaney learns it's related to another "accident" that occurred fifteen years earlier and a thousand miles apart.

"A Spenceresque thriller that's hard to put down." -- Kirkus

"Cleverly plotted with exciting courtroom and action sequences." -- Booklist

"A compelling, interesting and entertaining story with great characters." --Francine Brokaw, The Herald

This is Mitchell Graham's second legal thriller. Mitchell practiced law for thirty years and also holds a degree in neuropsychology. Along the way he represented the United States in numerous fencing competitions. He won or was a finalist in over 87 events worldwide. His third book featuring John Delaney and Katherine Adams is due out next year.

The July Edition of the Big Thrill is here!

2009-06-30T14:30:00Z

It's July and the heat is on! But if you think it's hot outside, just wait until you see the sizzling new thrillers featured in this month's Big Thrill. We've got 35 impossible-to-put-down novels from many of your favorite authors including Brad Thor, Karin Slaughter, John Gilstrap, and Heather Graham. And this month, author Jeremy Duns makes his debut with his new novel FREE AGENT.

Don't expect your summer reading to cool down with these hot hits. Print the list and head over to your favorite bookstore. And while you're there, pick up a copy of THRILLER 2, the latest anthology from Jeffery Deaver, Lisa Jackson, R.L.Stine and many more, and edited by ThrillerMaster, Clive Cussler.

Happy July reading from your friends at International Thriller Writers
Joe Moore
Vice President, Technology

Hot Off The Press
click on a book title to read the feature story

LOST THRONE by Chris Kuzneski

ABANDON by Blake Crouch

TRY FEAR by James Scott Bell

HIGH CHICAGO by Howard Shrier

KILL ZONE by Vicki Hinze

NO MERCY by John Gilstrap

GREEDY BONES by Carolyn Haines

DARK TIME: MORTAL PATH by Dakota Banks

HAUNT OF JACKALS by Eric Wilson

MISSING MARK by Julie Kramer

KILL HER AGAIN by Robert Gregory Browne

FADE TO BLACK by Leslie Parrish

SHANGHAIED by Eric Stone

GRIPPED BY FEAR by John M. Wills

HOUSE SECRETS by Mike Lawson

TIMESCAPE by Robert Liparulo

RED BLOODED MURDER by Laura Caldwell

THE APOSTLE by Brad Thor

BREAKPOINT by JoAnn Ross

OUTCAST by Joan Johnston

THE BONE FACTORY by Nate Kenyon

THE ODDS by Kathleen George

FUGITIVE by Phillip Margolin

THE LAST RESORT by April Star

UNDONE by Karin Slaughter

THE DEVIL'S COMPANY by David Liss

FREE AGENT by Jeremy Duns

LEADEN SKIES by Ann Parker

CRIMINAL KARMA by Steven M. Thomas

FAN MAIL by P.D. Martin

THE MISSING INK by Karen E. Olson

DUST TO DUST by Heather Graham

EVERYWHERE SHE TURNS by Debra Webb

THE ESTUARY by Derek Gunn

DEAD DOCKET by Mitchell Graham

A Between The Lines interview with Jonathan Kellerman

Plus International News from Mike Nicol in South Africa and Declan Burke in Ireland.

Coming next month, the latest thrillers from Erin Quinn, Nina Bruhns, Thomas Greanias, Glenn Cooper, Brandon Massey, Jennie Bentley, Joan Johnston, Gayle Carline, J.J. Cooper, Allyson Roy, Megan Kelley Hall, Teresa Burrell, Liz Jensen, and more. Plus a Between The Lines interview with bestselling thriller authors Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. It's gonna be a thriller!

July's Thriller Collection winner!

2009-06-30T14:25:00Z

Monthly Book Giveaway

Congratulations to Marilyn Amann, the winner of this month's BIG THRILL giveaway. Marilyn will receive an assortment of signed thrillers including Cold Black Hearts by Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Outcast by Joan Johnston, Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Deception by Eric Van Lustbader, The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner, The Shroud of Heaven by Sean Ellis, Leaden Skies: A Silver Rush Mystery by Ann Parker, The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu by Michael Stanley, Dead or Alive by Michael McGarrity, and Fugitive by Phillip Margolin.

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

Between The Lines with Jonathan Kellerman

2009-06-30T13:50:00Z

Jonathan Kellerman's publishing history shows that he hit the ground running with his first novel, When the Bough Breaks, which won several awards and landed on the New York Times bestseller list. But just as in his books, there is a more complex web behind the scenes.

"Actually, When the Bough Breaks was my ninth or tenth novel," Kellerman explains. "I wrote a slew of unpublished 'masterpieces' over a thirteen year dry period. The process began in 1971 after I won a writing award in college, got an agent, and began to believe literary success was imminent. Alas, Bough wasn't bought until 1983 and publication was delayed to 1985 because the publisher, Atheneum, had no idea what to do with it."

Suffice to say, Kellerman did not have high hopes for his debut.

"The book was purchased as (what I now realize was) a small book destine for a quick death and an unceremonious burial. The advance came out to three bucks an hour and at the time I was making considerably more as a med school professor, clinical psychologist, and court consultant. So I never really thought writing would be a job. It was just something I loved and I figured I'd continue seeing patients and turn out a book every few years, if I could afford the time."

Still, the fact of publication was "proof that I wasn't just a self-deluded neurotic typing away in an unheated garage without a speck of success."

But then the thing all authors hope for happened.

"Somehow--I still don't understand it--the book became a word-of-mouth bestseller. I said, Hmm, okay, let's try another. Same deal. Ditto for my third, fourth, fifth . . .twenty-five years and 30 or so bestsellers later, I still don't get it. But I sure love it and I'm deeply grateful to my readers."

