Yesterday in the comments JL asked about Thrillerfest. Here’s the deal: a few years ago a group of thriller writers got together and decided the crime and mystery organizations weren’t necessarily the right fit for the thriller genre.
What’s the difference, you ask? In a mystery, the question is, What’s going on here? Why are these things (usually killings) happening and who’s doing them? In a thriller the issue is, can the good guys outrun the bad guys, either to do some good thing before the bad guys stop them or to stop the bad guys from doing some bad thing? Think MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS vs. DAY OF THE JACKAL.
So these thriller writers formed an organization, International Thriller Writers, and a year or so later they started an annual convention. Many of us writers are members of more than one organization, and I joined ITW when it started, though I’ve never been to Thrillerfest because until now I wasn’t writing thrillers.
But now I am.
Sam Cabot’s BLOOD OF THE LAMB is definitely a thriller, where the good guys race the bad guys to find a secret document so sizzling it could bring down the Catholic Church and threaten all of, literally, Christendom.
And who cares about Sam Cabot’s new book? Get with the program, chickens! Half of Sam Cabot is ME! The other half is Carlos Dews, and we’ll both be at Thrillerfest. On a panel with Doug Preston, among others. Buying drinks for F. Paul Wilson and Steve Berry, who gave us lovely blurbs. And generally hanging with our new-found family. So if you’ll be there, too, come say hi!
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