How did terrorism help me write a suspense thriller?

When I was in college, I wanted to study terrorism analysis, but I was told that Americans didn’t have to worry about terrorism because we bordered two friendly nations. They directed me to criminal investigation, and I studied serial killers, geographical profiling, pedophiles and crime scenes. Obviously this was prior to the morning of September 11.

When that horrible Tuesday unfolded, Washington scrambled to dig up anyone with a terrorism analysis background. So, I answered the call – so to...