Tag

Thrillers

Creativity, Fiction, History, Writers on Writing

MAR 25: James Rollins & The Last Odyssey

Vicki welcomes back for the fourth time #1 New York Times Bestselling author James Rollins to discuss the 15th novel in his popular Sigma Force series.  Blending historical fact and science fiction with the suspense of a thriller, The Last Odyssey is described as the thinking readers fiction.

Today we’ll talk about how some of the history and James’ travels inspired the story.  We’ll also separate a little fact from fiction, and take a sneak peek at a new book of short fiction coming later in the year.

James Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers, translated into more than forty languages, with more than 25 million copies sold.  A practicing veterinarian, Rollins has pursued scuba, spelunking, and other adventures around the world, and currently lives and writes in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

 

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Fiction, Personal Development, Self-help, Writers on Writing

DEC 25: Merry Christmas! Victoria Helen Stone aka Victoria Dahl & Unlock Your Subconscious Power with Kimberly Friedmutter

What if everything you need to achieve your goals and deepest desires is already inside you? What if all you really need, is the key to unlock your inner power? Today we demystify how to tap into that hidden power and live the life you dream of. Celebrities, business leaders, and political power brokers have used the techniques in Subconscious Power: Use Your Inner Mind to Create the Life You’ve Always Wanted.

Kimberly Friedmutter is a UCLA Health Systems Board Member, Certified Master Hypnotist, Spiritual Counselor Specialist and is board-certified on the American Board of Hypnotherapy. She’s appeared on Entertainment Tonight, The Doctors, TLC, CNN, and more.

“Love stories and scary stories are flip sides of the same coin. They each tap into the most basic human drives: to survive and to mate.” From high in the Wasach Mountains of Utah we talk with thriller author Victoria Helen Stone, aka Victoria Dahl. Why change genres and why the pseudonym? We share that and more as she discusses her latest novel False Step.

Victoria Helen Stone, formerly writing as USA Today bestselling romance novelist Victoria Dahl, stepped away from the lighter side of fiction writing and into the world of dark suspense.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

OCT 02: Casey Barrett’s Tower of Songs

Today Vicki is joined by former Canadian Olympic team swimmer turned broadcaster turned novelist Casey Barrett.  You’ll learn how the discipline he learned as a world class swimmer translates to his writing career.  We’ll also discuss the darker side of competitive sports, why he bucks the conventional advice regarding writing prologues, and the best and worst things that can happen while writing a novel.  His latest work Tower of Songs continues the saga of his anti-hero, Duck Darley.

Casey is a Canadian Olympian and the co-founder and co-CEO of Imagine Swimming, New York City’s largest learn-to-swim school. His short fiction, essays, and books coverage have appeared in The Village Voice, Mystery Tribune, Crime Reads, Booktrib, and elsewhere.  He has won three Emmy awards and one Peabody award for his work on NBC’s broadcasts of the Olympic Games.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

AUG 26: Greg Iles’ Cemetery Road & Glen Hamilton’s Mercy River

Despite a car accident that left him in a coma for 8 days, #1 New York Times Bestseller Greg Iles, much like bandmate Stephen King, rejoined the legendary and notorious lit-rock band The Rock Bottom Remainders. Described as the William Faulkner of the Breaking Bad generation, the incident left Greg no stranger to adversity.  Today we’ll discuss how his body of work has helped put his homestate of Mississippi on the map.

Born in Germany in 1960, where his father ran the US Embassy Medical Clinic during the height of the Cold War, Greg spent his youth in Natchez, Mississippi, graduating from the University of Mississippi in 1983.  His novels have been made into films, translated into more than twenty languages, and published in more than thirty-five countries worldwide.  His latest is Cemetery Road.

Later, while Glen Hamilton’s novels always begin and end in rain-soaked Seattle, Mercy River never leaves the Pacific Northwest as the central plot sees our hero race on a mysterious journey to the arid high desert of central Oregon.  A Seattle native and award-winning author, Glen returns to Conversations Live to discuss the fourth installment in his popular Van Shaw series.

Glen is the current President of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America.  He is a winner of the Anthony, Macavity, and Strand Magazine Critics Awards.  A resident of California, he frequently returns to Seattle to soak up the rain.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

MAY 06: Robyn Carr’s The View From Alameda Island and A.F. Brady’s Once A Liar

Returning guest Robyn Carr has met with tremendous success writing multiple New York Times bestselling novels for her Sullivan’s Crossing series, but today she comes to us with a standalone book, The View from Alameda Island.  Today, she’ll reveal the rationale behind her decision to depart from a sure thing and take a break from her series.

Robyn is a prolific author of romance and women’s novels, repeatedly making appearances on the New York Times bestselling list, often in the number one spot, and having sold tens of millions of books.  Her novels have been translated into 19 languages in 30 countries.

Later, A.F. Brady has worked in mental healthcare for many years, a career which has undoubtedly influenced her first two novels, The Blind and Once A Liar.  She joins us today to talk about the latter, in which a high-powered sociopath meets his reckoning when he’s accused his mistress’ brutal murder.