How did Kellerman prepare for this? What foundation was laid down for ultimate bestsellerdom?]]>
Kellerman's creation, Alex Delaware, is now one of the longest running series characters inall crime fiction. I asked Kellerman what he did to keep the character fresh for the readers.

"I don't begin writing a book until I'm excited myself," Kellerman said. "If it doesn't keep me up at night, it wont keep my readers up. Some novels take years to conceive. I'd like to think that my background as a psychologist has helped enrich my stories and I do spend a lot of time devising complex plots and creating suspense. But readers tell me what they like are the characters and characterizing is certainly the most enjoyable element for me."

I also wanted to know what Kellerman's "non-negotiables" are for writing a compelling novel.

"I never really thought in those terms. In fact, I never spend much time trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Nor do I attempt to write commercially or with an audience in mind. I allow interesting stories and characters to float into my head. Gradually, a plot coalesces, then I do a lot of thinking and researching and outlining until I'm ready to sit down to write the darn thing."

There are, however, some things Kellerman does not like in a novel.

"I despise books where murder and violence are taken lightly, because during my psychology days I had many opportunities to witness the effects of violence, and they're anything but cute. And if someone sends me another galley about a psychologically bruised serial-killer hunting a former FBI agent named Kat . . .but apart from that, I really don't have any rules. I suppose any good novel needs to be a mystery in the sense that the reader should want to turn the page to find out what happens next. I do like a strong story catalyzed by serious events, not just minor league angst. I don't have anything against what P. G. Wodehouse termed 'the kind of book where people sit around talking for 200 pages. Then the adolescent doesn't kill himself.' I just don't want to write one."

What Kellerman writes are flat out bestsellers, one after another. How does he do it? Here is a glimpse of a typical Kellerman writing day.

"I get up when I feel like it (a luxury since the kids are grown) which can be anywhere from six-thirty to nine. Shuffle downstairs, mutter bleary greetings to Faye [his wife, bestselling author Faye Kellerman] who is distressingly awake, chipper, gorgeous, and has accomplished more while I snoozed than most people do in a month. Drink coffee, hang out with my beautiful wife for awhile, walk over to the home gym and pretend to be fit, shower, shave, dress, head for the office, turn off the phone, lock the door, rewrite yesterday's work of genius which has now paled considerably in the cold light of morning. Try not to groan. Finally, segue to new stuff. Try to get five good pages down or until my typing falls apart and my head throbs, whichever comes first. Break for lunch, do a bit more writing, then play guitar, do some business, answer fan mail, hang with the granddaughter. If there's any energy left, I like to paint in oils. All the while I'm thinking about my book-in-progress during those zillions of nano-moments when nothing else is occupying my consciousness."

I wondered who Kellerman would choose if he could have any writer from the past sit down and look at his work with a blue pencil.

"No one! Everyone's got their own voice. I'm hard enough on myself without adding to the Delphic chorus of naysayers."

Not many naysayers out there for the work of Jonathan Kellerman, whose latest, True Detectives, debuted at #1 on the New York Times list.

So what kept Kellerman going during that thirteen year dry spell? "Awhile back I delivered the keynote address at the American Psychological Association's national conference. I faced a couple of thousand shrinks and my first words were, 'I stand before you today as proof of the value of obsessive-compulsive personality.'"

James Scott Bell is the author of the Ty Buchanan series, Try Dying, Try Darkness and Try Fear, all from Hachette/Center Street. www.jamesscottbell.com

Outcast Joan Johnston

2009-06-30T13:45:53Z

Society bachelor and former army sniper Ben Benedict moves between two worlds--from high-society Washington to the mean city streets, from tuxedos to Glocks. His powerful Virginia family wants him out of harm's way, but Ben stays on the job, determined to make amends for a past that haunts him. Dr. Anna Schuster is fighting demons of her own when she crosses paths with Agent Benedict. The two become adversaries--and lovers--as they search for an Al Qaeda operative bent on revenge. Ben must fight against time--and his own darkness--to rescue millions of innocents and the woman he loves from a virulent bio-weapon in the hands of a dangerous enemy.

"Skillful storyteller Johnston makes what would in lesser hands be melodrama, compellingly realistic."-- Booklist

Joan Johnston is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty award-winning historical and contemporary romantic novels, including her Bitter Creek series featuring The Rivals, The Price, The Loner, The Texan, and The Cowboy.

Johnston received a master of arts degree in theater from the University of Illinois and graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin. She lives in south Florida and Colorado.

Thriller 2 available now!

2009-06-30T10:30:00Z

When some of the top thriller writers in the world came together in Thriller: Stories To Keep You Up All Night, they became a part of one of the most successful short-story anthologies ever published. The highly anticipated Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can't Put Down is even bigger. From Jeffery Deaver's tale of international terrorism to Lisa Jackson's dysfunctional family in the California wine country to Ridley Pearson's horrifying serial killer, this collection has something for everyone. Twenty-three bestselling and hot new authors in the genre have submitted original stories to make up this unforgettable blockbuster.

Clive Cussler takes the editorial helm from James Patterson in this follow-up to Thriller (2006). This volume again features another impressive line-up of crime writers, some household names (Phillip Margolin, Ridley Pearson) and some lesser-knowns (Javier Sierra, Harry Hunsicker). All are members of the International Thriller Writers, the organization that came up with the concept for the series. What's different in this second compilation is that this time most of the familiar authors leave their established characters at home and strike out in new directions. So while David Hewson delivers a taut, exciting story, it isn't about his Roman detective Nic Costa. Thrillers are not an easy genre to define, as Cussler points out in his introduction, as it has more to do with pace than with plot. But that's good news for readers, who will enjoy such diverse story types as international intrigue (Jeffrey Deaver's "The Weapon"), suspense (Hewson's "The Circle"), and even a blend of political thriller and science fiction (Kathleen Antrim's "Through a Veil Darkly"). An entertaining collection. -- Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist

Thriller 2, Stories You Just Can't Put Down is available in bookstores and online.

