Staff

ASSISTANT EDITOR, THE BIG THRILL

José H. Bográn is an award-winning international author of novels, short stories, and scripts for television and film. He writes in both English and his native Spanish. José was born in Honduras, the son of a journalist who ironically prefers to write fiction rather than facts. His genre of choice is crime fiction, but he likes to pour a dash of others into the mix.

He’s a member of Crime Writers of Color, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and the International Thriller Writers.

He signs his emails with the motto: “I never tell lies, I only write them.”

THRILLERFEST COORDINATOR

Ruth Church has been involved with ThrillerFest as an aspiring writer and volunteer since 2017. She remembers fondly how her obsession with audiobooks began with a hamstring injury; “While listening to Gone Girl on what was supposed to be an 8km run, the big plot twist was revealed and I couldn’t turn my attention away. It was 18km before I returned home limping, but it was well worth it!” It has been her great pleasure to listen and read our ThrillerFest authors ever since. As a hobby, she has created My Theme Tea, a website with book themed menus. If you see her at ThrillerFest, please reach out to say hello!

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS, THE BIG THRILL

R.G. Belsky is an award-winning author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. His latest mystery, BROADCAST BLUES, was published in 2024 by Oceanview. It is the sixth in a series featuring Clare Carlson, the news director for a New York City TV station. Belsky has published 21 novels—all set in the New York City media world where he has had a long career as a top editor at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine, and NBC News. He also writes thrillers under the name Dana Perry.

Guy Bergstrom is a political speechwriter who’s also won awards for journalism and fiction. You can reach him on Twitter @speechwriterguy.

Damyanti Biswas is an Indian author currently based in Singapore. Her short fiction has been published at Smokelong, Ambit, Litro, Puerto del Sol, among others, and she’s the co-editor of The Forge literary magazine. She’s the author of You Beneath Your Skin, an Amazon-bestselling crime novel, which has been optioned for screens by Endemol Shine. Her next crime novel, The Blue Bar, was published by Thomas & Mercer and was one of 2023’s Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers on Goodreads.

Robyn Bonavita has been a reader her entire life. Two years ago, she decided to get back into reviewing and created her bookstagram, @robyn_reads1. She’s a mom of 2 and lives in NY. Her favorite genres are thrillers and women’s fiction.

Josie Brown is the author of the best-selling HOUSEWIFE ASSASSIN’S HANDBOOK series novels (14 novels); the TOTLANDIA series (6 novels) and the TRUE HOLLYWOOD LIES (2 novels). Her other novels include: THE CANDIDATE (political thriller), THE BABY PLANNER (contemporary women’s fiction), and SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES (contemporary women’s fiction) which was optioned by producer Jerry Bruckheimer for television. Josie lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Montana is the Last Best Place…to kill someone and author Debbie Burke litters her home state with fictional victims in her Tawny Lindholm Thriller series. Debbie is also a freelance editor and contributor to the popular crime blog The Kill Zone.

Mindy Carlson, author of HER DYING DAY, grew up on a farm in northern Iowa. She got her degree in Animal Science and then instead of going to vet school she took a left turn and moved into a commune in Berkeley, CA. Naturally, she now writes comedic mysteries featuring messy women heroes in impossible situations. Mindy lives outside Washington, DC with her husband, two kids, and two cats. She loves coffee shops, curling, and champagne brunches. If you want to see what she’s baking, knitting, writing, reading, or thinking, you can pop by her website, www.MindyCarlson.com.

Because Charlie Cochrane couldn’t be trusted to do anything grown up, she writes mysteries. These include the Edwardian era Cambridge Fellows series, the contemporary Lindenshaw Mysteries and her 1950s Alasdair and Toby series where two actors play Holmes and Watson both onscreen and off. Multi-published, she has titles with Carina, Riptide, Lume, and Williams and Whiting, among others.

Charlie is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, and has regularly appeared at literary festivals, reader conventions and author conferences. In 2023, she was short listed for the CWA’s Marjorie Allingham short story prize.

As a California transplant and native New Jersyian, Catherine Conmy graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies with a Writing & Literature degree, doubled with Film & Media Studies. She is debuting a dystopian fiction novel in May 2024 titled “Where I See You”, and she has previously been published in Open Ceilings Magazine. She currently lives in Los Angeles and works in film & television.

Jonathan Davidson writes thrillers and has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. He’s also a filmmaker and photographer for a medical school in Southern California. When he’s not writing, reading, or taking photos, he hikes California’s highest mountains, skis, camps, mountain bikes, and enjoys many other outdoor adventures. Learn more about him at www.JonathanDavidsonAuthor.com.