A.F. Brady is a New York State licensed mental health counselor/psychotherapist, and a proud native New Yorker who has turned a lifelong passion for writing into her first two novels.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

APR 01: Greg Iles’ Cemetery Road & Glen Hamilton’s Mercy River

Described as the William Faulkner of the Breaking Bad generation, #1 New York Times Bestseller Greg Iles is no stranger to adversity in a career spanning nearly three decades as an author.  Following a car accident that left him in a coma for 8 days, Greg, much like bandmate Stephen King, rejoined the legendary and notorious lit-rock band The Rock Bottom Remainders.  Today we’ll discuss how his body of work has helped put his homestate of Mississippi on the map.

Born in Germany in 1960, where his father ran the US Embassy Medical Clinic during the height of the Cold War, Greg spent his youth in Natchez, Mississippi, graduating from the University of Mississippi in 1983.  His novels have been made into films, translated into more than twenty languages, and published in more than thirty-five countries worldwide.  His latest is Cemetery Road.

Later, while Glen Hamilton’s novels always begin and end in rain-soaked Seattle, Mercy River stays in the Pacific Northwest as the central plot sees our hero race on a mysterious quest to the arid high desert of central Oregon.  A Seattle native and award-winning author, Glen returns to Conversations Live to discuss the fourth installment in his popular Van Shaw series.

Glen is the current President of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America.  He is a winner of the Anthony, Macavity, and Strand Magazine Critics Awards.  A resident of California, he frequently returns to Seattle to soak up the rain.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

NOV 05: Marie Lu’s WILDCARD, Lisa Unger’s Under My Skin, & Lou Berney’s November Road

#1 New York Times bestseller Marie Lu joins Vicki today to discuss her new book WILDCARD: It’s Time for a Rematch.  She’ll share how her experiences in the gaming industry aid her in creating rich and magnificent worlds that appeal to a wide spectrum of readers.

Marie emigrated to the US from China at 5, and to learn English her mother would make her take new words she learned every week and write a story with them.  She is now a bestselling author with a film deal for her novel, The Young Elites.

Next, throughout her career, Lisa Unger has toed the fine line between literary novels and commercial thrillers, all the while staying on the New York Times bestseller lists and earning critical acclaim.  Her latest book, Under My Skin, was named one of the most anticipated thrillers of the fall.

Lisa is a New York Times and international bestselling, award-winning author of sixteen novels.

Finally, award-winning author Lou Berney captures the precariousness of femininity in November Road.  His latest novel is a thriller, historical fiction, a love story, a work of feminism — above all it’s a compelling piece of storytelling.

Lou Berney is the author of three previous novels, and his short fiction has appeared in publications such as The New YorkerPloughshares, and the Pushcart Prize anthology.

 

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

DEC 04: James Rollins’ The Demon Crown

What do the British chemist who founded the Smithsonian and Alexander Graham Bell have in common with a primordial threat that could devastate humankind?  The bone-chilling answer lies in New York Times bestseller James Rollins latest Sigma Force novel, The Demon Crown.

James is a prolific author of international thrillers, blending historical fact with science fiction to create stories acclaimed for their originality.  His books have been translated into 40 languages.

Later, Vicki will help you get into the spirit of giving, (and maybe help you decide on a gift for that one person you can never figure out what to get), as she reveals our Conversations Live holiday gift book recommendations!

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

OCT 09: Thief’s Mark & The Other Alcott

A murder in a quiet English village, long-buried secrets, and a man’s search for answers about his traumatic past draw newly wed FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan into the fray once again.  Thief’s Mark is the seventh in New York Times bestseller Carla Neggers popular Sharpe and Donovan series of thrillers.

Carla is the award-winning author of over 60 novels.  She is a founding member of the New England Chapter of Romance Writers of America and has served as vice president of International Thriller Writers and president of Novelists, Inc.

Later, Elise Hooper’s debut novel, The Other Alcott, reveals the fascinating untold story of May Alcott, younger sister to Louisa Alcott of Little Women fame and an artist in her own right, and how the two siblings wind up on a collision course as May attempts to step out of her older sister’s shadow.

When not writing, Elise spends her time in a classroom making American History and literature interesting for high school students.  She lives a stone’s throw from the Puget Sound.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

Oct 02: The Mapmaker’s Daughter & Lie to Me

She was one of the most remarkable women in history, yet her story is little known.  In The Mapmaker’s Daughter, debut novelist Katherine Nouri Hughes blends fiction with history, examining the desires and motives of a young Venetian girl who became wife to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Katherine, Iraqi-Irish by birth, attended Princeton University, receiving a Master’s Degree in Near Eastern Studies.  She currently serves her alma mater in an advisory capacity.

Also today, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J.T. Ellison writes domestic noir and psychological thrillers, and her latest, Lie To Me, combines grief, betrayal, jealousy, and murder, gradually destroying the facade of the perfect literary couple.

J.T. has written 17 critically acclaimed novels, is coauthor of the “A Brit in the FBI” series with Catherine Coulter, and co-hosts the Emmy Award-winning A Word on Words.

 

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