Suspense Radio

Wendy Heard was born in San Francisco but has lived most of her life in Los Angeles, which is on fire more than she would honestly prefer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art, emphasizing painting, and a Master’s degree in Education. When not writing, she can be found hiking the Griffith Park trails, taking the Metro and then questioning this decision, and haunting local bookstores.

Wendy joins us to talk about her latest release "The Kill Club."

"The Kill Club": Jazz will stop at nothing to save her brother.

Their foster mother Carol has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin's life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time.

Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution. There are others like her, people the law has failed. They've formed an underground network of "helpers," each agreeing to murder the abuser of another. They're taking back their power and leaving a trail of bodies throughout Los Angeles—dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz joins them, they'll take care of Carol for good.

NYT Bestselling Author Steve Berry is back on Suspense Radio talking his latest book "The Warsaw Protocol."

Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of nineteen novels, which include: The Warsaw Protocol, The Malta Exchange, The Bishop’s Pawn, The Lost Order, The 14th Colony, The Patriot Threat, The Lincoln Myth, The King’s Deception, The Columbus Affair, The Jefferson Key, The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, and The Amber Room. His books have been translated into 40 languages with 25,000,000 copies in 51 countries. They consistently appear in the top echelon of The New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists.

We are so honored to have Bestselling Author Kay Hooper join us for the first time on the show. She has authored more than sixty books and is best known for her "Bishop / Special Crimes Unit" series. Kay has come on the show today to talk about her latest book "Hidden Salem", book nineteen in the Bishop series.

Here's a look inside: "Hidden Salem": A town shrouded in the occult. An evil that lurks in the dark. The SCU returns in a hair-raising novel from New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper.

Nellie Cavendish has very good reasons to seek out her roots, and not only because she has no memory of her mother and hardly knew the father who left her upbringing to paid caregivers. In the eight years since her twenty-first birthday, very odd things have begun to happen. Crows gather near her wherever she goes, electronics short out when she touches them, and when she’s upset, really upset, it storms. At first, she chalked up the unusual happenings to coincidence, but that explanation doesn't begin to cover the vivid nightmares that torment her. She can no longer pretend to ignore them. She has to find out the truth. And the only starting point she has is a mysterious letter from her father delivered ten years after his death, insisting she go to a town called Salem and risk her life to stop some unnamed evil. Before her thirtieth birthday.

As a longtime member of the FBI's Special Crimes Unit, Grayson Sheridan has learned not to be surprised by the unusual and the macabre--but Salem is different. Evidence of Satanic activities and the disappearance of three strangers to the town are what brought Salem to the attention of the SCU, and when Gray arrives to find his undercover partner vanished, he knows that whatever’s hiding in the seemingly peaceful little town is deadly. But what actually hides in the shadows and secrets of Salem is unlike anything the agents have ever encountered.

We are very excited to welcome back the very popular guest, bestselling author D.P. Lyle. His latest book "Rigged" has just been released.

DP Lyle, MD is the Amazon #1 Bestselling; Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning; and Edgar (2), Shamus, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, USA Today Best Book Award (2), and Foreward INDIES Book of the Year nominated author of 20 books, both non-fiction and fiction, including the SAMANTHA CODY, DUB WALKER, JAKE LONGLY, and CAIN/HARPER thriller series, and the ROYAL PAINS media tie-in novels. His essay on Jules Verne’s THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND appears in THRILLERS: 100 MUST READS and his short story “Even Steven” in ITW’s anthology THRILLER 3: LOVE IS MURDER. He served as Editor for the Southern California Writers Association’s short story anthology, IT’S ALL IN THE STORY as well as contributing the story “Splash.” His short story “Bottom Line” appears in th Sherlock Holmes inspired anthology FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME.

ThrillerFest XV has been cancelled, or has it? Kim Howe executive director, tells us how ThrillerFest XV will continue and how you can participate.

Due to the pandemic this year, we’ve canceled the in-person ThrillerFest Conference at the Grand Hyatt in New York City this July. The health and safety of our attendees is our top priority.

But we have fantastic news! We are offering a virtual conference so our attendees can remain safe in the comfort of their homes yet still participate in the learning and camaraderie that is the hallmark of the annual conference of the International Thriller Writers. No travel, no hotel stay, but an even more extensive array of bestselling ITW authors who can help you polish your thrillers and top drawer New York agents and editors to whom you can pitch—along with attractive prices!

We have an outstanding array of guests and publishing professionals, with this year’s event including a Free Debut Authors’ Presentation, Free ITW Author Videos, and a Free Awards Presentation.

Our Mega CraftFest, Master Class, Pitching Sessions, Consulting Sessions, and CareerFest will all be offered this July.