Kia Dennis was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs just outside of Washington, D.C. A writer since a young age, after college Kia earned a law degree and worked as an attorney and legal instructor for fifteen years but never stopped writing fiction. She writes under the pen names K.D Richards and Kia D. Richards. She currently splits her time between Toronto and Maryland.

USA Today bestselling author Tracey Devlyn wanted to be the next Dian Fossey and explore the wilds of Africa, but that was before she met chemistry and calculus. With an enthusiasm for research that translates into creative (and disturbing) plot twists for her characters to navigate, it’s no surprise that her suspense-laden stories excite her readers and offer a glimpse of the nefarious nature lurking behind her smile. Despite the thrilling, emotional ride she gives her readers, Tracey enjoys a laid back, fleece and boots lifestyle with her husband and rescue dogs at her home in the mountains of North Carolina. Visit Tracey at traceydevlyn.com, @traceydevlyn on Twitter, @traceydevlyn on Instagram, and @AuthorTraceyDevlyn on Facebook.

Jody Gerbig lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, young triplets, and rescued pets. With her MA in literature, she taught college writing and high-school English for many years. Now an agented novelist, her stories and essays have also been nominated for both a Pushcart and Best of the Net.

Azam Gill is a novelist, analyst and retired Lecturer from Toulouse University, France. He has authored eight books, including three thrillers — Blood Money, Flight to Pakistan and Blasphemy. He also writes for The Express Tribune, a New York Times affiliate and blogs on his website. He served in the French Foreign Legion, French Navy and the Punjab Regiment.

Susan Goldenberg lives in Toronto, Canada. She’s had 10 non-fiction books published, won a Canadian Author’s Award, and has written for Canadian and American publications.

Derek Gunn is a native of Ireland who writes horror and thriller fiction and is the author of the bestselling Vampire Apocalypse series and four other novels. He has featured on BBC radio, various podcasts and has appeared at many conventions in the UK and Ireland. He is a member of and a Contributing Editor to The International Thriller Writers Association and an Active Member of the Horror Writers Association.

Sandra Hoover a Southern writer, blogger, reader and reviewer who indulges a passion for the written word every chance she gets by either reading or writing. A fan of almost every genre of fiction, she enjoys none more than a well-crafted mystery, suspense and/or psychological thriller. When she doesn’t have her nose in a book or eyes glued to her computer screen pounding out more pages, she’s an avid gardener and outdoor buff. She and her husband of forty years live in a log house they built themselves on a little slice of heaven in the South where they spend their days tending plants, animals and each other. Tag Sandra at: CrossMyHeartBookReviews, Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

Millie Naylor Hast throws her characters over the edge in their quests to address important themes of today. A former journalist and news junkie, she has won two national awards for her manuscripts. She is a graduate of the FBI, DEA, Houston Police, and Bellaire Police Citizens Academies. When not writing, she hikes, kayaks, cycles, and plots new adventures.

During his time in the military, Don Helin served at a number of stateside posts as well as overseas in Vietnam and Germany. He is the author of eight thrillers that draw from those military experiences. He is the author of his own memoir, From Army Regulations to Novels, a Writer’s Journey, and is the editor of the award winning anthology, Voices from the Pandemic, a collection of thirty-two memoirs about writers’ experiences during the Pandemic. For further information, check out Don’s website, www.donhelin.com.

Susana Elizabeth Kuehne grew up in Orlando, FL with a passion for both writing and math—and Lucky Charms. Though she obtained her degrees in mechanical engineering, this Latina mother never lost sight of her natural gift. When she saw the opportunity to combine both her technical and creative sides, Susana accepted her first job out of college as a technical writer. Eventually, she went from staff writer at newspapers and magazines to freelance editor at various online publications. Her work is featured in Scary Mommy, Her View from Home, Sammiches & Psych Meds and other lifestyle websites. In 2019, she joined the online writing communities via social media and began attending workshops and conferences centered around the craft. Susana’s jobs have led her from manufacturing environments to patent law firms to program management to business development. This diversity in experience (along with her own life’s rollercoasters) made the obsessive reader focus her manuscripts on the significance of cultural roots, career, moxie, and relationships in women’s lives. These days, she can be found working on her fifth suspense novel and shopping for 90’s-themed keychains on Etsy.

Liz Lazarus is an engineer by education, a consultant & business owner from experience and an author given her passion to tell stories.

