Two More Chapters

Cliffhangers still work.

The copy of The Warsaw Protocol by Steve Berry that my wife brought me from the library was labeled Rapid Read. Instead of three weeks, I’d have to complete the 384-page novel in just one.

That wasn’t a problem. Berry had used time-honored techniques to keep readers engaged. First, he used multiple point-of-view characters, alternating between their perspectives — with one … Continue reading

Four-Word Fiction Course

What do endorsements for your genre say?

At the bottom of the novel’s back cover, four short words offered excellent advice for any author writing in that genre.

This weekend at a thrift store, I’d scored a British edition of Graham Brown’s international thriller The Mayan Conspiracy (subtitled “A deadly secret that could change the world”).

Bestselling thriller writer Steve Berry’s words on the back cover … Continue reading