Thriller Authors Share Secrets — “How to Write the Thriller”

 [image error]Thriller authors share secrets —

“How to Write the Thriller”

Readers of thriller novels are literary adrenalin junkies, addicted to the plot-driven roller-coaster rides and white-knuckle suspense. That’s why the thriller has become one of the most popular forms of contemporary fiction today. A panel of area thriller writers will provide tips on “How to Write the Thriller,” at the Florida Writers Association’s (FWA) Ponte Vedra Writer’s chapter meeting on Saturday, January 14 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Beach Library.

Panelists include Chuck Barrett, Drew Berquist, Kent Holloway, and Ron Whittington.

Chuck Barrett, a retired air traffic controller and commercial pilot and flight instructor, is the author of The Savannah Project and the soon-to-be-released, The Toymaker. Drew Berquist is a senior intelligence consultant for the United States government with operational training from multiple intelligence agencies. He used the experience of his twelve deployments to Afghanistan to write The Maverick Experiment, a novel about the war on terror.

Even though Kent Holloway stays busy as a forensic death investigator for St. Johns County, and the publisher of Seven Realms Publishing, he’s still found time to write two books in a paranormal thriller series, including Primal Thirst, and Siren’s Song.

After a career as a print and broadcast journalist, and as a marketing consultant, Ron Whittington founded his own public relations firm. He also worked as a ghost writer, but finally got around to writing his own thriller, Second Strike, which is set in northeast Florida.

Thrillers can be found in a variety of subcategories such as the international thriller (Steve Berry’s, The Emperor’s Tomb and Dan Brown’s, The Da Vinci Code), the techno-thriller (Tom Clancy’s, The Hunt for Red October), the legal thriller (John Grisham’s, The Firm) and many others. Many of them feature key characteristics such as non-stop action, exotic locations, and earth-shaking conspiracies or disasters that the hero must prevent. Each of the panelists will provide insights into how they crafted their thrillers and give tips on how to keep the reader turning pages.

FWA is a statewide, non-profit organization with over 1,200 members dedicated to the support and networking of both aspiring and published writers in any genre. All meetings are open to members and non-members alike. For more information, please call FWA Regional Director, Vic DiGenti, at 904-285-2258.