Her first novel is loosely based on a personal experience and a series of ‘what if’ questions following a foiled attack. FREE OF MALICE tells the story of a journalist who grapples with the legal system to acknowledge her right to self-defense.

Liz’s second novel, PLEA FOR JUSTICE depicts the journey of a paralegal striving to reveal the truth about her estranged friend’s incarceration, and leading her on a parallel path of self-discovery.

Her recently released third thriller, SHADES OF SILENCE, showcases the resilience of a woman faced with devastating loss, the unexpected friendship forged from tragedy and the recurring societal themes that confront every generation.

Her books are known for their strong female protagonists, thorough research and killer twist endings.

Lisa Malice is an organizational psychologist-turned-thriller writer. Her first book, Lest She Forget, will be published by CamCat Books in Fall 2023. The unpublished manuscript earned finalist honors in five writing contests. Her WIP, Rock-A-Bye Baby, was a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist. In addition to ITW, Lisa is active is Sisters in Crime, having served as a chapter president and vice president, and at the national level, as a webinar producer and moderator. An associate member of MWA and its Florida chapter, Lisa lives in the Tampa area with her husband.

Adam Meyer is a novelist, screenwriter and short story writer. He’s the author of the novel THE LAST DOMINO, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers, and has published more than three dozen short stories. His short fiction has won the Derringer Award, been nominated for the Shamus Award, and was chosen for BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE 2023. He’s also written many TV movies as well as more than a hundred documentaries for National Geographic, Discovery, Tubi and others. He lives with his family in Virginia.

Terri Nolan began her writing career as a newspaper and radio journalist. She has a degree in Radio/Television from the University of Texas at Arlington. Nolan is the author of three thrillers featuring investigative journalist Birdie Keane. The critically acclaimed and award nominated trilogy includes the novels BURDEN OF TRUTH, GLASS HOUSES, BLUE BIRD, and the short story HOBO JOE. She lives in the Los Angeles area.

Neil Nyren is the former EVP, associate publisher, and editor in chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons and the winner of the 2017 Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Among the writers of crime and suspense he has edited are Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, John Sandford, C. J. Box, Robert Crais, Carl Hiaasen, Daniel Silva, Jack Higgins, Frederick Forsyth, Ken Follett, Jonathan Kellerman, Ed McBain, and Ace Atkins. He now writes about crime fiction and publishing for CrimeReads, BookTrib, The Big Thrill, and The Third Degree, among others, and is a contributing writer to the Anthony/Agatha/Macavity-winning How to Write a Mystery.

He is currently writing a monthly publishing column for the MWA newsletter The Third Degree, as well as a regular ITW-sponsored series on debut thriller authors for BookTrib.com and is an editor at large for CrimeReads.

Dimitris Passas is a freelance writer and blogger since the beginning of 2020 when he launched his ambitious project, an online magazine, Tap the Line (www.tapthelinemag.com) in which he writes reviews and articles about books, movies, and TV series as well as features recommendation lists, news of the artistic and cultural world while also hosting Q+As with authors, cinema artists and TV creators. His fascination with crime fiction was born immediately after reading back in 2016, Jo Nesbo’s novel The Snowman. From then on, he continued reading a vast number of books which became his favorite hobby. Since 2023, Dimitris is a CWA Associate Member and a contributor of words to the popular movies website Dmovies (Dmovies.org).

Tracey Phillips considers herself a serial artist who is an avid gardener and proficient pianist. She teaches piano lessons, loves to draw, and writes in two genres. Her debut, BEST KEPT SECRETS (Crooked Lane Books, 2019) won a Hugh Holton Award in 2018. Her manuscript Mother of Secrets was a 2022 finalist for the Clayton Award for best unpublished detective novel. She’s published 2 short stories and in 2020 she founded Blackbird Writers, a flock of authors flying under the mystery umbrella. Learn more at www.traceysphillips.com, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Rick Pullen, an award-winning investigative reporter and magazine editor, was named in 2015 to the FOLIO 100—the 100 most influential people in magazine publishing—and a runner up for magazine Editor of the Year. He’s started two magazines and edited a third. In 2016 his first novel, Naked Ambition, was an Amazon bestseller, followed by its sequel, Naked Truth (Silver Falchion Award finalist) and a standalone, The Apprentice.

Rick ’s newsletter, Idol Talk, covers tidbits and gossip about famous crime authors (learn more at rickpullen.com). He’s also writing an anthology about what famous thriller authors endured to get their first novel published. Rick splits his time between Virginia and Florida and likes nothing more than a Padron cigar, a good beer and sand between his toes.

