A Thrilling Time in NYC

Hi friends,

Last week I was in New York City for Thrillerfest. What is Thrillerfest you may ask? I’m happy to report it is not a conference for lovers of Michael Jackson’s song Thriller. Though I do admit thinking the song and the music video were pretty cool when I was in middle school. But, alas, not about Michael Jackson or his outfits that sparked red leather jackets and sparkly gloves onto the fashion scene.

According to ITW’s) website Thrillerfest is the annual conference of ITW, International Thriller Writers. The unique, popular, and rapidly expanding gathering was created in 2004 by successful, bestselling authors to bring thousands of writers, readers, publishers, producers, editors, and agents together to promote and support thriller authors everywhere.

The conference has six main components: Master Class, CraftFest, ConsultFest, PitchFest, ThrillerFest, and the Awards Banquet. I participated in Master Class which was amazing, Craftfest where I learned how to deepen my craft from leading NYT thriller authors, and last but not least, Thrillfest where I had the honor of sitting on a panel discussing how an opening line, paragraph and chapter has to the reader or most will not continue with your hero much farther if they aren’t already intrigued and invested.

If you write any form of thriller genre (mystery, romantic suspense, action-adventure, etc.) you want to be at this conference. If you’re a fan of thrillers in any genre, you want to be at Thrillerfest. There is a fabulous community of writers there who love connecting with readers and with each other. I had the best time.

While there, I’m happy to say I was blessed with tickets to Wicked for me and three friends. The cast was phenomenal along with the stage design, costume design and story. Loved the creativity flowing through that one. New York is a very cool city to hang out in.