The August 2021 Edition of The Big Thrill

There are between 600,000 and a million books published annually in the US alone. That’s a lot of books! With so many fresh titles—and debut authors—hitting the shelves, it’s sometimes easy to forget that many writers have been churning out page-turners for decades. In this issue of The Big Thrill, we pay tribute to some of those authors. Sandra Brown’s BLIND TIGER marks her 88th publication. Joy Fielding’s CUL-DE-SAC is her 29th book. VORTEX is the 26th installment in Catherine Coulter’s bestselling FBI series. These are successes worth celebrating. And speaking of success, be sure to check out Rick Pullen’s enlightening feature on international superstar Peter James. This month, we go Between the Lines with the incredible Megan Abbott, and get up close with more than 40 authors of gripping thriller, mystery, horror, and suspense titles. The August issue of The Big Thrill is live now—and it’s sizzling!

Hot off the press:
Click on the book title below to read the feature story or click here to scroll through all of this month’s articles.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Between the Lines: Megan Abbott by Karen Hugg
• On the Cover: Richard Chizmar by April Snellings
• Up Close: Sandra Brown by Dawn Ius
• Up Close: Catherine Coulter by E.M. Powell
• International Thrills: Peter James by Rick Pullen
• Up Close: Seraphina Nova Glass by K.L. Romo
• International Thrills: Catherine Ryan Howard by April Snellings
• BookTrib Spotlight: Taylor Moore by Neil Nyren
• On the Cover: Joy Fielding by Dawn Ius
• Africa Scene: Tony Park by Michael Sears
• Up Close: Pamela Crane by Jaden Terrell
• Up Close: Robyn Harding by Dawn Ius
• Debut Spotlight: Ashley Winstead by José H. Bográn
• On the Cover: James L’Etoile by Dawn Ius
• Up Close: Amber Garza by K.L. Romo
• Up Close: Brian Freeman by Steve P. Vincent
• International Thrills: James Swallow by José H. Bográn
• Up Close: Melissa Larsen by Dawn Ius
• Up Close: Kate Myles by Millie Naylor Hast
• Killer’s Vault: True Crime Podcast by K.L. Romo
• AudioFile: Capturing the Thrills of ThrillerFest by Ellen Quint
• Up Close: Brad Parks by Adam Meyer

INTERVIEWS

• You Can Never Tell by Sarah Warburton
• Devil by the Tail by Jeanne Matthews
• Have You Seen Me? by Alexandrea Weis
• Blue Madagascar by Andrew Kaplan
• When Silence Screams by Mark Edward Langley
• The Truth of It All by Gwen Florio
• Little Girl Taken by Wendy Dranfield
• She Was Found in a Guitar Case by David James Keaton
• Framed to Die by Ann Simas

NEW RELEASES

• Just Married by Kiersten Modglin
• Sandcastle for Pegasus: A Rift in Time by Bob Avey
• The Lost Girl by Alan Jacobson
• Graveyard Fields by Steven Tingle
• Substitute by Susi Holliday
• Class III Threat by Larry Enmon
• The Other Me by Sarah Zachrich Jeng
• Island of Thieves by Glen Erik Hamilton
• Deadly Odds 4.0 by Allen Wyler
• Sandstorm by Joyce Yarrow
• The Perfect Murder by Kat Martin
• The Amazon Encounter by John L. DeBoer and Jean Jacques
• Bad Scene by Max Tomlinson
• Falling For His Suspect by Tara Taylor Quinn
• Good and Dead by E.L. Pini
• The Housemaid by Sarah A. Denzil
• Azalea Bluff by Dennis Hetzel

Introducing ITW’s First Chapters Program

Coming Next Month
The latest thrillers from Catriona Ward, William McIlvanney & Ian Rankin, Isabella Maldonado, Vera Kurian, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Stephen Graham Jones, Brian Andrews & Jeff Wilson, William Nikkel, Tori Eldridge, Karen Hugg, Brandon Barrows, E. Chris Ambrose, Ginny Myers Sain, Geza P. Tatrallyay, J.D. Allen, Elizabeth Blake, Sheila Lowe, James B. Cohoon, Traci Hunter Abramson, Fred Zackel, Vicki Delany, James R. Benn, Zoje Stage, DiAnn Mills, Rebecca Hodge, Winter Austin and many more!

ITW’s Eighth Annual Online Thriller School

Learn from the Masters:
Ten Weeks of Intensive Craft Lessons
Includes a Bonus “Ask Me Anything” Panel!

Join Liv Constantine, Jeffery Deaver, Lisa Gardner, Alexia Gordon, Adam Hamdy, Cate Holahan, Anthony Horowitz, Steven James, Tosca Lee, Jaime Levine, David Morrell, Samuel Octavius, Alex Segura, and Jerri Williams.

In this TEN-week program, which begins September 14, 2021, the craft of thriller writing will be front and center. Each instructor will teach an aspect of craft during a two-hour Live Zoom session, will provide written materials for further reading along with study suggestions, and will offer an entire week of online Q&A with the registered students. The goal is simple: To make each student a better writer.

Attendance is limited, and we sold out last year, so please register today!

Registration for the ten-week online course is $495.

The talented instructors will delve into the following topics: Pacing, World Building, Building Suspense, Villains–Beyond the Cardboard Cutout, How to Edit Like a Pro, Creating Depth of Character, The G-Woman: An Insider’s Look at the FBI, How to Write a Killer Twist, Creating Realistic Dialogue, and Developing and Honing Your Voice

Bonus Panel: “Ask me Anything” with Alexia Gordon, David Morrell & Alex Segura – Moderated by Samuel Octavius

ThrillerFest XVII – Coming Soon!

NEW DATES:

May 31 – June 4, 2022

NEW LOCATION:

Sheraton Times Square

REGISTRATION COMING SOON!