Slaying the Craft: Inside the Mind of a Thriller Writer

What does it really take to write, revise, and independently publish your first thriller? Sabrina sits down with suspense author Rowan James to discuss his debut novel, The Hotel Guest, a twist-filled mystery exploring family secrets, art forgery, and the dark lives of the wealthy residents of an exclusive New York hotel. Rowan shares the inspiration behind his story, the challenges of balancing two distinct points of view, and why writing his first novel required nearly two years and more than ten drafts. They dig into the importance of beta readers, learning to navigate criticism, embracing imperfect first drafts, and deciding when a manuscript is finally ready. Rowan also opens up about his decision to self-publish, the creative freedom that comes with independent publishing, and his work bringing readers and writers together through the Montreal Mystery and Seattle Dark Pages book festivals.

In this episode, Sabrina Thatcher sits down with debut thriller author and longtime OB-GYN Dr. Renda Knapp to discuss her upcoming medical thriller, Complicit. Drawing on nearly 30 years of practicing medicine in rural communities, Renda explores how her experiences inspired a dark, fast-paced story about motherhood, survival, bodily autonomy, and the extraordinary strength of women facing impossible choices. She shares the emotional challenges of writing traumatic medical scenes, creating morally complex villains, and balancing entertainment with meaningful social commentary. Renda also takes listeners behind the scenes of her publishing journey, from years of learning the craft and navigating rejection to securing an agent, selling her manuscript, and confronting her first negative reviews. Sabrina and Renda also discuss writing outside your lived experience, developing distinct character voices, the importance of persistence, and why the darkest fiction can sometimes reveal the most about humanity.

This week, Sabrina Thatcher welcomes bestselling thriller author J.T. Ellison back to Slaying the Craft for a wide-ranging conversation about her new domestic suspense novel You Know Why, which follows two women whose stories collide after a husband mysteriously disappears in the Atlanta airport and one woman realizes her sister’s murderer may be nearby. Ellison discusses the real-life observations and experiences that inspired the story, why domestic suspense is uniquely suited to exploring intimacy, vulnerability, secrets, and the violation of supposedly safe spaces, and the difficult process of discovering the novel’s central mysteries as she wrote.

Sabrina Thatcher sits down with Anthony Award–nominated mystery author Mindy Carlson for a lively conversation about writing mysteries that are dark, funny, and distinctly human. Carlson discusses the Reddit inspiration behind her short story Am I the Asshole for Using My Husband’s Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson?, her love of mysteries as puzzles with satisfying solutions, and the process behind what she calls her “leather jacket cozies”—stories that retain the relatable characters and community of a cozy while embracing more violence, swearing, and darker subject matter. She breaks down her highly visual plotting process using color-coded Post-it notes for scenes, clues, and B-plots, explains how character emotions and motivations drive her story decisions, and shares why humor acts as a “release valve” that allows her to push the darker moments even further.

Sabrina Thatcher sits down with bestselling author Brianna Labuskes to talk about her new thriller Clean Slate, which follows crime-scene cleaner Olive Hunt as she becomes unexpectedly entangled in a murder investigation. Brianna discusses the research behind Olive’s childhood with a mother who has contamination OCD, the importance of portraying mental illness responsibly, and the book’s larger themes of friendship, community, and learning to accept help. The conversation then moves deep into craft: writing multiple POVs and timelines, recognizing when a beloved scene or character isn’t serving the story, maintaining momentum in a thriller, switching between psychological thrillers and historical fiction, and finding a writing process that works for you rather than following rigid rules. Brianna emphasizes curiosity, purposeful storytelling, trusting experience, and continuing to write even on the days when every word feels difficult.

Sabrina Thatcher sits down with Canadian author Elizabeth Urso to talk about her debut novel Hail Mary, a genre-blending thriller about a woman returning to her Northern Ontario hometown, her family’s infamous funeral business, and the disturbing discovery of human remains inside a school time capsule. Elizabeth shares how grief and anger unexpectedly shaped the novel, including a second POV character who became an outlet for emotions she didn’t initially realize she was processing. She also digs into her plot-first writing process, her love of mixing crime, mystery, thriller, and horror, and why she plots in Excel and gives herself permission to edit while drafting.

Sabrina Thatcher, Duke Craig, Renda Knapp, and Chris Wendel unpack their experiences at the Leopardi Writing Conference in Italy. They share the craft lessons that stuck with them—from watching authors line edit in real time and learning how to hook readers in those crucial opening pages to the now-infamous “Finlay Fix”—along with candid advice about receiving feedback, making the most of workshops, and knowing what you want from a conference. They also discuss the importance of finding community in an often-solitary career, stepping outside your comfort zone, and how new places and life experiences can fuel better writing.

Check out their websites to learn more:

rendaknapp.com

dukecraig.com

cwendel.com

In this episode, Sabrina Thatcher talks with thriller writer, book coach, and ThrillerFest executive director Samantha Skal for a deep dive into the mechanics behind compelling suspense. They explore why villains should be treated as the heroes of their own stories, how interiority becomes the “connective tissue” that shapes reader experience, and the art of revealing just enough information to create tension without losing momentum. They discuss writing twists, managing exposition, balancing reader expectations, and building characters whose decisions feel emotionally inevitable—even when they seem irrational.

In this episode of Slaying the Craft, host Sabrina Thatcher sits down with crime novelist Melanie Anagnos to talk about her debut novel Night Swimming, a late-1970s police procedural centered on Jamie, a patrol officer unexpectedly stepping into investigative work. Melanie shares her winding path to publication, her decision to write outside her usual genre, and how embracing discomfort became part of her creative process. She shares how the idea for the novel arrived unexpectedly while working on a completely different project, what it was like writing from a male point of view, and how extensive research—including immersing herself in crime fiction and detective interviews—helped her build authenticity.

In this episode, Adam Plantinga joins Sabrina Thatcher for a high-energy deep dive into crafting action-packed, morally grounded thrillers, tracing the evolution of his Kurt Argento series from the over-the-top prison chaos of The Ascent to the mystery-driven expansiveness of Hardtown and Dark Country. Drawing from more than two decades in law enforcement, Plantinga shares how real-world policing, subject-matter expertise, and a commitment to “armoring fiction with reality” shape his stories, while also unpacking the challenges of writing earned twists, balancing violence with moral consequence, and creating a wandering protagonist readers can root for.