Brash Blog

Big Ideas and Big Names in suspense from Brash Books

Get the big ideas from the biggest names in suspense on the Brash Books blog. Here, you'll find posts by some of your favorite mystery authors sharing their views on crime fiction - along with inside stories about everything from how they wrote their bestselling thrillers to what inspires them.

You'll also hear from experts in the mystery and suspense genre, along with fans, publishing insiders, and of course, Brash Books. Posts will range from informative to controversial - but you can bet every one will be a compelling read. This is your destination to explore great crime fiction writing - past, present and future - from the authors, readers, and publishers who keep it alive.

Keep the Jetsam…You Could be Tossing an Award

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On the morning that my novel Go Down Hard was published,  I expected the day to be filled with social media tasks. Early reviews had been positive (the American Library Association's Booklist said, "It's a crime novel dream."), friends had been supportive, and my publisher Brash Books had been enthusiastic and generous with marketing initiatives (a rare trait in a publisher these days). But my plans were quickly, and pleasantly, derailed by the news that I had been nominated for an Anthony Award for a short story called Honeymoon Sweet. For the uninitiated, the Anthony is given out every year at Bouchercon, the world's largest crime writing convention, which takes place this year in... more

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The Writing of BLIND SPOT…and the peculiar life and death of Adam Barrow

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Author Tom Kakonis tells the unusual story behind his haunting thriller BLIND SPOT, and why he originally published it, and his novel FLAWLESS, under the doomed pseudonym "Adam Barrow." In the late afternoon of a fine summer day many years ago, my wife and I were driving down one of those Interstates that ring the city of Chicago like a hangman’s noose. She, a suburban native of that city, was behind the wheel, I rode shotgun. Since it was nearing rush hour, that perpetually traffic-clogged highway was swarming with vehicles plunging headlong toward only god knew where. But as we approached a toll station, all of us began first to gradually decelerate, then slow to a crawl, then stop... more

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The Predictability Factor

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Quick:  What kind of book comes to mind when you think of this author?  Or this one? Chances are, your answer to my first question was something along the lines of “a fast-paced standalone thriller featuring an ex-military policeman named Reacher.” And your answer to my second question was, in so many words, “an eloquently written mystery featuring a diverse cast of African-American characters in an urban setting.” How can I be so sure of this? Because these authors have built a brand for themselves.  Their body of work demonstrates a consistency of subject matter and perspective that readers have learned over the years to recognize as their purview.  Granted, Mosley... more

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Andy Straka: A Bird’s Eye View of the Private Eye Genre

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Andy Straka is the author of the award-winning and beloved Frank Pavlicek series... about an ex-NYPD cop who becomes a PI and falconer in Virginia... which kicks off with our new Brash Books' releases of  A Witness Above and A Killing Sky. Here he talks about how he created the series... How did I fall into this gig anyway? All I ever wanted to do was write the world's greatest private eye novels and have someone pay me gazillions of dollars to live happily ever after. But I had two problems. Problem number one: How could I possibly contribute anything new to such a classic private eye genre replete with masterful voices? Problem number two: Private eye novels most often feature... more

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Ripley Reads: Thrilling Books for Your Summer

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Brash Books Author W.L. Ripley (Storme Warning, Hail Storme, etc) shares the thrilling books he's been reading lately...and that you might want to add to your summer reading list. Crush  (Phoef Sutton) – Phoef is an Emmy award winning writer for such luminaries as “Cheers,” “Newhart” and “Boston Legal.” His protagonist Caleb Rush (AKA: Crush) is a titanic hero who can do anything and everything and does it with panache and rollicking humor in a story that takes the reader on a wild carnival ride through the mean streets of the L.A. underworld. There is tension, black humor, pathos, quirky dialogue along with the humorous on every page. Sutton hits every note as Crush never... more

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Ripley’s Rules of Writing

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W.L. Ripley is the author of two critically-acclaimed series of crime novels -- four books featuring ex-professional football player Wyatt Storme and four books about ex-Secret Service agent Cole Springer. His latest novel is  Storme Warning.  Here he shares the rules of writing that have guided him through those eight novels. First, forget most of what your English teacher told you about creative writing. This one gets a rise and a few giggles when I address a roomful of teachers. It is, of course, meant to get their attention – and at the same time make a point. Your High School English teacher serves a highly useful purpose by training you in proper usage and grammar and you must... more

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