I didnβt start gobbling up thrillers until after my son was born and I needed
books that would keep my attention through the fog of sleepiness and hormones. I
fell in love with the genre, and wanted to write a psychological thriller myself.
I already liked to put some kind of thrilling suspense in all my books. (In my
series
The Frost Chronicles, the frozen world is populated with unseen
monsters that only come out under the cover of darkness. In my fantasy novel
A Gift of Poison, robed mind-readers called Seekers stalk my main
character through a wilderness because of her gift of controlling dragons.) But
I wanted to write a straight thriller.
Hereβs my process from idea to finished novel.
Step one β come up with a premise or scene that grabs you. For me, that scene
ended up being when the main character, Victoria, is kidnapped from her parentsβ
cabin. Writing the scene made my heart pound.
Step two β figure out a twist, or three. To me, this is essential for a good
thriller. I figured out the twist at the end of my book while driving, and I had
to hold my idea in my head until I could get somewhere to write it down.
Step three β work backwards from the twist, unraveling the secrets and
motivation of the characters. For me, this step involves eating lots of
chocolate donuts, and taking lots of long walks to ponder things.
Step four β plow through the first draft. My experience drafting a thriller was
different than that of writing fantasy. When I write, I always try to put myself
in the place of the reader in order to tell the story. As a reader, I love
racing along through a thriller, wondering what happens next and flipping the
pages as fast as I can read them. As an author writing
All Her Secrets,
I knew all the secrets, and I had to come up with tricks to keep myself in the
mindset of a reader who didnβt know the twists and reveals.
Step five β send the finished book to editors and beta readers. Enjoy the
speculation in their notes. Make changes based on their feedback, and return the
book for more edits. Rise and repeat.
Step six β proofread and polish. By this step, Iβm both deeply proud of and also
sick of my book. Iβm ready for it to be out in the world.
Step seven β release! Now the book belongs it its readers and I can breathe with
relief that another story is out of my head and onto the page.
Iβm ecstatic to have contributed to the genre I love so much.
Nothing is as it seems in this psychological YA thriller sure to appeal to fans
of The Girl on the Train, Luckiest Girl Alive, and We Were Liars.
A GIRL WITH SECRETS
Victoria Faraday was attacked in broad daylight four years ago by her would-be
killer. She survived her stabbing, but she hasnβt been able to move on from what
happened. Why did a complete stranger try to kill her?
The same weekend that Victoria stumbles across a piece of life-altering
information that could explain everything, sheβs kidnapped from her familyβs
mountain mansion and taken to an unknown location deep in the wilderness.
A GUY FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS
Sam is just a poor kid from Toivo, a failed utopian city, but he knows who
Victoria is as soon as his cousin Craig drags her from the trees. He doesnβt
want anything to do with what appears to be a revenge kidnapping, but Craig has
a gun and needs someone to take the fall if things go wrong.
A DESPERATE PLAN TO SURVIVE
Putting aside mistrust for tentative friendship, Victoria and Sam conspire
to escape together, and forced teamwork ignites a startling attraction between
them. With a plan in place to escape, freedom seems within reach. But unrevealed
secrets from Victoriaβs past are coming back to haunt her.
ALL HER SECRETS is available at
Amazon,
Barnes
& Noble, and
Kobo.
Young Adult Suspense
[Author Self-Published, On Sale: October 18, 2016,
e-Book, ISBN: 9781537521343 / eISBN: 9780998103907]
Kate Avery Ellison decided she wanted to be an author when she was five years
old, and with hard work, determination, and the support of loved ones along the
way, her dreams of telling stories for a living came true in 2011 with her first
novel, The Curse Girl, and continued with her Amazon bestselling series The
Frost Chronicles and numerous other fantasy and science fiction novels. She
loves putting a dash of mystery in everything she writes, an ode to her
childhood spent reading Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, and Sherlock Holmes, and
she canβt resist adding a good twist in the story wherever she can.
Kate
wishes she could live in a place where itβs always October, but until thatβs
possible, she makes her home in humid Atlanta with her husband, son, and two
spoiled cats. When she isnβt dreaming up her next novel or holed up writing it
down, Kate can be found binging her favorite shows on Netflix, reading on her
Kindle, building intricate train track configurations with her toddler, and
playing board games with her husband and friends.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2026