Features: March 2008 Archives
"I write from the basic premise that good fiction, no matter what genre, must include compelling characters," Kava says. "No matter how brilliant the plot or how incredible the twist may be, if readers aren't interested in your characters they're not going to stay with you for 300-400 pages."
Continue reading Writing Between The Lines with Alex Kava.
Bring along your stake and cross--TW contributing editor Cathy Clamp talks to Lisa Jackson about her upcoming thriller Lost Souls. Every author has that favorite secondary character . . . the one who steals the show from who the book should be focusing on. Such is the case with Lisa Jackson's new thriller, Lost Souls. "From the moment Kristi Bentz first set foot on the pages of Hot Blooded and Cold Blooded, I loved writing about her. She literally stole the show." The daughter of Jackson's fictional New Orleans Detective Rick Bentz, Kristi's had a rough life. She's nearly been killed several times during her father's cases, she tossed her boyfriend, and is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina--all of which lead to a great background for her own story. "She's pushing thirty, unmarried and unsettled in a job. It seemed natural that she'd be searching for something. I loved the idea of sending her back to school at All Saints College, her old alma mater in Baton Rouge, all the while struggling to be an independent adult."
Continue reading Vampire Cults and the Reality of Devastation in Lost Souls.
ITW contributing editor, Keith Raffel, first met
Libby Fischer Hellmann when they were
co-panelists at the late great ConMisterio Conference in 2006. Now he's
caught up with her again to discuss her latest novel, Easy Innocence,
which the usually understated (and always wonderful) Stuart Kaminsky touts as
"good stuff, very good stuff."Okay. Let's get down to brass tacks, Libby. Tell us something about your fifth mystery, Easy Innocence.
Easy Innocence is a departure from my Ellie Foreman series. It's a dark, disturbing PI story about teenage girls and the lengths they go to in order to be accepted. It features Georgia Davis, who was a cop in my third book, An Image of Death. She's now a PI on the North Shore of Chicago, and she's investigating the death of a teenage girl at what turns out to be a hazing incident. (Which, you may remember actually did happen about 5 years ago - the video made the national news.)
Is there something you were trying to give the readers beyond a good read
with Easy Innocence?
In a way. Some books start from a vision... some from a personal experience... this one started out of fear. My daughter was just starting high school and I was recently separated. I was scared -- would I be up to the task of mothering? Would she fall into the "wrong crowd"? How would she withstand all the peer pressure? Those questions provided the framework of the plot, although it did evolve into something different by the end of the story.
In a way. Some books start from a vision... some from a personal experience... this one started out of fear. My daughter was just starting high school and I was recently separated. I was scared -- would I be up to the task of mothering? Would she fall into the "wrong crowd"? How would she withstand all the peer pressure? Those questions provided the framework of the plot, although it did evolve into something different by the end of the story.
Continue reading Gritty Noir from Libby Fischer Hellmann.
The debut deal is as big and as bold as Jordan Dane's personality. Three books published back to back, one month after another starting with April's release No One Heard Her Scream. "They (HarperCollins/Avon) made me an offer I couldn't refuse-and without a horse head in my bed. For a debut author, this is an amazing first step in launching my writing career." Unusual for sure, but there is a method to Avon's madness. Avon's publisher, Liate Stehlik had this to say, "We are pursuing an aggressive release schedule because we believe strongly in this author. Jordan Dane is poised to be the 'next big thing' in the romantic suspense genre."
Continue reading Romantic Suspense on Steroids.
Gregg Olsen had written six bestselling true crime books before turning to fiction. His latest novel, A Cold Dark Place is his second. Taking place in the Pacific Northwest, A Cold Dark Place focuses on cop Emily Kenyon, a single mother whose teenage daughter, Jenna, becomes entangled in her current investigation. A family is murdered and the teenage son disappears. Jenna knows the boy and wants to help him. Emily finds herself investigating a murder and struggling to keep her daughter safe from a killer.Olsen says the idea for A Cold Dark Place came from reading a magazine article about Hurricane Katrina. "There was suspicion that perhaps a body that had been found after the hurricane was actually murdered, not killed by the hurricane. The idea was somebody had used the hurricane to cover up a crime."
Continue reading Gregg Olsen finds Light & Heat in A Cold Dark Place.
The Silver Bullet Award
David Baldacci is not only an international bestselling author with over 50
million copies of his thrillers in print, he's also an advocate for supporting
family literacy in the 
Because of their deep caring and dedication to this cause, David has been
designated as the 2008 recipient of the ITW Silver Bullet Award at ThrillerFest
in
Continue reading The Silver Bullet and The Whole Truth.
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
For 2009, we're in the heart of New York in July, with two special add-on events, CraftFest and AgentFest, where authors of all levels can meet the professionals.
ThrillerFest 2009 will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. There are limited rooms available at our 2009 conference rate. As soon as you register, please make your hotel reservation--don't wait! Once our block of rooms is filled, there will be no space available at the conference rate. You must be registered for the conference before making a hotel reservation. Please call the Hyatt at 1-800-233-1234 for reservations.
- ThrillerFest 2009
- CraftFest
- AgentFest
- Latest News
- Special Guests
- Schedule
- Programming
- Attending ITW Members
- Prices
- Registration
- ThrillerFest Sponsors
- Thriller Awards
- Press
- Contact ThrillerFest