House Secrets by Mike Lawson

2009-06-30T10:06:31Z

Mike Lawson's books chronicle the adventures of Joe DeMarco, an aide to the Speaker of the House. The fourth in the series and newest, House Secrets, is his best yet. Lawson talked to Big Thrill contributing editor Jeff Ayers about his work and DeMarco.

What was your life before you became a writer?

I've been very fortunate in my life: my marriage, my family, and my careers - both of them. Before I became a full-time writer, I worked for the navy for about thirty years as a nuclear engineer and as a manager maintaining the reactor plants in the navy's submarines and aircraft carriers − and I had a very successful career.   It was a good job, an interesting job, and one that dealt with vital issues related to national defense - but it wasn't fun. The fact was, although I cared very much about what I did for the navy and worked very hard at it, I didn't really enjoy the work. With writing it's different. I love to write and I look forward to writing. In my old job, I sometimes dreaded going to work in the morning knowing the tough issues that I'd have to face that day. By contrast, I never dread sitting down and working on my novels even when I'm going through a phase where I'm stuck on the plot or the words aren't flowing as they should. Like I said, I was fortunate to have an interesting job as an engineer and to make enough money to provide for my family, and I was particularly fortunate to be involved at a fairly high level in important issues that really mattered in terms of the country's security − but I consider myself even more fortunate to now be doing something I'm truly passionate about and look forward to doing each day.

What were the origins of your main character, DeMarco?

The origins of DeMarco came from two things: First, I decided before I wrote my first novel that I wanted to write political thrillers. I've always told people that for a writer, Washington, D.C. is a target rich environment. What I mean by that is that you can pick up a paper any day of the week and read about something that happens in Washington - some blunder, some scandal, some intelligence coup, something related to the military or Congress or the president − that provides an endless supply of plot-ideas for novels. So, I wanted my novels and the novels' protagonist to have a D.C. "link".   The next thing I thought was that the mystery/thriller world didn't need another detective or cop or lawyer as a protagonist for a series - and thus DeMarco was born − a guy who works for the Speaker of the House.   DeMarco's job gave me the "access" I needed to write stories involving all the shenanigans and serious, important things that occur in D.C. ]]> What sparked the idea for your new novel, House Secrets?

I'm not sure it was any one thing, but the general theme of the book is that a man is running for president and his wife turns out to be the person who is trying to keep him from reaching his goal. The second theme is that the man is being supported in his quest by either the CIA or the Mob. But I can't remember any particular catalyst for the idea. I suppose the relationship between Hillary and Bill, things that I've heard about Jack Kennedy - his infidelity with Marilyn Monroe and possible connections to Sam Giancana and the mob in Chicago − were in the back of my mind. Unlike some writers, I don't outline my books. I start with an idea and then just start writing and the plot − for lack of a better word − "evolves" from there. With House Secrets, I would finish a draft of the book and then ask myself the question: What can I do to make this plot more interesting? - and then I'd rewrite the book. So what I'm saying is that I'm not sure it was a single idea but instead the process of continually "tweaking" the book to improve it that eventually resulted in the finished novel.

Why do you think House Secrets has been receiving arguably the best reviews you have received so far?

I don't know - and I wish like hell that I did. I guess a writer feels about his books the way a mother does about her children - she thinks they're all beautiful, even the kid with the big ears. I think this book is an improvement over my first two books because, like with any profession, I've learned things as a writer since I wrote my first novel. I'd like to think that I'm growing as a writer. I don't think, however, that House Secrets is that much better than House Rules (the previous DeMarco) - but everybody else seems to think so.   So I really wish I knew the answer to your question so I could make the next book even better.

How do you stay current writing about D.C. when you live on the opposite coast? Do you have sources in government?

I guess you could say I have sources in the government - but all my sources are really guys like me - folks who worked at a high level in the navy.   Other than my navy contacts, I don't have a lot of sources in other areas of the government. I research my books as best I can, I contact various agencies in D.C. for my novels, and these days, with the internet, you can find out a lot about government agencies on-line, just by going to their websites.   I also go to D.C. at least once a year. When I was working, I was always back there for meetings and my wife has family back there, so whenever I need to do research on a book, I say to my wife: Isn't it time to go visit your mother?"

What is the Mike Lawson "brand?"

Really, really good question!! I guess I want the reader to expect a political thriller - one that moves quickly and is not bogged down by unnecessary "literary flourishes" but one that contains humor as well as suspense. Like anyone who writes a series, my main characters are part of my "brand" - DeMarco, an average-guy protagonist − Emma, enigmatic, tough, and brilliant - Mahoney, devious but likeable - and I want my readers to care about these characters and to look forward to what they're doing next. I think I have a certain style of writing, I don't try to imitate any other writer, and I write novels that, as I've said above, have a D.C. link - but each novel for me is a fresh experience and I don't consciously think in terms of the next novel being "consistent" with the Mike Lawson brand. But this is an important marketing issue and you've really given me something to think about.

What's next?

Well, I just learned that my publisher, Grove/Atlantic, wants to publish the next two DeMarco novels - both of which are written and which I'm currently polishing to hopefully make them as good as House Secrets. I'm obviously ecstatic about that news! The other thing I wish would happen next is that I've written a stand-alone (non-DeMarco novel) about the NSA that I'm dying to have published and I have another non-DeMarco book about half done involving nuclear submarines and spies and the Chinese.   There are some plots that don't fit the DeMarco format - that's one problem with writing a series - and I'd really like the opportunity to publish some non-DeMarco books.   But getting back to the question you asked, what's next is that I get to keep writing and publishing and feel so damn lucky to be able to say that.