Ellen Quint is an audiobook reviewer, mystery writer, and Audies judge and an active member of Sisters in Crime-NY. Ellen brings a love of mysteries and a deep knowledge of the genre to her writing for Audiofile Magazine where she writes reviews, articles on Mystery/Suspense audiobooks, and interviews with authors including S.A. Cosby and David Baldacci. Her own crime short stories can be found in the anthologies: Justice for All-Murder New York Style, Family Matters and Where Crime Never Sleeps.

G. A. Rivers grew up in a tiny town in the rural Midwest with his nose in a book or wandering the countryside, and was notorious for having signed out most every fiction book in the school library. These days he holds a PhD in the life sciences and has spent over 25 years leading research teams in the pharmaceutical industry, many in the Northeast. A dog lover, husband and proud father of two adult sons, he started writing action-adventure thrillers wherever he and his laptop came to rest—weekends at home, jet planes and hotels, soccer practices, early mornings at Disney World, and many places long forgotten. He is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management and now lives and writes in the Midwest. You can find him on X/Twitter and Facebook as @ga_rivers and GA Rivers Author.

Bryan E. Robinson, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, psychotherapist in private practice, and award-winning author of two novels and 40 nonfiction books that have been translated into 15 languages. He has appeared on 20/20, Good Morning America, ABC’s World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, NBC Universal, the CBS Early Show, CBS The Doctors, and The Marketplace on PBS. He hosted the PBS documentary “Overdoing It: How to Slow Down and Take Care of Yourself.” His is author of the book, Daily Writing Resilience: 365 Meditations and Inspirations for Writers (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018) which gives daily tips to new and seasoned fiction and nonfiction authors and #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life (HarperCollins, 2019). His latest book, Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World: A Guide to Work-Life Balance (NYU Press, 2023) is receiving wide acclaim.

He is a contributor for Forbes, Thrive Global, Psychology Today, and The Big Thrill. Bryan writes both fiction and nonfiction. He has lectured all over the world on resiliency, life balance and self-compassion. He co-hosts the annual live international live stream webinar—this year known as Resiliency 2023—and lives in Asheville with his spouse, one Yorkie, three Golden doodles, and occasional bears at night.

Daniel Charles Ross is a retired U.S. Navy Reserve chief petty officer and the former chief journalist of the Navy Seabees; the magazine he edited and designed was awarded Best Magazine in the Navy in its first year of eligibility. He’s a former active duty U.S. Army military police investigator. His civilian writing career was spent in stints as Detroit editor at Popular Mechanics and as national editor at both Motor Trend and Car and Driver. Dan’s debut thriller, FORCE NO ONE, was published in 2018, he says, “to adequate reviews.” A suburban Detroiter, he is finishing the second STORM CELL thriller, Force Majeure.
genuinedcr.com • @dcrbooks • facebook.com/authordcr

Robert Rotstein is the USA Today best-selling author of We, The Jury (Blackstone 2018), a Suspense Magazine 2018 Best Book. With James Patterson, he is the author of The Family Lawyer, the title story of the New York Times best-selling collection. He has written The Bomb Maker’s Son, Reckless Disregard, and Corrupt Practices (Seventh Street Books), about attorney Parker Stern.

Jennifer Sadera began her writing career just out of college as a junior copywriter at book publisher NAL before transitioning to the editorial departments of national women’s magazines Woman’s World, Redbook, and Beauty Digest. She’d already established herself as a freelance writer and blogger when she decided to follow her true passion: creating novels. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime; her writing has earned her multiple awards at Atlanta Writers Conferences and a fellowship at the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. I Know She Was There is Jennifer’s debut psychological suspense novel. When not writing, Jennifer can be found gardening, traveling throughout her beloved New York State and beyond, or reading anything she can get her hands on. She is blessed with CJ, her husband of many years, two adult children, Amanda and Ryan, a granddaughter she lovingly calls Golden Girl, and two rescue pups.

Charles Salzberg, is author of the Shamus Award nominated Swann’s Last Song, Swann Dives In, Swann’s Lake of Despair, Swann’s Way Out, Devil in the Hole, named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense Magazine, and Second Story Man, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award for best crime novel of 2018. He is on the Board of MWA-NY.

