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Thriller Thursday: Thriller Extravaganza KICK-OFF!

What’s Thriller Extravaganza? I want to help my writing friends and connect thriller and suspense readers to new, exciting authors, so I decided to go to the experts–the thriller writers who’ve been there, done that, and have hard-earned experience to back up their advice. R.J. Ellory, Margie Lawson, Kathy Bennett, Allison Brennan, and Vicki Hinze will all be visiting in August. Check out the original post for the line-up and awesome contest details.

But there are some amazingly talented authors climbing the thriller ranks, and I chose five great writers to contribute today–all in their own words. Enough of my babbling. Here are my Emerging Thriller Writers!

Diane Capri

Diane’s new Jess Kimball series kicked off with Fatal Distraction, opening as the #3 Bestselling Legal Thriller, behind John Grisham. Diane’s new Hunt for Jack Reacher series began with Don’t Know Jack, which garnered #1 Bestseller spots on Mystery, Hard-boiled Mystery, Police Procedural, Women Sleuths, and Legal Thriller lists, both in the U.S. and U.K. Don’t Know Jack was followed by two bestselling short stories in the Hunt for Jack Reacher series, Jack in a Box and Jack and Kill. Diane’s Judge Wilhelmina Carson mysteries were praised by Romantic Times and garnered the coveted “Top Pick.” Diane’s savvy, spunky character, attorney Jennifer Lane, stars in her own romantic suspense series, which kicks off with Annabelle’s Attack.

#1 Amazon 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 Past President, says: “Expertise shines on every page.” And Library Journal raves: “….offers tense legal drama with courtroom overtones, twisty plot, and loads of Florida atmosphere. Recommended.”

Diane writes mystery and suspense for the same reason she reads: to find out what happens, why people do what they do, and how to bring justice to an unjust world. Her books are translated in twenty territories. Diane loves to hear from readers. Contact her at http://dianecapri.com/contact/ to receive notice of new releases, subscribe to Diane’s blog, or simply connect with her.

Fatal Distraction

Jess Kimball’s Impossible Mission: Protect Crime Victims.

Relentless victims’ rights advocate Jess Kimball and Jack Reacher both deliver justice when the legal system fails. Reacher waits until trouble finds him and then he does whatever it takes. But Jess pursues legal justice and draws lines she will not cross. How can she win against killers who refuse to follow the rules?

Three years ago, beloved Florida Governor Helen Sullivan’s world shattered when her only son died in a senseless car crash, killing his best friend, too. Helen quickly discovered Eric’s crash was no accident and lured the killer to her son’s funeral to be caught. When the shooting ceased in the small country church, Helen believed her nightmare was over. Instead, she’d unwittingly escalated her duel with a cunning and patient assassin.

Now, investigative journalist Jess Kimball is driven to find the horrifying truth. Is the Central Florida Child Killer guilty? Or is the real killer still out there?

Helen and Jess together face the determined killer in a pitched battle of wit and nerve. Who will survive?

Buy it here now!

Cyrus Keith

Hi, all, and thanks for having me. Cyrus Keith here. Wow, what a ride. But I can say that my thriller series The NADIA Project is now complete. Almost. All three novels are on the market or established, and the final installment, a novella, is on the way.

I’m really a science fiction freak, but for some reason I can’t quite explain, I have more thriller projects on the burners than sci-fi. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I love to get my blood pumping with a good action scene. There’s just something about bullets flying, bodies dropping, and people running around in flames that excites the senses. Okay, let’s qualify that before the police show up on my doorstep: ON PAPER (or on my eReader display). When I started my series, I was originally intending more of a futuristic feel, but it just didn’t fit. Next thing I know, I’m swept up in this awesome adventure story about a nightmare of self-discovery, and I’m hooked. I might write something more hard-sci-fi in the future (fortuitous pun there), but for now, I’m along for an exciting ride with original thrillers. I have two more in the works, to be started after I finish one last task for Nadia’s story, a novella called Lies and Paine.

Becoming Nadia, my publishing debut, won Best Thriller honors at EPICon 2012 as well as a Top Ten Finisher in the Preditors and Editor’s Readers’ Poll (#6 Thriller). Book Two, Unalive, is available now, and this coming February, the series finale hits the digital shelves with Critical Mass:

Jenna Paine is a super spy, genetically enhanced to be more than human. Nadia Velasquez is a living weapon of mass destruction. When the secret organization who built them both decides they are no longer useful, two enemies are thrown together for the only purposes they could have in common: survival and revenge.