Contributing editor Jeff Ayers is the author of VOYAGES OF IMAGINATION: THE STAR TREK FICTION COMPANION Pocket Books-November 2006. He frequently reviews thrillers for Library Journal and regularly interviews authors for LJ, the Seattle Post-Intellgencer, and Writer Magazine.

Shanghaied by Eric Stone

2009-06-29T11:48:10Z

In SHANGHAIED, Eric Stone's fourth in the Ray Sharp series of detective thrillers set in Asia--a series based on true stories and described by Lee Child as "bizarre but believable, tough but tender, and fast but considered. Highly recommended." -- Hong Kong's been handed back to the Chinese. Ray Sharp's whole world is changing. Carnivorous Tibetan monks are worried about what a Chinese bank is doing with their money. A murderous, sociopathic veteran of the U.S. invasion of Grenada, along with his twin comely kung-fu bodyguards, Floss and Betty, figure into it. As does a painful dumpling accident, drugs, sex and rock and roll, along with the usual coterie of business moguls, hookers, friends and foes. And the return of Ray's Chinese-Mexican colleague and pal, the diminutive Ms. Wen Lei Yue.

Eric's previous series books include Flight of the Hornbill, Grave Imports and The Living Room of the Dead. He is also the author of Wrong Side of the Wall, a true-crime / sports biography. Eric worked for many years as a journalist in the U.S. and Asia, covering everything from economics to crime; politics to sex, drugs and rock & roll. He once wrote an advice to the lovelorn column for a bi-lingual (English-Chinese) fashion magazine.

Eric sat down with Big Thrill contributing editor Megan Kelley Hall to discuss his intriguing writing career and his next novel, SHANGHAIED, from Bleak House books.

Eric, how has your career as a journalist helped you with your novel writing?

It has given me an appreciation for how truly strange the world is. My books are loosely based on stories that I covered, or am very familiar with, from my work in Asia, so I've had a chance to put my experiences into play in plots, locales, characters, pretty much every element of my books. The hard part is that in my novels, everything needs to make sense - unlike in the real world. As a journalist, if I could back up what I reported with research, it didn't matter how bizarre or illogical something was. Truth really can be stranger than fiction. A novel requires more logic. If my readers feel that something doesn't make sense, they lose patience with it. And, on a technical level, I've got a lot of experience with deadlines and writing every day, so I don't agonize too much over the actual work involved in writing. ]]> You've said in interviews that most of what goes on in the Ray Sharp series is based on true life events that you've witnessed, written or heard about. How does that affect your writing? How do you know when and where to draw the line between fiction and true-crime events?

There's the need to disguise some of the characters, places and incidents for legal reasons, but that actually crops up less than I would have thought. In real life, a lot of the types of crimes I write about have one very simple motivation - greed. But that's kind of boring to write about. I want my characters and plots to be more complex than that. So, I have to invent back stories and complicated emotions and relationships to drive the narrative in ways that suck in readers more than the simple desire of someone to make more money, or to do their job. The third book in my series, FLIGHT OF THE HORNBILL, was loosely based on the Bre-X gold fraud in Indonesia in the mid-1990s. It was a fascinating crime and business story, but I wanted to give it the emotional depth and resonance that fiction can provide more easily than fact. I think that even though it takes place in a distant, exotic locale and involves something that most of my readers would never be involved in, it still manages to provide my readers something that they can relate to emotionally, rather than simply intellectually or out of curiosity.

You've said in interviews that you enjoy writing a series around your "everyman" protagonist Ray Sharp, because it allows you to explore real events and issues, while maintaining a sense of continuity and focus for your readers. Tell us more about what you enjoy when writing a series. What would be different when writing a standalone? Is it a completely different process?

One of the things I do like about Ray Sharp is that he's no superman. He's just a relatively smart, loyal, tenacious guy with no fabulous special skills. I enjoy working out how to get him into trouble and then how to get him back out of it, since unlike, say, James Bond, he isn't going to be much good in a fight or a shootout or technologically. That, of course, can also land him in hot water that he might not, realistically, be able to get out of. Which happens to him in SHANGHAIED. The thing about Ray is that while he is certainly not me, he isn't unlike me. I enjoy writing him, but I actually prefer writing the other characters, they're more challenging creatively. Although no matter how far from me a character is, I find that there's something of me inside them all, and I enjoy the occasional bouts of introspection that pushes me into.

I enjoy writing the series, but at the moment I'm working on a standalone and it feels good to take a break from what I've been doing for the past four years. The writing is more difficult, which I enjoy. I feel like I'm having to stretch myself. And I'm playing around with different points of view. The Ray Sharp series is all first person, present tense, and the novel I'm currently working on - which is set in 1947 Los Angeles - is third person, multiple points of view and sort of present tense. One of the difficulties of that is that I so much enjoy the multiple points of view that I have had to be careful not to invent too many characters. There was a waitress who I really liked, but then I realized I'd written her needlessly into too many scenes and I had to go back and ruthlessly get rid of most of her.

You've lived and worked as journalist in Asia for eleven years and have set your series there, yet you now live in Los Angeles. Was it a difficult transition (or "culture shock") living and writing in two very different places?

It was tough coming back to the U.S. after all that time away. I felt like an outsider, both here, and as an American in Asia I was obviously an outsider there as well. Which was the main reason I came back. I feared I was reaching a point of no return as an expatriate and I wanted to feel like an insider somewhere. It took me a good couple of years and several cross country road trips before I felt fully comfortable back home. (I've never felt that someone can get any real sense of America confining themselves to the coasts, and maybe Chicago.) And, it took a while longer than that before I began to feel that I'd regained enough of a feel for the U.S. that I could begin to write books set here. The standalone I'm working on now is set here, although it's historical. But the next books I have planned - a sort of offshoot of the Ray Sharp series - will be set in Northern Mexico and Southern California and will be contemporary. Although, they will deal with the Asian communities here, which are the largest in the world outside their native countries.

