In part one of this week’s packed episode Bianca Marais chats with thriller powerhouse Hank Phillippi Ryan, they unpack the craft behind ‘Mother, Daughter, Sister, Stranger’, from writing an unforgettable prologue to building relentless suspense through curiosity, ticking clocks, and emotional stakes. Hank shares why panic is an essential part of her writing process, how reading ambitious novels pushes her to take bigger creative risks, and why grounding readers in a character's emotional journey is the key to making every twist land.
Next up is Laura Moriarty to discuss the craft behind ‘Sunlight Finds You’, exploring how voice can carry an opening without a traditional hook, why switching from third person to first person transformed the novel, and how a retrospective narrator creates powerful opportunities for foreshadowing. They also dive into historical research, layering exposition naturally, and using hindsight to add emotional weight to a coming-of-age story that lingers long after the final page.
Last but not least is in part three of this packed episode is New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay joins Bianca Marais to talk thrillers, twists, and keeping readers hooked. Linwood breaks down his “somewhere in the middle” approach to plotting, why his stories often begin with a killer “whatif?”, and how TV taught him to treat chapter endings like commercial breaks. Plus, they dig into breaking writing rules, avoiding backstory overload, creating curiosity from page one, and why what characters do and say matters more than what they look like.
Note: CeCe Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
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