July 11 – 17: “Can you identify leading trends among this year’s crop of nominees for ITW awards?”

To celebrate the 11th annual ThrillerFest and thriller awards, we’ve gathered some of this year’s nominees to discuss story trends. We’re joined by Sandra Block, Robert McClure, Diane Capri, David Morrell and Caitlin O’Connell to answer the question: Can you identify leading trends – besides good story, thrills and suspense – among this year’s crop of nominees for ITW awards?

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Sandra A. Block graduated from college at Harvard, then returned to her native land of Buffalo, New York for medical training and never left. She is a practicing neurologist and proud Sabres fan, and lives at home with her husband, two children, and impetuous yellow lab Delilah. Her debut, LITTLE BLACK LIES, is a finalist for the 2016 ITW Best First Novel Award. THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME is her second Zoe Goldman novel.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Diane Capri’s work is what the #1 worldwide publishing phenomenon Lee Child calls “Full of thrills and tension, but smart and human, too.” Margaret Maron, Edgar, Anthony, Agatha and Macavity Award-winning MWA Grand Master, says: “Expertise shines on every page.” And Library Journal raves: “….offers tense legal drama with courtroom overtones, twisty plots, and loads of atmosphere. Recommended.”

David Morrell write First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. His numerous bestsellers include The Brotherhood of the Rose, which became the only mini-series broadcast after a Super Bowl. An Anthony and Edgar finalist, Morrell has Inkpot, Macavity, Nero and Stoker Awards as well as ITW’s ThrillerMaster award. His Inspector of the Dead is nominated for this year’s ITW best hardcover award.

Robert McClure has a B.A. in criminology from Murray State University and a law degree from the University of Louisville. Robert is now an attorney and fiction writer who lives and works in Louisville, Kentucky. His novel Deadly Lullaby is a Thriller Award finalist for Best Original eBook.

Dr. Caitlin O’Connell is a Consulting Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and a world renowned expert on elephants and vibrotactile sensitivity. She is the author of the internationally acclaimed nonfiction science memoir, The Elephant’s Secret Sense (2007, Free Press.  Her novel Ivory Ghosts is a Thriller Award finalist for Best Original eBook.