Mystery/Thriller Episodes

In this interview, Matthew and I discuss Inside Threat, Raven Rock Mountain Complex, what surprised him the most while writing this one, The Night Agent's limited series on Netflix, the challenges of writing a locked room mystery, how he started writing political thrillers, and much more.

In this interview, Danielle and I discuss The Puzzle Master, how she came up with the ideas for this one, working with a puzzle constructor for this book, her research, Sudden Acquired Savant Syndrome, how she writes her first drafts by hand on legal pads, the complicated cover process, and much more.

In this interview, Jaclyn and I discuss The Chateau, when the setting is a character, the inspiration for the chateau in the novel, setting the story in Provence, writing from multiple points of view, what surprised her the most when writing The Chateau, creating distinctive voices for her main characters, and much more.

In this interview, Lisa and I discuss Adrift, climate fiction, why she chose to set the book in 2038 and the world building she did, helping people gain an understanding of the importance of preserving and spending time in nature, how her day job informs her writing, and much more.

In this interview, Elly and I discuss The Last Remains, how she chose Norfolk for the setting of the series, ending the series at least for now, creating her pseudonym years ago, her favorite books in the series, running contests for people to have their names used for characters in her books, and much more.

In this interview, Megan and I discuss The Only Survivors, the event that inspired this story, setting books by the water or by the woods and how both can feel comforting but also dangerous, why she chose the Outer Banks, how the number 7 factors into this book, and much more.

In this interview, Amulya and I discuss A Death in Denmark, setting a book in Copenhagen, writing a mystery series, creating a character who fits the city of Copenhagen, her highlight of writing the book, and much more.

In this interview, Kristen and I discuss I Love It When You Lie, writing a Southern story, mirroring her own family life, creating a mystery where the reader doesn't know who died, and much more.

In this interview, Jessa and I discuss The Golden Spoon, setting the book during a baking competition, the hardest part of writing the book, her stunning cover, crafting a story where the reader does not know who dies until the end, and much more.

In this interview, C.J. and I discuss Storm Watch, weaving together two central mysteries into each book, how there is now more fiction focused on the outdoors than there used to be, the Joe Pickett TV series, incorporating a political element into his books because of the large amount of public land in Wyoming, crypto-mining, and much more.

In this interview, Amy and I discuss The Foulest Things, writing a series and mysteries as a pantser, why she created the fictional Dominion Archives, incorporating art theft into her story, and much more.

In this interview, Grady and I discuss How to Sell a Haunted House, his decision to write about dolls and puppets, how he started writing horror, world building, and much more.

In this interview, Sara and I discuss her High Society Lady Detective series, how she decided to write the series, how it has changed over time, why she chose the indie author route, her recent Kickstarter campaign, her podcasts, and much more.

In this interview, Elly and I discuss Bleeding Heart Yard, the inspiration for the story and title, how her writing process has changed over her career, dark academia and its appeal, how working in the publishing industry affected her writing process, her recent Miss Marple short story, and much more.

In this interview, Alice and I discuss A Ghost of Caribou, the importance of old-growth trees for mountain caribous' existence, how the loss of one species impacts an entire ecosystem, her favorite scenes to write, what surprised her the most when writing this book, her personal barren-ground caribou research, and much more.

In this interview, Clare and I discuss The Last Party, setting the book on the border between Wales and England, the increased importance and focus on borders as a result of COVID, living in Wales and writing about it, choosing character names, writing a series versus a standalone novel, and much more.

In this interview, Robert and I discuss Racing the Light, how Elvis and Joe have evolved over time, incorporating current events into his novels, creating new storylines over a 19-book series, whether he is a plotter or a pantser, and much more.

In this interview, Deanna and I discuss Killers of a Certain Age, where the idea for this book originated, writing a contemporary story, how creating this story differed from creating the Veronica Speedwell books, the title she wanted for the book, how society's perception of aging has changed in the last several decades, and much more.

In this interview, Gillian and I discuss Wrong Place Wrong Time, plotting this one out, creating the right pacing for the story, finding the right title, the difficulty of building in twists, her podcast, not feeling constrained by the thriller genre, ruminating on how much time changes people, and much more.

For this special episode, Carol Ann Tack of Top Shelf at Merrick Library and I interview Hayley Scrivenor together. We talk about her debut novel Dirt Creek , how the different titles and covers came about for the U.S., UK, and Australia, how she didn't set out to write a crime novel, her use of a Greek chorus, and so much more. Hayley’s recommended reads: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum Check out my Summer 2022 Reading List , my August Buzz Reads , and ...

In this interview, Sarah and I discuss The Retreat, her fascination with local history and time's relentless march forward, making the island a central character of this novel, using a consultant to make sure the police procedural aspects of the story ring true, how sibling dynamics are set early and rarely change, and much more.

In this interview, George and I discuss The Kingdoms of Savannah, his stunning book cover and how it came into being, the 25th anniversary of The Moth, his writing process, the number one thing he likes to hear from readers, his ties to Savannah, the unique inspiration for Morgana, and much more.

In this interview, Lucy and I discuss One of the Girls, exploring the dynamics of a bachelorette party, creating her own fictional Greek island, the easiest and hardest characters to write, including periodic Greek chorus interludes, the difficulty in getting her UK cover correct, and much more.

In this interview, Julie and I discuss The Lies I Tell, why con artist stories are so popular right now and creating a female con artist who uses gender stereotypes to her advantage, writing dual timeline stories, the nod to her characters from The Last Flight, the hardest character to write in this book, how to get an additional chapter for The Last Flight when purchasing The Lies I Tell, and much more.