Basil Sands is the author of military and historical thrillers, novellas, and short stories, many set in his home state of Alaska. He’s also a professional audiobook narrator with work published by many major audiobook producers such as Recorded Books, Tantor, ChristianAudio, Audible and for many fellow members of ITW. Born on a homestead near Fairbanks Alaska, he served in the US Marines, was a Chef to the Spies (military dining manager at the NSA), computer shop owner, lumberjack, Wilderness Rescue EMT, Boy Scout leader, youth minister, talk radio host, and has spent over twenty years as a government IT guy. He lives in Anchorage Alaska with his Porsche driving Korean wife, and has three grown sons and a Yorkie named ‘Heimdall, The Norse Dog’. His most recent series, ICE HAMMER, as well as his back list of novels are published/republished by Permuted Press. Whilst he does rent his basement out to four actual Leprechauns, featured in his sole comic novel along with his Butler Gerald, a Reformed Arctic Cave Troll, he has never been able to convince Chive the Multidimensional Psychedelic Space-Goat to do karaoke with the gang. Oh well, such is the life of a Sub-Arctic Madman.

Susan Santangelo is the author of the best-selling Baby Boomer mystery series. The humorous mysteries follow the adventures of a typical Boomer couple, Carol and Jim Andrews, as they navigate life’s rocky road toward their twilight years. There are currently ten published books in the series. Book 11, Masquerades Can Be Murder, will be released later this year. Her work is also featured in an anthology with 14 other writers, Infinity, released by Suspense Publishing in March 2023. Susan is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Cape Cod Writers Center, and also reviews mysteries for Suspense Magazine. She divides her time between Clearwater, Florida and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and shares her life with her husband Joe and two very spoiled English cocker spaniels, Boomer and Lilly, who also are featured on the books’ covers. Susan is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and credits early detection through mammograms for saving her life twice.

Michael Sears writes with Stanley Trollip under the name Michael Stanley. Their award-winning mystery series with Detective Kubu is set in Botswana, a fascinating country with wonderful conservation areas and varied peoples. They also have a stand-alone thriller Dead of Night, which introduces Minnesotan environmental journalist Crystal Nguyen. Set mainly in South Africa, it has as backstory the vicious trade in rhino horn.

Their latest book, A Deadly Covenant, is a prequel featuring Kubu as a young detective, set near the magnificent Okavango Delta. Kubu has to work out why an ancient massacre of a Bushman clan is causing deaths in the present day and who is behind them.

Michael has lived in South Africa, Kenya, Australia and the US. He now lives in Knysna on the Cape south coast of South Africa. Please visit his website and follow him on Facebook.

Greg Stout is the author of Gideon’s Ghost, and Connor’s War, both young adult novels set in small-town America in the mid-1960s, and Lost Little Girl, his debut Jackson Gamble novel, which received the 2022 Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel. His second Gamble mystery, The Gone Man, was released in December, 2022 and his third, Woman in the Wind, was released in November 2023. A complete listing of Greg Stout’s published works can be found at www.gregorystoutauthor.com. Greg resides with his wife and two cats, Wallace and Gromit, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he is a member of the Heartland Writers Guild, the Southeast Missouri Writers Guild and is a member of the board of directors for the Missouri Writers Guild.

Jaden Terrell is the author of the Jared McKean private detective series and a contributor to Now Write! Mysteries, a collection of exercises for writers of crime fiction. Her short stories have appeared in KILLER NASHVILLE NOIR, and she writes for the Killer Nashville Magazine. The recipient of the 2009 Magnolia Award for service to the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, Terrell is also a writing coach, workshop leader, and compassionate editor.

Bonnie Traymore is the award-winning, Amazon best-selling indie author of page-turner mystery/thrillers that hit close to home. Her books feature strong but relatable female protagonists. The plots explore difficult topics such as jealousy, infidelity, murder, and the impact of psychological disorders, but she also includes bits of romance and humor to lighten the mood from time to time. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. She is also an accomplished non-fiction writer, historian, and educator with a doctorate in United States History. She has taught at top independent schools in Honolulu, Silicon Valley, and New York City, and she has taught history courses at Columbia University and the University of Hawaii. Originally from the New York City area, she resides in Honolulu with her husband but frequents the Hudson Valley and New York City areas.

John B. Valeri is a book critic, author, and host of the web series “Central Booking” who has written for CrimeReads, Criminal Element, Mystery Scene Magazine, The National Book Review, The New York Journal of Books, The Strand Magazine, and Suspense Magazine. His popular Examiner.com column, “Hartford Books Examiner,” ran from 2009 – 2016 and was praised by James Patterson as “a haven for finding great new books.” Visit him online and watch past episodes of “Central Booking” at JohnBValeri.com.