If you had to set another book in a different part of the world (where you could live and do research), where would you go?

There's a lot of places, but I suppose my first choices would be West Africa, particularly Mali. I spent a couple of months there in 1985 and have always wanted to go back. And probably Eastern Europe, especially Hungary. I've also always been intrigued by family run Chinese restaurants in small towns in the U.S. A book having to do with that intrigues me.

What inspired you to become a writer? What continues to inspire you?

I've written stories ever since I learned to write. It feels about as natural as breathing. My mother and father were both great story tellers with a wide ranging curiosity about the world, and I got a lot from them. I'm constantly driven to explore new things, new places. It's a kind of restlessness that drives some of my friends and family a bit crazy at times. I guess you could say I have a promiscuous curiosity about life and the world. There's no way I can ever try, see or do all the things I'd like to before I die. But I can't imagine not working at it.

What is your writing routine? What's your favorite part about the writing process?

I write, or try to, every day for about four hours in the morning. Then I get desperate to meet someone for lunch so that I don't lose human contact. Then in the afternoon I tend to edit, research, take care of business matters. By then my brain is usually too awash in thoughts to do much creative writing. I especially love it when a book reaches the point where its internal logic and momentum begin to dictate to me. Sometimes that causes problems. In FLIGHT OF THE HORNBILL, I wasn't planning on having one character shoot another, but the story got to a point where it was the only thing that made sense. It kind of took me by surprise and I found that thrilling. There's a very major development in SHANGHAIED where the same thing happened. It completely changed how I had to think about the book and what I was going to do with the book, but it was one of the highlights of my book writing career when it happened.

Describe your path to publication.

My first book was non-fiction, a biography of a major league baseball player in the 1940s - Blackie Schwamb - who was a gangster in the off-season, committed a murder in 1949 and became famous playing ball in prison. That was an outgrowth of a long interview I had done with Schwamb, hoping to sell a magazine story. Before that, I didn't have any idea I could write a whole book. I found an agent by sending out a bunch of queries, and he sold the book to the 29th publisher who saw it. That gave me the confidence to try and write a novel, which I'd always wanted to do. I wrote the first novel in about three months and sent it to a friend - a writer with a dozen or so books published - for his opinion. He liked it and told me he could probably make an offer on it for Tor-Forge. That was a surprise, I had no idea he was an editor for St. Martins. He did, I ran it through my agent, and the Ray Sharp series was born. (The first book, THE LIVING ROOM OF THE DEAD, was published in hardback by Forge. Since then, Bleak House Books has published the series.)

How many more in the Ray Sharp series? Would you consider starting another series? Do you have any plans for future stand-alones?

I'm not certain. Bleak House has an option on the next book in the series, and after that, who knows? I actually have two ideas for books in the Ray Sharp series that take place before the first book in the series, so we'll see what comes of those. I have an idea for an offshoot series centered on Wen Lei Yue, who Ray meets and starts to work with in GRAVE IMPORTS, the second book in the series, and who figures very significantly into SHANGHAIED. That's the series that would be set in Northern Mexico and Southern California. And I'm envisioning the standalone that I'm currently working on as the first in a trilogy (though not actually a series) of books set in Los Angeles.

Out of all of the stories in the global headlines today, as a journalist, which would you find most interesting to cover? Are there any that you would work into future novels?

The continuing economic development of China and the ways it is reaching into every little nook and cranny around the world and the impact that has culturally, socially, politically and in crime. I think there's a lifetime of both fiction and non-fiction to be got out of that.

You mentioned that your in your first book in this series, you based Ray Sharp a bit on yourself. You have also said that many of the events in your books are inspired by true life. In this most recent book, Shangheid, you include your usual coterie of business moguls, hookers, friends and foes. Do any of your friends get worried that a version of themselves will end up in one of your books someday?

Most of them seem to hope they do. Although I did have a somewhat uncomfortable email exchange with someone who thought he recognized himself in the first book and wasn't happy about the depiction. There's a scene in FLIGHT OF THE HORNBILL that is pretty much exactly how I met an old girlfriend of mine. She was pleased by that, and remembered it the same way. My father, who doesn't read much fiction and who I don't think really understands what fiction is, worries that Ray Sharp is too much like me. He's a little embarrassed to have some of his friends read my books. Colin Cotterill, who's a good friend, gave my name to the corpse of an American pilot in one of his books. So in SHANGHAIED I've given his name to a British, Hong Kong cop who is retiring to open a brothel in the Philippines. I think Colin got the better deal out of that exchange.

What book is on your nightstand right now? What current authors do you read?

At the moment I'm reading INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH, by Luis Alberto Urrea. I read most of the authors who set their books in Asia, Colin Cotterill, Martin Limon, Timothy Hallinan, Qiu Xiaolong. I loved SJ Rozan's new book, SHANGHAI MOON. There's a Chinese writer who I particularly love named Ma Jian, his most recent book is BEIJING COMA and it is utterly brilliant, although relentlessly grim and depressing (it's not a crime novel or thriller.) There's a bunch of other crime and thriller writers I love reading, too many to list here. In the non-crime and thriller category I'll read anything and everything by William T Vollmann.

What would you do if you weren't a journalist or writer of any kind? What other careers interest you?

Hard to imagine, but I suppose I'd want to be some sort of anthropologist. That would give me the same sort of excuse that writing does to poke my nose into other people's business.