There’s only one way out of The Pinnacle, and that’s on a coroner’s slab. Jenna lives through a treacherous attack vowing to exact her vengeance on the people who trained her to be the most deadly agent on the planet. Wounded and on the run, she turns to the man who’s sworn to making her face charges for her involvement in the Pinnacle’s nefarious schemes.

After years spent hiding from the Pinnacle, Nadia runs into the one thing she never counted on: Shelf life. As her body breaks down, she realizes it’s only a matter of the short time she has left to redeem her existence and give her daughter a chance to live free.

In the final showdown, the two transhumans join forces against a common enemy, and the Pinnacle come to know the deadly significance of…Critical Mass

Rochelle Weber says, “His writing is as gripping, as complex, and reads as true as the masters of science fiction and Clancy’s early work.”

Zellakate Solomon adds, “…a fast-paced plot, great complex characters, and deep themes about identity…immensely readable.”

Rachel DiMaggio says, ” Nadia may be missing her memory, but this is one story you will never forget!”

Buy Cyrus’s books here, and don’t forget to check him out on Facebook.

Jenny Hilborne

Jenny Hilborne is a mystery/thriller writer and a native Brit in love with San Francisco, which is the setting for her first two thrillers: Madness and Murder and No Alibi. Her background in real estate and finance provides much of the inspiration for her stories, as does her love of travel and ex-pat status.

Jenny has practiced martial arts in the form of Shotokan Karate and holds six belts. She currently lives in Southern California, with frequent travel to England.

Her third thriller, Hide and Seek, also set in San Francisco, released in June.

Jenny is currently working on her fourth thriller, which is a break from tradition and set in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Hide and Seek

Halloween. A group of friends gather at a mansion and decide to play a game. When one of them disappears and a large pool of blood is found on the grounds, San Francisco homicide inspector, Mac Jackson, is called out to investigate. Two days later, the body is discovered.

As Jackson questions the guests, he uncovers old hostilities, secretive pasts, and the victim’s ties to another unusual death. At the center of it all is the lingerie bar, where the victim once worked. Are the girls in some sort of danger? Who is the thug with the scar? His best chance at solving the case hinges on an uncooperative source and Jackson must work fast, before it’s too late and his source disappears.

“The characters are well developed. I was immediately sucked into their world and enjoyed every second of the journey.” Darcia helle, author of No Justice.

Why does Jenny love writing thrillers?

The intrigue and the puzzle attracts me and I’m fascinated by the psychology behind the killers actions.

Buy Hide and Seek
Visit Jenny Online

Allan Leverone

Allan Leverone is a 2012 Derringer Award winner for excellence in short mystery fiction. He is the author of the Amazon bestselling thriller, The Lonely Mile, as well as the novels Finale Vector, Paskagankee, and Revenant. 

Why do you write thrillers, Allan?

Writing thrillers I get asked a lot about what messages are contained in my work; about what I’m trying to say. The truth is I’m not about sending messages. I don’t want to convert you to my religion or my political party, I’m not going to try to convince you the way I live my life is the way you should live yours. With the rise of social media there are plenty of people doing all of the above. What I want is to take you away. When you’ve had a long day at work or your child is sick or you can’t quite figure out how you’re going to make the mortgage payment this month, my goal is to take you away from all that. I want to make your pulse pound and your throat dry; I want to keep you reading compulsively even though you know you should be in bed because you have to get up for work tomorrow. If I can accomplish that, I think I’ve done my job.

The Lonely Mile:

How far would you go? When struggling hardware store owner Bill Ferguson witnesses a kidnapping in progress, he reacts instinctively, breaking up the crime and saving a young girl. But the kidnapper, a sociopath known as the “I-90 Killer,” escapes and vows revenge, targeting Ferguson’s own daughter as his next victim. Now one terrified father must unravel a plot that may go much deeper than he realizes, racing against time to save his only child from an unthinkable fate.

“Allan Leverone delivers a taut crime drama full of twists and conspiracy. A serial-killer thriller with a heart.” —Scott Nicholson, bestselling author of LIQUID FEAR and DISINTEGRATION

“Suspenseful and well-written, The Lonely Mile shows how far a father will go to save his child.” – Debbi Mack, New York Times bestselling author of IDENTITY CRISIS and LEAST WANTED

Allan lives with his wife and family in Londonderry, NH, and loves hearing from readers almost as much as he loves lasagna. Connect at www.allanleverone.com, on Facebook or Twitter @AllanLeverone.

Buy The Lonely Mile here!

Kassandra Lamb

Kassandra Lamb was a psychotherapist for over two decades, specializing in trauma recovery. She has also taught psychology at Towson University as well as at other colleges.

Now retired, she is enjoying the opportunity to pursue her second greatest passion after psychology–creative writing.

