The Thriller Pitch Podcast

Writing an espionage thriller as a former CIA officer | Brittany Butler

Brittany Butler spent 10 years as a CIA targeting officer running spies in the Middle East and war zones. Now she writes espionage thrillers for Crooked Lane Books and the operational world she lived in shows up on every page. In this episode Brittany breaks down how she builds characters using goals, motivations, and conflicts before writing a single scene, how she balances three interlocking plot lines without losing the reader, and how she transfers the real psychological cost of espionage work onto the page. She also talks about the moral weight of running sources she couldn't always protect, and the moment she knew it was time to leave the CIA. Brittany Butler's book The Patriot's Daughter: https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-Daughter-Novel-Brittany-Butler/dp/B0FJDHLKRN [https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-Daughter-Novel-Brittany-Butler/dp/B0FJDHLKRN] Follow Brittany Butler online: https://www.instagram.com/brittanybutlerbooks/ [https://www.instagram.com/brittanybutlerbooks/] Join the After Show on Patreon and get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments with guests, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. You’ll also be able to support the show and help me keep bringing on great thriller authors. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon [https://patreon.com/markpjnadon] Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers [https://mybook.to/marksthrillers] Authors: Want to be a guest? Apply here → https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast [https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast] Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon [https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/ [https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon [https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon]

Writing a War Your Heroes Don't Know They're Losing | Michael J. Lalonde

Michael J. Lalonde spent 23 years as a Canadian Army intelligence officer before writing The Quiet War: Canadian Front, a modern military thriller built around Canada's tier one special forces unit, JTF Two. In this episode we get into how he built a story where the heroes are winning every engagement and losing the war without knowing it, why the villain targets Canada before the United States, what the "every day is selection" culture of special forces does to the people inside it, and where realism and story collide and why story has to win. Michael J. Lalonde's book Canadian Front: https://books2read.com/u/3kJk2N [https://books2read.com/u/3kJk2N] Follow Michael J. Lalonde online: https://www.michaeljlalonde.com/ [https://www.michaeljlalonde.com/] Join the After Show on Patreon and get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments with guests, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. You’ll also be able to support the show and help me keep bringing on great thriller authors. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon [https://patreon.com/markpjnadon] Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers [https://mybook.to/marksthrillers] Authors: Want to be a guest? Apply here → https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast [https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast] Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon [https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/ [https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon [https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon]

This Thriller Started with Real Search and Rescue Missions | Cam Torrens

Cam Torrens is a retired Air Force C-130 pilot, active search and rescue volunteer, and author of Havoc, book five in the Tyler Zan series. His first two books never got picked up. His third did. Then he went back and got the first one published as a prequel. Every book in the series starts with a real SAR mission or a real location where one happened. In this episode we talk about the dual timeline that saved Havoc, the duty vs. family conflict at the heart of the book, and why if you've published your first or second book you should already be writing your third. Cam Torrens book Havoc: Buy on Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/HAVOC-Trouble-Trail-Tyler-Novel-ebook/dp/B0FP12KRKH] Follow Cam online: https://camtorrens.com/ [https://camtorrens.com/] Join the After Show on Patreon and get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments with guests, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. You’ll also be able to support the show and help me keep bringing on great thriller authors. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon [https://patreon.com/markpjnadon] Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers [https://mybook.to/marksthrillers] Authors: Want to be a guest? Apply here → https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast [https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast] Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon [https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/ [https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon [https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon]

Write What You Know — Especially The Parts You Don't Talk About | Mark P.J. Nadon

What does it actually mean to write what you know? For Mark P.J. Nadon, it meant embedding the parts of himself he doesn't talk about into the characters at the heart of his new psychological tech thriller, The Treatment Room. In this episode, TD Severin, author of the award-winning medical thriller Deadly Vision, takes over the show to interview Mark on launch day about the craft, the characters, and the personal experiences that shaped the book. They dig into writing two POVs that sound nothing alike, why the second half of every book throws out the outline, how to write trauma without tipping into melodrama, and what it feels like to release a book that has pieces of yourself in it. Mark P.J. Nadon's book The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/thetreatmentroom [https://mybook.to/thetreatmentroom] Join the After Show on Patreon and get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments with guests, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. You’ll also be able to support the show and help me keep bringing on great thriller authors. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon [https://patreon.com/markpjnadon] Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers [https://mybook.to/marksthrillers] Authors: Want to be a guest? Apply here → https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast [https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast] Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon [https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/ [https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon [https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon]

The Phone Call That Turned Into an Archaeological Thriller | Luke Richardson

A phone call dropped Luke Richardson into a story he couldn’t ignore. An ancient manuscript lost for thousands of years. A British Museum dig in Lebanon. An archaeologist who faked his own death to smuggle out clay tablets. That call became The Ark Files, the first book in his eight-book Eden Black archaeological thriller series. We get into how that real story shaped the novel, how he turns setting into part of the action instead of slowing it down, and what it actually took to walk away from teaching and write thrillers full time. Luke Richardson's book The Ark Files: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2PS8NC6 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2PS8NC6] Follow Luke online: https://www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/ [https://www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/] Join the After Show on Patreon and get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments with guests, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. You’ll also be able to support the show and help me keep bringing on great thriller authors. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon [https://patreon.com/markpjnadon] Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers [https://mybook.to/marksthrillers] Authors: Want to be a guest? Apply here → https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast [https://markpjnadon.ca/the-thriller-pitch-podcast] Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon [https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/ [https://www.instagram.com/markpjnadon_thrillerauthor/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon [https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_pj_nadon]