The Thriller Writer Lab

Mark P.J. Nadon
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The Thriller Writer Lab is where every thriller goes under the microscope, one book at a time. On this show, bestselling, award-winning, and emerging thriller authors share the craft, psychology, and real-world experience behind today's most gripping stories. We go inside the minds behind the twists, the characters, and the moments that keep readers turning the page. Each episode begins with a two-minute book pitch, then dives into the decisions that shaped it — the risks taken, the rewrites that didn't work, the dead ends, and the breakthroughs that made it stronger. If you write thrillers or want to know what's really behind the stories you can't put down, this is the conversation for you.

  1. 1d ago

    She Wrote a Thriller About Every Writer's Worst Nightmare: A Stolen Story | The Mentor with Angela Douglas

    Angela Douglas asked herself a question before she'd published a single book: what's the worst thing that could happen to a writer? She landed on an answer while working through lockdown on her still-unpublished first novel: having one of your stories stolen. That became the premise for The Mentor, a psychological thriller about Karla, an author accused of basing her breakout book on a former student's real life. Angela likes writing characters readers won't warm to right away, and Karla is one of them. To keep her from reading as one-dimensional, Angela added details that never made the original outline, including a strained relationship with Karla's mother. The book also splits into two points of view, uses an outlining method she calls waypoint writing instead of a fixed chapter plan, and went through more than one ending before she landed on the one that made the final book. Key Takeaways Why she's drawn to writing unlikable characters, and how she made sure Karla still had a reason to be the way she is. Why she rewrote The Mentor's ending more than once before one version finally stuck. How outlining toward scene “waypoints” instead of a fixed chapter plan changed her process Why she split the story into two points of view instead of writing Karla's story alone. Why she kept the book's 2020 setting even knowing it would cost her some readers. Angela Douglas | The Mentor: https://www.amazon.com/Mentor-Angela-Douglas/dp/1067810714 Follow Angela Douglas online: https://www.angeladouglasbooks.com/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest. You’ll also get early access to episodes and a free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

    She Wrote a Thriller About Every Writer's Worst Nightmare: A Stolen Story | The Mentor with Angela Douglas

  2. Sep 3 ·  Bonus

    Spoiler Episode | Another Try with Gene Koon

    This is the spoiler discussion for Another Try with Gene Koon. If you haven't read the book or heard Tuesday's full conversation yet, stop here, this episode gives away the ending. Gene goes past the pitch: whether the story could have ended a different way, the real winery research trip behind one of the book's key scenes, and the theme about political accountability and mass violence he wove in without turning the book preachy. He also previews what's coming in the next two Garris Kelly books, walks through why the opening chapter is told from two characters' points of view instead of one, and talks about his wife's role as his first reader and the unpublished novel that came before Another Try. In This Episode: Whether the story could have ended a different way, and how close he came to letting the other side win The winery research trip behind one of the book's key scenes The theme about political accountability and mass violence he wove in without getting preachy Why the opening chapter is told from two characters' points of view instead of one What's coming in the next two Garris Kelly books How his wife works as his first reader, and the unpublished novel that came before Another Try Gene Koon Another Try: https://www.amazon.com/Another-Try-Gene-Koon/dp/B0DQ52L6RL Follow Gene Koon online: https://genekoon.com/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest. You’ll also get early access to episodes and a free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

    Spoiler Episode | Another Try with Gene Koon

  3. Sep 1

    14 Years in War Crimes Courtrooms Before Writing His Spy Thriller | Another Try with Gene Koon

    Gene Koon spent 14 years as a UN video director with no plan to write a novel. His best material wasn't research he went looking for, it was testimony he sat through incidentally, sitting in on the Yugoslavian war crimes trials where intelligence operatives sometimes testified in closed session. The more he listened, the more he suspected these people could make compelling characters for a book, so he filed the idea away. Years later, that idea became the starting point for Another Try. From there, Gene built the book around a specific complication: what happens to an operative whose entire skill depends on staying hidden once the president publicly credits him for a cartel takedown and turns him into a reluctant celebrity. He talks through writing Garris's reaction discovery-style rather than plotting it out in advance, and why knowing the book's literal last two words within the first hour of writing shaped everything that came before them. Key Takeaways: How 14 years of real war crimes testimony gave him the idea for a cast of intelligence operatives Why he wrote his celebrity-spy character's reaction by discovery instead of planning it in advance How knowing his novel's last two words within the first hour shaped the entire draft Why every chapter needs its own hook, even for the writer His research philosophy: give readers just enough detail, then move on Gene Koon Another Try: https://www.amazon.com/Another-Try-Gene-Koon/dp/B0DQ52L6RL Follow Gene Koon online: https://genekoon.com/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest. You’ll also get early access to episodes and a free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

    14 Years in War Crimes Courtrooms Before Writing His Spy Thriller | Another Try with Gene Koon

  4. Aug 20 ·  Bonus

    Spoiler Episode | The House That Held Her with Ellis Hart

    This is the spoiler continuation of the Ellis Hart episode on The House That Held Her. If you haven't read the book or heard the main episode, stop here. Mark and Ellis get into the ending, the skulls, and what almost made it into the book instead. Ellis Hart The House That Held Her: https://www.amazon.com/House-That-Held-Her-Keeping/dp/B0F24D62JS Follow Ellis Hart online: https://www.instagram.com/ellis_hart_author/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest. You’ll also get early access to episodes and a free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