We are pleased to be joined with Mia Manansala, the 2018 winner of the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award. This is an episode that is very important to listen to.

The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color.

This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work.

An unpublished writer is preferred, however publication of several pieces of short fiction and/or up to two self-published or traditionally published books will not disqualify an applicant.

You can read the complete press release here.

Requirements For Application

An unpublished work of crime fiction. This may be a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript in-progress, 2,500 to 5,000 words.

A resume or biographical statement.

A cover letter that gives a sense of the applicant as an emerging writer in the genre and briefly states how the grant money would be used. No prior writing or publishing experience is required, but the applicant should include any relevant studies or experience.

The submissions period is March 16, 2020 to June 8, 2020.

https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/EleanorTaylorBland

Bestselling Author Joel Rosenberg makes his debut on Suspense Radio. Joel's book are known for not only ripping from the headlines, but making some of those headlines. His book "The Jerusalem Assassin" is his latest political thriller and the third book in his Marcus Ryker series.

“A taut, brilliant thriller ripped right from today’s headlines. Joel Rosenberg is masterful! The Jerusalem Assassin is an absolute home run.” —Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Backlash

From the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author!

The enemy is invisible and moving fast. The body count is rising. And time is running out.

Marcus Ryker has spent his entire career studying killers. One thing he knows for sure: a peace summit is the ultimate stage for an assassination.

President Andrew Clarke is determined to announce his historic peace plan from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. But when senior American officials who support the plan begin violently dying, Clarke orders Ryker and his team of CIA operatives to hunt down those responsible and bring the killing spree to an end.

When the Palestinians denounce the American plan, the Saudis signal they may be ready to forge a historic treaty with Israel. Could the Saudi king’s support be the missing ingredient that will lead to peace at long last?

Ryker soon uncovers a chilling plot to kill the American president. A well-resourced international alliance is dead set against the peace plan. They will stop at nothing to strike a blow against the Americans and seize leadership of the Muslim world.

With all eyes on Jerusalem and the president in the crosshairs, it’s up to Ryker to eliminate the terrible evil that’s been set in motion. The fate of the region depends on his success. He has 48 hours.

Author James May comes on the show to talk about his latest book "The Body Outside The Kremlin."

A suspenseful new murder mystery set in a crumbling monastery–turned–Soviet prison in the early twentieth century.

In a former monastery on an island in the White Sea, now taken over by the Bolsheviks, young mathematician Tolya Bogomolov is serving a three-year sentence, watched over by a skeleton crew of secret policemen. Some prisoners are consigned to forced labor while others sit at comfortable desks. So Tolya has been cultivating an acquaintance with Gennady Antonov that he hopes will lead to a better work assignment—maybe even a little more bread in his ration—especially now, with the brutal winter fast approaching.

Gennady holds a privileged position restoring the monks’ seized collection of icons. But when his body is discovered floating frozen in the bay, Tolya’s connection with him is no longer advantageous—it’s downright dangerous.

At first, the authorities question Tolya. But he’s mystified when they assign him to assist the elderly detective investigating the case. While he’d rather find the real killer than have the murder pinned on him, digging into Gennady’s secrets will turn up mysteries that could turn Tolya into the next victim . . .

We are super excited that Charlaine is back to talk her latest book "A Longer Fall", book two in the Gunnie Rose series.

"A Longer Fall": #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns with the second of the Gunnie Rose series, in which Lizbeth is hired onto a new crew, transporting a crate into Dixie, the self-exiled southeast territory of the former United States. What the crate contains is something so powerful, that forces from across three territories want to possess it.

In this second thrilling installment of the Gunnie Rose series, Lizbeth Rose is hired onto a new crew for a seemingly easy protection job, transporting a crate into Dixie, just about the last part of the former United States of America she wants to visit. But what seemed like a straight-forward job turns into a massacre as the crate is stolen. Up against a wall in Dixie, where social norms have stepped back into the last century, Lizbeth has to go undercover with an old friend to retrieve the crate as what’s inside can spark a rebellion, if she can get it back in time.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and Midnight, Texas trilogy) is at her best here, building the world of this alternate history of the United States, where magic is an acknowledged but despised power.

Mark is back and joins us to talk about his latest Grey Man novel, "One Minute Out."

From Mark Greaney, the New York Times bestselling author of Mission Critical and a coauthor of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels, comes another high-stakes thriller featuring the world's most dangerous assassin: the Gray Man.

While on a mission to Croatia, Court Gentry uncovers a human trafficking operation. The trail leads from the Balkans all the way back to Hollywood.

Court is determined to shut it down, but his CIA handlers have other plans. The criminal ringleader has actionable intelligence about a potentially devastating terrorist attack on the US. The CIA won't move until they have that intel. It's a moral balancing act with Court at the pivot point.