Does life in Los Angeles nurture your creative spirit more than the time you spent living in Asia?

There isn't much difference. In Asia I had the constant stimulation of something new and different. In Los Angeles I have the constant stimulation of remarkable diversity. One of the things I've really grown to appreciate about being back in Los Angeles is that the whole world is here. Bangkok is a fantastic place, but it's 99% Thai. Los Angeles has the largest Thai community in the world outside of Thailand, but it also has the same for Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Iran, Armenia, pretty much every Latin American country and other places as well. Within a 20 minute drive of my house I can travel the world. Not that living here has stopped me from wanting to travel the world that is beyond my driving abilities.

What makes Shanghaied the perfect thrilling summer read?

It's very fast paced, if I do say so myself. It's got suspense, humor, sex, violence, drugs and nearly the full range of human emotions. It's got characters you'll love, characters you'll hate, characters you'll get turned on and turned off by. You'll find out what really happened to the world's largest fireworks display. It's got swearing in four languages. There's a dumpling accident, a subway chase scene and the reason the Dalai Lama eats meat. It will transport you to exotic locales, some of which you might rather go to in the pages of a book than live and in person, but you can rest assured in the knowledge that I've been to them for you.

For more information on Eric Stone and SHANGHAIED, visit his website at www.ericstone.com.

Megan Kelley Hall's second novel, THE LOST SISTER (Kensington, Aug. 2009), is a sequel to her debut YA suspense thriller Sisters of Misery and comes out this August. For more information, go to www.megankelleyhall.com.

Criminal Karma by Steven M. Thomas

2009-06-29T10:35:02Z

With Criminal Paradise, his gritty, satirical take on the Southern California underworld and the faulty society it preys on, Steven M. Thomas earned comparison to such masters as Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen. Now, Thomas has written another smart, sexy thriller featuring his charismatic antihero, the small-time crook Robert Rivers, who has dreams of making the big score and the brains to pull it off -- if only his partner, Reggie, wouldn't keep getting in the way.

The stakes are high for Rivers this time around: He is on the trail of a diamond necklace worth a small fortune. The necklace belongs to beautiful Los Angeles socialite Evelyn Evermore, but Rivers has a foolproof plan to remedy that. Unfortunately, the plan is not Reggie-proof, and when the dust clears, the necklace is gone and the cops are in hot pursuit.

When Rivers learns that Evelyn is mixed up with a 300-pound guru known as Baba Raba, the necklace seems to be within reach once more. Only the deeper Rivers digs, the more it appears that Baba Raba is a dangerous fraud intent on the same prize Rivers is pursuing. Worse, Rivers finds himself developing a soft spot for Evelyn, who isn't the shallow socialite she seems to be.

Soon Rivers and Reggie are barreling headlong into a battle with Baba and a gang of murderous Italian gangsters who, in cahoots with the guru, are using intimidation, extortion and the cats paw of a corrupt politician to gain control of a $100-million swath of oceanfront property. Set in sunny Venice Beach and Indian Wells in the Coachella Valley, Criminal Karma offers exotic locales, fast-paced action, colorful characters, and dazzling plot twists that will keep readers enthralled until the final page.

"This novel is more than a wonderful thriller and a classic caper-gone-wrong. It's a morality tale and a jaw-dropping tour of Southern California at its most crazy and compelling. I loved it." -- T. Jefferson Parker

"From posh hotels to flop houses, from ashram meetings to complicated burglaries, Rivers keeps his eye on the prize, but not without an appealing touch of knight errantry . . . . Rivers is a cunning and resourceful thief capable of blending into his surroundings like a chameleon or meeting force with force when necessary. He does both with charm, wit and surprising decency." -- Publishers Weekly

"As in the first novel, author Thomas writes gracefully and deftly about Southern California, louche and luxe, and Rivers' casual disquisitions on Hindu beliefs are informative and insightful. Give this one to fans of Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr." -- Booklist

Steven M. Thomas grew up in a working class suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, where he was not an Eagle Scout or member of the boys choir. He left home the first time at 15, spending the summer hitchhiking across the country, working at odd jobs and writing a journal. He was educated -- eventually -- at Antioch University, the University of Missouri, St. Louis (B.A. English, summa cum laude, 1997) and the University of California, Irvine (Regent's Fellowship, MFA, 1999). Before becoming a fulltime novelist, Thomas worked at different times as a magazine editor, journalist and college lecturer, teaching writing at UCI. He has also been a short order cook and an aluminum siding salesman. He lives with his wife and daughter in Orange County, California.

The Last Resort by April Star

2009-06-29T10:24:38Z

What happens when a message in a bottle washed ashore contains neither the typical proclamations of love nor charts or maps to shipwrecks and buried treasure, but instead, secrets, lies, betrayals and the most unspeakable of crimes - murder? In THE LAST RESORT, the second novel in her Wanderlust Mystery series, author April Star takes readers on a journey to answer that very question. THE LAST RESORT features newlyweds and amateur sleuths David and Laura Jennings, two RV enthusiasts who stumble upon murder and intrigue as soon as they arrive at the St. Augustine RV resort where they hope to enjoy a romantic honeymoon. Kirkus Review called THE LAST RESORT "a fine blend of mystery and romance." As she celebrates the novel's recent release, April took time to answer some questions for Big Thrill contributing editor, Julie Compton.

Your protagonist Laura Jennings is an RV enthusiast and former manager of a camping resort. You, too, are an RV enthusiast and former manager of an RV resort. In what other ways is Laura like you? Or do the similarities stop there?

At the time I was writing Tropical Warnings, the first title in this series and when Laura Jennings was created, I was managing an RV resort. I'm now an Office Coordinator and reservationist. Laura is really a composite of the woman I'd always hoped to become. Serious-minded but fun loving; business and success oriented, and a woman who displays a strong and independent spirit.