In a recent interview, the psychologist turned novelist said, “It’s always bothered me, when I read a novel, and the author has the psychology wrong. Now I get to write my own books and get it right….That part at least. I’m sure I’m making mistakes in other areas that are not my own field.

“People ask me if Kate is me. I reply that she is my ideal self. She is the person I wish I were. She’s much more patient and more consistently compassionate than I am.”

Kass, as she prefers to be called, now lives in Florida, with her husband and her dog, but she also maintains a small summer cottage in Maryland, “….to stay in touch with my roots.”

Kassandra Lamb is fascinated by psychology, loves to read mysteries and thrillers, and her favorite activity in the world is writing about the people who live in her head. How can she combine all three of these passions? By writing mysteries about a psychotherapist.

Multiple Motives by Kassandra Lamb

Kate Huntington has a near-perfect life until a killer with a mysterious grudge comes after her and her lawyer friend, Rob Franklin. Soon they are living in an armed camp, with police protection and private bodyguards, as they attempt to discover who hates them enough to kill them… and doesn’t seem to mind if others get caught in the crossfire.

Other books in the Kate Huntington series:

Ill-Timed Entanglements
Family Fallacies
Celebrity Status (to be released in Fall, 2012)
Collateral Casualties (to be released in Winter, 2013)

Buy Multiple Motives now!

Buy Ill-Timed Entanglements now!

Buy Family Fallacies now!

So there you have it: five published thriller authors you need to be reading. But there’s more! Don’t forget to follow these up-and-comers too: Donna Galanti, August McLaughlin, Rhonda Hopkins, and David Grace.

Please take a minute to leave some love and check out the books. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for next Thursday. R.J. Ellory will be visiting!

27 comments on… “Thriller Thursday: Thriller Extravaganza KICK-OFF!”

  1. I knew about Diane and Kassandra (I have a lot of Diane’s books already), but thank you for introducing me to three new authors. Or maybe I shouldn’t thank you…now I have more temptations to call me away from my work 😉

  2. That’s okay, Marcy. The idea is isn’t to take away from work time. We just want to keep you up until the wee hours of the morning turning one more page. 😉 I’m honored to be included in such illustrious company. Thanks for having me, Stacy!

  3. Thanks so much, Stacy, for including me in this wonderful group of up and coming authors. I am quite awestruck. Several additions have been made to my tbr list. And I can’t wait for the debut of your thriller, Into The Dark!

  4. What a fantastic list, Stacy. Thanks for the sweet mention! I can’t wait to join in the fest fun.

    How did I not know that my practically-neighbor Jenny Hilbourne writes thrillers? Adding her to my list. 🙂


  5. jodierennerediting


    A great line-up of thriller writers, Stacy! Thanks for doing this! I loved Don’t Know Jack by Diane Capri, and am very familiar with Allan Leverone’s The Lonely Mile, since I edited it for him (a fast-paced, riveting page-turner!) but haven’t yet read anything by the others. Thanks for some new names and titles to add to my TBR list!

    • Thanks, Jodie! Glad you enjoyed it. I didn’t realize you edited Allan’s book – great job. And Jenny’s post at Crime Collective about going indie helped convinced me to make the decision.


  6. jodierennerediting


    And of course Jenny Hilborne is the latest member of our group blog, Crime Fiction Collective, and her Hide and Seek is next on my list of books to read!

  7. Oh wow! Thank you for the mention, Stacy! That was very sweet of you.

    What a great line-up. I’ve read books from three of those you highlighted today and loved what I read. The other two I already have waiting for me to read. 🙂 I can’t wait to get to them and I look forward to reading your debut as well. Into The Dark’s blurb and excerpt sound awesome.

    This is a great series, Stacy. All the best!

    • You’re welcome! Looking forward to reading your book, and thank you. I’m so nervous about its release. Lining up the blog tour now and it’s very intimidating. Glad you enjoyed!

  8. Thank you so much for including me here, Stacy!! What a wonderful group of writers, and I feel privileged to be a part of this in even this small way. Congratulations to you on your new project, too! Sounds like your’e going to have a great month and an even better blog tour when it’s your turn!

    • Thanks for giving me such great information, Diane. I’m honored to included you. And thanks – I’m really excited for Thriller Extravaganza.

  9. Okay, I really want to read Hide and Seek!! All of these books sound great, but Jenny Hilborne’s novel really caught my eye!!

  10. I just jotted them down! Thanks for sharing, Stacy! You really put a lot of work into your blog! Can’t wait for your book to come out!

  11. Fabulous list and some new names too! Thanks for sharing this Stacy.

    BTW I awarded you an award over on my blog. Have a fabulous weekend 🙂

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