May 21 – 27: “What’s love got to do with it?

This week join ITW Members C. J. Greaves, Dianna Love, Mark Tullius, Lisa Brackmann and Raymond Benson as we discuss how love drives the plot of a thriller story, or in the words of Tina Turner: “What’s love got to do with it?”

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Raymond Benson is the author of 27 published books. His most recent thriller is THE BLACK STILETTO: BLACK & WHITE (pub date May 30, 2012), the second book in his BLACK STILETTO series. Raymond was the 4th—and first American—author of official James Bond novels, and his work is collected in the recent anthologies CHOICE OF WEAPONS and THE UNION TRILOGY. Raymond is also a prolific tie-in writer, the most recent work being HITMAN: DAMNATION (pub date July 31, 2012).

Please visit Raymond on his website and Facebook.

NYT bestseller Dianna Love spent her early years creating unusual marketing projects for Fortune 500 companies. Now she writes thrillers and urban fantasy, which includes collaborating with #1 NYT bestseller Sherrilyn Kenyon. Their Belador UF series debuted on the NYT, USA Today, PW and Walmart bestseller lists. THE CURSE (Book three) is available September 18, 2012. Dianna speaks at reader events and has taught the popular Break Into Fiction® program nationally and internationally.

Chuck Greaves spent 25 years as an L.A. trial lawyer before penning his debut thriller HUSH MONEY (Minotaur), which has been called “an auspicious debut” (Kirkus) and a “stellar first novel” (Publishers Weekly, starred) and a “delightful debut” (Library Journal, starred.)  His second novel HARD TWISTED (Bloomsbury), a Depression-era saga based on a true crime, is due in November.

Mark Tullius is an Ivy League grad and former fighter who is launching his literary debut with BRIGHTSIDE, a thriller where telepaths are rounded up and imprisoned in a small mountain town. Mark is currently travelling across the country to promote BRIGHTSIDE (July ’12) and 25 Perfect Days (Oct. ’12) He is also training with and interviewing MMA fighters in every state for his nonfiction project: UNLOCKING THE CAGE.

Lisa Brackmann’s debut novel, ROCK PAPER TIGER, set on the fringes of the Chinese art world, made several “Best of 2010” lists, including Amazon’s Top 100 Novels and Top 10 Mystery/Thrillers. Her second novel is GETAWAY (May 2012), a thriller set in Mexico, which has been chosen as an Amazon Best Novel of the Month. She has lived and traveled extensively in China, the setting of her third novel, HOUR OF THE RAT, publishing in 2013.