You state in your bio that the stories and characters in the Wanderlust Mystery series emerged from your experiences as a manager at the camping resort. Can you elaborate? Are there any aspects of your plots that are based on real events or people? Have you ever found a message in a bottle?

My husband, who is very much the romantic, has sent me a number of "messages in a bottle." Some with personal and touching notes, others held diamonds and gold. When I stated that the characters and plots emerged from my experiences as a manager and my own adventures as a fulltime RVer, I was talking about the "happenings" and some of the quirky characters that find their way into campgrounds. We had one woman who tried to convince us that she was half alien and she wanted us to be sure to let her know if Jerry Springer called! ]]> You also share with readers the fact that you received over two hundred rejections before receiving "the call" from your publisher, Five Star/Gale. Many published authors have a similar tale to tell. Having been through this experience, what advice would you give aspiring writers?

Don't ever think anything is too mundane or unimportant to write about. Whether it be your workplace or the habits and personalities of people you know, if you begin to have that gnawing inner desire to capture it all in words, do it. Don't ignore it.

Writing is, first of all, something you do for yourself. It's important not to get caught up in what everyone else is writing or what genre you're told you "should" or "shouldn't" be focusing on. Listen to the whispers from your soul and write about what you hear.

You don't hide the fact that JoMarie Grinkiewicz is your real name. Why did you decide to publish under the pen name of April Star? What have been the advantages and disadvantages of using a pen name?

My real name is pretty long and many people have a difficult time pronouncing and writing it. I took the suggestion from several author friends, and decided to use a pen name. I took "April" from the month my husband and I married (38 years ago) and "Star" from the little three-legged Maltese we rescued and adopted. There have been more advantages than disadvantages. At first, I was told to chose one name and brand myself with that without any confusion with my real name. I didn't like that. More and more I discovered how other well-named authors like Nora Roberts use a pen name (J.D. Robb) along with their real name, so I followed suit.

I would have to say the only disadvantage would be when I did begin to mention my real name. But it all flowed quickly together and readers now know who I am regardless of what name I write under.

What authors do you like to read when you're not writing, and who has influenced your writing the most?

I love the works of Carolyn Hart, Sue Grafton, and Barbara Parker. I was most influenced by Barbara Parker, who really personally inspired me through the time she took with me at a SleuthFest conference over a decade ago. I stood in line to have her sign a copy of her book Blood Relations. She told me to sit down and tell her about my aspirations and what I was working on. We talked for over thirty minutes and her last words to me were, "Never give up." I didn't. I, like many, was devastated over her untimely death but very much inspired by her strength, courage, and creative genius.

What's next for April Star? Will there be a third novel in the Wanderlust series?

I have almost completed the third and final Wanderlust Mystery, It's Checkout Time. This time, Laura and David stumble upon the body of a murdered driver while camping at the NASCAR races in Talladega, Alabama. I'm also excited about beginning a new series, but reluctant to say goodbye to Laura and David Jennings. I miss them already, but I left the door open for another book. In my new Paradise by the Sea series, I will leave the road behind, focusing instead on the happenings in a 55+ residential retirement community.

Contributing editor, Julie Compton, is the author of TELL NO LIES, a legal thriller set in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Her next novel, RESCUING OLIVIA, will be released in February, 2010. An attorney by profession, she lives and writes near Orlando, Florida.

Haunt Of Jackals by Eric Wilson

2009-06-28T15:41:32Z

"From an early age," thriller author Eric Wilson said, "I wanted to be a writer. Although I was born in California and raised in Oregon, my more enduring memories start in Europe where my parents took Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. Life was an adventure, full of exotic cultures and peoples." It's been a wild ride for his self-described "preacher's kid" who has become a bestselling Christian author, producing not only a series of successful original novels such as The Best of Evil, Shred of Proof and Dark to Mortal Eyes, but also the novelizations of a series of films like the immensely popular "Fireproof." Eric's latest is Haunt of Jackals from Thomas Nelson, the second in his 'Jerusalem Undead' series that began with Field of Blood and features Gina Lazarescu, a Romanian girl trying to solve an occult mystery with dire repercussions for herself and the and all of mankind.

When did you start writing? Did you write stories as a child?

My childhood love of books spurred me to write. By age seven or eight, I was writing stories. By age sixteen, I'd completed a 300 page novel.

You followed a really unique path to representation and getting published - can you tell us about that?

After publishing articles in college, I got married and had to get a "real" job. With the advent of the Internet, I began reviewing novels on Amazon, and it was there that an established agent noticed me while reading one of my reviews of a book he had represented. He saw in my bio that I was working on a novel and he asked to see it. I thought he was a scam artist, but soon learned he was the real deal. Eight months later, I had a contract with a division of Random House.
]]> You traveled all over the world with your parents as they worked in the ministry. How do you think those experiences shaped your writing?

Visiting other countries, tasting other foods, experiencing different customs...all of these provide an amazing education that many Americans miss out on. I love people of all colors and faiths. I love to write using all the senses, in reflection of the various things I've encountered.

Do you think of yourself more as a thriller writer who explores themes of faith and belief, or a Christian who ministers by writing thrillers?

I love to write good stories. If I wanted to preach sermons or pound people over the head with a "message," I'd write nonfiction. Most Christians are afraid to wrestle with the unknowns of life because it might topple their shaky faith. For me, faith is all about wondering, questioning, wrestling--and still believing. My characters reflect that side of me. But the story still has to stand on its own.

Your latest, Haunt of the Jackal, is the second in the Jerusalem's Undead trilogy. Did you travel to all of the locations you write about in the series? Is it important to you to walk the ground where your scenes take place?

