The Thriller Pitch Podcast

35-book veteran Brian Drake joins Mark P.J. Nadon to reveal a brutal industry truth: If you aren't publishing fast, the algorithm will forget you. In this episode, we deconstruct how Brian maintains a prolific pace and why he uses a manual typewriter for his first draft.

Inside the Episode:

• The 90-Day Churn: The modern algorithm requires high-volume production to stay visible to readers.

• The Typewriter Strategy: How Brian...

J.L. Hancock joins me to talk about The Hawk Enigma and how his past work with special operations informed the technical foundation of the story, without letting detail take over.

We discuss how he approached researching the technology, how he decided what information belonged on the page, and why clarity for the reader mattered more than explaining everything he knew.

J.L. Hancock's book The Hawk Enigma: https://a.co/d/aImbPJx

Fol...

In this episode of The Thriller Pitch Podcast, I talk with Joel Nedecky, author of The Broken Detective, about the craft choices behind his debut crime novel.

We discuss building a story around a private investigator who knows he’s going to prison, writing character before plot, and allowing questions of addiction, family, and consequence to emerge during revision.

This conversation focuses on perspective, process, and writing crim...

To kick off Season Two of The Thriller Pitch Podcast, host Mark P.J. Nadon shares ten lessons he learned in 2025 after reading more than 45 thriller novels and interviewing 27 thriller authors.

In this bonus episode, Mark reflects on the patterns that came up again and again across conversations with writers, including the importance of support networks, consistency, flexibility in the writing process, letting go of book one, embra...

In this episode of The Thriller Pitch Podcast, I’m joined by Westley Smith, author of They Came at Night, to talk about blending psychological thriller and action, and how lived experience shaped the emotional core of the novel.

We talk about writing characters shaped by trauma, balancing tension with restraint, and why some stories aren’t built from research alone. Westley shares how personal loss influenced his approach to story,...

In this episode of The Thriller Pitch Podcast, I’m joined by Karen E. Osborne to talk about how she builds characters from real life and structures stories across dual timelines.

We discuss Justice for Emerson, how observing people in everyday moments helps her capture physical detail and voice, and the way characters become so real to her that she rarely loses track of who they are. Karen also talks about writing across timelines ...

In this episode of The Thriller Pitch Podcast, I’m joined by Adam Roach, author of The Ritualist. Adam talks about how a 100-word flash fiction piece he wrote for a horror contest became the starting point for his thriller series.

We discuss the original flash fiction, what judges said about expanding it, and how that idea eventually became a full-length novel. Adam also talks about writing scenes by visualizing them like a movie, ...

What happens when a real encounter sparks the opening of a psychological thriller?

In this episode, USA Today bestselling author Melissa F. Miller explains how she built Cut Off from Sky and Earth around memory, trauma, and the dangerous weight of past relationships. We get into how she blended the feel of a fairy tale with a tense, grounded narrative, why she stepped away from legal thrillers for this story, and how she writes thr...

In this episode, international best-selling author Andrew Warren, joins me to talk about how he created White Tiger — a villain who’s as tactically intelligent as he is physically dangerous. We dig into writing action that’s fast but clear, how to use strategy to shape a fight scene, and why a smart antagonist raises every aspect of a thriller.

Andrew also talks about returning to the Thomas Caine world for Book Six, keeping a long...

Jo Loveday joins me to discuss Campus of Shadows, a psychological horror thriller that follows a vulnerable mind as it begins to break. We talk about crafting a believable mental decline, how Jo’s nursing and psychiatric training informed Dave’s deterioration, and why portraying addiction felt personal.

Jo also opens up about living with dyscalculia and how it helped shape Dave’s character, the challenge of writing from a male POV,...

How do you build a high-stakes thriller without losing sight of character? In this episode, Mark Philbin joins me to talk about Kill Them All, a plot-driven thriller built around a twelve-city murder spree and a protagonist who sees patterns others miss.

We discuss where the idea began, how he shaped the “12 victims in 12 months” structure, and why grounding a twisty plot in character growth matters just as much as pacing. Mark sha...

What makes a friendship unravel, and how do you show every side of it on the page?

In this episode, author M.M. Deluca joins me to talk about The Divorce Party, a psychological thriller set in Las Vegas that explores secrets, tension, and the fragile balance between loyalty and betrayal. We talk about writing from multiple perspectives, shaping believable relationships between flawed friends, and grounding suspense in realism drawn...

How do you write action that feels real without losing your voice as a storyteller?

In this episode, author T.R. Hendricks joins me to talk about The Instructor, a military thriller shaped by his experience in the army. We discuss how real-world training translates to believable fiction, the discipline it takes to finish a manuscript, and how sixty rejections became part of his journey to publication.

For writers chasing authentici...

How do you write 5,000 words a day and still love what you do?

In this episode, author Maria Frankland joins me to talk about I Don’t Like Mondays, a psychological thriller that began with a single thought on a crowded Yorkshire train platform: what if someone was pushed in front of the train? Maria shares how that moment became her 22nd novel, how she built a full-time writing career, and the discipline that keeps her moving forw...

What happens when a horror-thriller author refuses to rewrite?

In this episode, Thomas Stewart joins host Mark P.J. Nadon to discuss his novel Allison’s Tears, a ghost story written in just three months — every sentence deliberate, every emotion intentional.

They talk about writing through instinct, finding empathy in fear, and why giving villains depth makes them even more terrifying.

The Thriller Pitch Podcast  is where bestselli...

Author Melissa Roos joins me to talk about Tennessee Wishes — a romantic-suspense set in Nashville where a dream, a spark, and a shadowy crime wave collide. We get into how she writes from instinct as a self-described pantser, why the opening took several passes to finally “click,” how beta feedback shaped the book, and the choices behind a grumpy, coffee-fueled detective and a memorable K-9 who feels like a character of his own. W...

Spy Girls is a gripping spy thriller with assassins, pursuit and resilience. A CIA action officer is released from prison. A Chief Justice is murdered, and the Law Society is scrutinizing Jade Thyme’s conduct. Jade’s life can’t get much worse until she is coerced into finding an elusive double agent. Tangled in lies and political agendas, high speed chases and sticky bombs, can Jade outplay a dangerous Russian assassin before her o...

Caribbean Harvest is a high-stakes international thriller about drugs, politics, and pursuit. When El Chapo sets his sights on Cuba as the next hub for his empire, Wolf and Parker must use their mix of military and law enforcement skills to stop him before the island becomes another Afghanistan. With Mexican law enforcement, the U.S. president, and ruthless cartel forces all in play, the chase becomes a deadly game of cat and mouse...

Cartel Hunter is a vigilante justice thriller about family, morality, and survival. When Air Force pararescueman Jason Mulder returns home after his brother’s murder, he’s forced to confront a ruthless cartel hiding in Arizona’s vast pine forests. With training, grit, and unlikely allies, Jason takes the fight to those who threaten his family, but always on his own moral terms.

In this episode of The Thriller Pitch Podcast, Robert ...