September 3 – 9: “What is the primary job of a thriller?”

Is it purely entertainment? Escapism? To provoke thought? This week, ITW Members Grant McKenzie, Sandra Parshall, David Sakmyster, J. H. Bográn and Jean Harrington answer the question, “What is the primary job of a thriller?” It’s another can’t-miss discussion on TheBigThrill.org.

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J. H. Bográn, born and raised in Honduras, is the son of a journalist. He ironically prefers to write fiction rather than fact. José’s genre of choice is thrillers, but he likes to throw in a twist of romance into the mix. His works include novels and short stories in both English and Spanish. He’s a member of the International Thriller Writers where he also serves as the Thriller Roundtable Coordinator. His short story fantasy fiction, DEEDS OF A MASTER ARCHER, will be released in September. You can find him on Twitter @JHBogran, Facebook and Blogger.

M.C. Grant is Grant McKenzie, an award-winning screenwriter, editor, and novelist. He is the author of SWITCH and NO CRY FOR HELP (both published by Bantam TransWorld UK). His short stories have been featured in the FIRST THRILLS anthology edited by Lee Child (Tor/Forge), and Out of the Gutter and Spinetingler magazines. His first screenplay won a fellowship at the Praxis Centre for Screenwriting in Vancouver. As a journalist, he worked in virtually every area of the newspaper business, from the late-night “dead body beat” at a feisty daily tabloid to senior copy/design editor at two of Canada’s largest broadsheets. Born in Glasgow, Grant currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia, where he is editor-in-chief of Monday Magazine.

Sandra Parshall is the Agatha Award-winning author of the Rachel Goddard mysteries: THE HEAT OF THE MOON, DISTURBING THE DEAD, BROKEN PLACES, UNDER THE DOG STAR and BLEEDING THROUGH (September 2012). She lives in the Washington, DC, area with her journalist husband. Visit her website and her blog, Poe’s Deadly Daughters.

Jean Harrington lives in Naples, Florida with her husband John.  No cat, no dog, no children anymore.  After seventeen years of teaching English lit at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts, she now spends her days—and nights– writing the Murders by Design Mystery Series for Carina Press.  And is having great fun wallowing knee deep in fictional dead bodies. Designed For Death was the first in Jean’s light-hearted Naples-set novels.  The second book in the series, The Monet Murders, was released in June.  The third, Killer Kitchens, another of heroine Deva Dunne’s sleuthing-by-design adventures, is due out in spring 2013. 

David Sakmyster is an award-winning author and screenwriter who dwells in and occasionally ventures from upstate NY. His published stories and novels cross a range of genres and include: the horrifying CRESCENT LAKE, the historical epic, SILVER AND GOLD, and THE MORPHEUS INITIATIVE – a series about psychic archaeologists (including THE PHAROS OBJECTIVE, THE MONGOL OBJECTIVE and THE CYDONIA OBJECTIVE). He’s co-writing a thrilling series about Near Death Experiences called THE LAZARUS INITIATIVE, and coming this fall is a smart supernatural thriller entitled, BLINDSPOTS. His screenplay, NIGHTWATCHERS, has been optioned, and he’s currently writing another screenplay to begin filming in early 2013.