Yes, I almost always write about places I've been. I love the details of real locations, and they often change the direction of the scene. Thanks to the Internet, I can wing it on some things, but I prefer on-the-ground research to help the story come alive in my own mind first.

Many readers may know you from the book, Fireproof, a novelization of the screenplay for the movie starring Kirk Cameron. What was it like to adapt a screenplay that someone else had originally penned?

I doubt many readers on this site have read the book, but yes, the success of that novelization has allowed me to keep writing vampire books. I've heard horror stories of working with producers, screenwriters, and such, but my experience was fantastic. The Kendrick brothers allowed me a lot of creative room to expand their script into a full-fledged novel with backstory and interior monologue, as well as an extra subplot or two. Though it's less taxing creatively to adapt, I wasn't sure I had the ability to partner like this. As a writer, I usually create alone. To my surprise, I loved the collaborative process.

Has working with screenwriters piqued your interest in writing for the movies?

Screenwriting and novel-writing are two very different crafts. I'm interested in giving it a spin, but I'm not sure I have the gift for it. I do see very visually as I write, so of course the idea of my own stories being turned to film is enticing. We'll see where it all leads. My future is wide open.

Dennis Tafoya is the author of Dope Thief, coming from St. Martin's Minotaur in May, 2009. He's an ITW Debut Author and is currently working on his second novel for St. Martin's. He lives and works in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

The Estuary by Derek Gunn

2009-06-28T11:57:25Z

Journalist John Pender has returned to his home town of Whiteshead to rekindle his marriage. Ex-British intelligence officer Dave Johnson has arrived to isolate himself after his fiancé is murdered during a mission that went terribly wrong. But excavations for the new shopping centre unearth a mysterious contagion that threatens to throw their lives into chaos.

Now the residents of Whiteshead are trapped within a quarantine zone with the military on one side and ravenous hordes of living dead on the other. Escape is no longer an option.

Far out in the mouth of the estuary a small Keep sits forlornly surrounded by an apron of jagged rocks. This refuge has always been unassailable, a place of myth and legend that has grown in folklore through the years. Now, it's the survivors' only hope of sanctuary. But there are thousands of flesh-eating infected between them and the Keep and time is running out ...

"Gunn's writing style is very engaging, particularly his action sequences. They are plentiful, intense, appropriately blood-soaked" -- Bookloons

"Almost fifteen thousand men, women and children turned into flesh-eating zombies by a long-forgotten Nazi chemical weapon ...sounds like your thing?" -- David Moody, author of HATER.

"A seemingly idyllic setting, characters full of human weakness and heroism and a mysterious contagion that threatens to destroy everything--fantastic ingredients for a modern horror novel!" -- Gav thorpe, author of MALEKITH

Derek Gunn lives in Dublin, Ireland with his wife and three children and is the author of the post-apocalyptic thriller series, Vampire Apocalypse, widely praised on both sides of the Atlantic. The first two books in the series are; A World Torn Asunder (2006) and Descent into Chaos (2008). The third Vampire Apocalypse book, Fallout, is due out in 2009. An adaptation of Derek's first book is under option and is currently in active development as a major movie. Derek is a member of the International Thriller Writers and the Horror Writers Association. Visit his website at www.derekgunn.com

Everywhere She Turnes by Debra Webb

2009-06-28T11:51:29Z

When Dr. CJ Patterson returns to her Southern hometown, she finds herself surrounded by a series of long-buried secrets--and a killer who seems to know her better than she knows herself...Drugs, prostitution, robbery, homicide--these are four terms that Dr. CJ Patterson learned all too well growing up on the seamy, forgotten streets of inner-city Huntsville, Alabama. Fiercely determined, CJ worked hard to forget where she came from and become an emergency medicine resident at a prestigious Baltimore hospital. But when her younger sister--the only family she ever had--is murdered, CJ is drawn back into the painful past she thought she'd left behind. Her unrelenting investigation uncovers a highly sophisticated web of shocking family secrets, dark obsession, and brutal violence and a killer who will stop at nothing to keep her from learning the truth.....

"Everywhere She Turns is romantic suspense at its best." -- Erica Spindler, New York Times bestselling author of Breakneck.

"The dark and seamy lives of those on society's edge give Webb's latest a desperate quality. This complicated story has a variety of villains, all of whom add to the relentlessly ominous atmosphere. It's riveting, yet darkly and sadly chilling." -- Romantic Times Magazine

Debra Webb wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn't until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain and within the confining political Walls of Berlin, Germany, that she realized her true calling. A five-year stint with NASA on the Space Shuttle Program reinforced her love of the endless possibilities within her grasp as a storyteller. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Debra has been writing romantic suspense and action packed romantic thrillers since. Visit her at www.DebraWebb.com.

Dust To Dust by Heather Graham

2009-06-28T11:45:12Z

Not long ago, Scott Bryant would have described himself as an ordinary guy. But one act of heroism has changed his life forever--or at least until the apocalypse occurs. Because the end of the world is on its way.

Suddenly and inexplicably possessed of superhuman strength, Scott finds himself allied with the enigmatic and alluring Melanie Regan in a quest to find the mysterious Oracle in hopes of averting the absolute destruction that threatens.

Melanie herself has been falling into trances, sketching terrifying visions of future events--and she wants answers. She knows better than Scott where to look for help, but even she cannot fathom the powers that have thrust them together in an epic battle of good against evil.

The earth itself will soon turn against its inhabitants, and now mortal and immortal must join forces if any are to survive.

"Graham's dependable romantic flourishes enhance this bewitching blend of Native American lore, ghostly shenanigans and modern-day chicanery." -- For NIGHTWALKER, Publisher's Weekly

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. An avid scuba diver, ballroom dancer and mother of five, she still enjoys her south Florida home, but loves to travel as well.