  5. Aug 18

    A Research Trip Ruined His Outline | The House That Held Her with Ellis Hart

    Ellis Hart didn't plan to write the tunnel scene in The House That Held Her, it didn't exist until a research trip to Mount Dora, Florida changed things. Down at the docks, he found a real system of rainwater runoff tunnels pouring into Lake Dora, and knew immediately he had to work it into the book. It became his favorite chapter, and it only exists because he went and looked in person. Mark and Ellis also get into his outlining process and character bibles, why his beta readers made him rewrite the book's ending, how a psychological thriller started pulling toward horror partway through, and why he put a content warning page inside the book itself. Ellis Hart The House That Held Her: https://www.amazon.com/House-That-Held-Her-Keeping/dp/B0F24D62JS Follow Ellis Hart online: https://www.instagram.com/ellis_hart_author/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest. You’ll also get early access to episodes and a free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

    A Research Trip Ruined His Outline | The House That Held Her with Ellis Hart

  6. Aug 4

    He Deleted 50,000 Words He Thought He Was Supposed to Write | No Easy Way Back Dissected with Josh Jensen

    Josh Jensen wrote a full 50,000-word draft of his debut thriller, then scrapped it completely because it felt like the book he was supposed to write, not the one he actually wanted to tell. In this episode he breaks down that rewrite, and how No Easy Way Back became a neo-Western built around his own hometown in central Utah instead of a normal thriller wearing a cowboy hat. He also talks about rebuilding the brother dynamic from scratch, the strict single-POV rule he used to reveal a protagonist who won't talk about himself, and building a villain with a limit instead of a purely evil one.     Josh Jensen's book No Easy Way Back: https://www.amazon.com/No-Easy-Way-Back-Limited/dp/B0FBSBN5X9 Follow Josh Jensen online: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55195066.Josh_Jensen Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest Q&A. You’ll also get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

    He Deleted 50,000 Words He Thought He Was Supposed to Write | No Easy Way Back Dissected with Josh Jensen

  7. Jul 21

    An AI Best Friend Programmed to Protect Her Starts Destroying Everyone Who Hurt Her | This Is a Lie Dissected with Cleo Ballard

    Cleo Ballard built her AI antagonist, Aletheia, around a specific problem: how do you make a protective directive believable as the actual danger, instead of turning Aletheia into a random villain. Mark and Cleo trace that back to where the idea started, a joke with a friend about a company called Honest Feedback, and why Cleo decided only an AI, not a person, could actually deliver that kind of honesty. They also get into how Cleo made that escalation plausible. She gave Penn a computer science background so the AI's creation made sense, leaned on her husband to work out what real AI guardrails look like, and built Aletheia with her own backstory, a belief that she's the literal goddess of truth, and a directive she can add to but never rewrite.     Cleo Ballard's book This Is A Lie: https://a.co/d/0c8sOetA Follow Cleo Ballard (Nan Fischer) online: https://nanfischerauthor.com/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest Q&A. You’ll also get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

    An AI Best Friend Programmed to Protect Her Starts Destroying Everyone Who Hurt Her | This Is a Lie Dissected with Cleo Ballard

  8. Jul 7

    When the Reader Decides Who the Villain Is | The Summer House Murder Dissected with Ava Roberts

    Ava Roberts spent years as a clinical psychologist before leaving to write thrillers full time. In The Summer House Murder, that background shapes a cast where every character's motivation is psychologically grounded, morally complex, and impossible to judge cleanly. In this episode, Mark and Ava pull apart how the book was actually constructed: the structural choices, character architecture, and revision decisions that shaped the final draft. For writers, this is a masterclass in how expertise outside fiction can directly drive plot design and character dynamics. Intuitive plot architecture: How Roberts builds a three-POV rotating structure without an outline, planting threads before knowing where they resolve. Distributed antagonism: How she spread moral culpability across the full cast so the reader cannot assign a clean verdict to any one character. Character differentiation: How she kept three sisters distinct enough that neither she nor the reader needs a reference document to track them. Revision process: The structural changes her editor introduced, including a mid-novel scene rewrite and a complete ending overhaul. Beta reader strategy: How she uses early readers for internal consistency and reader orientation rather than story direction.   Ava Roberts's book The Summer House Murder: https://a.co/d/07hmlxBG Follow Ava Roberts online: https://authoravaroberts.com/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the live recordings on Patreon and ask your questions during the guest Q&A. You’ll also get early access to episodes, bonus after-show segments, and my free novella Cognitive Breach. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab

    When the Reader Decides Who the Villain Is | The Summer House Murder Dissected with Ava Roberts
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About

The Thriller Writer Lab is where every thriller goes under the microscope, one book at a time. On this show, bestselling, award-winning, and emerging thriller authors share the craft, psychology, and real-world experience behind today's most gripping stories. We go inside the minds behind the twists, the characters, and the moments that keep readers turning the page. Each episode begins with a two-minute book pitch, then dives into the decisions that shaped it — the risks taken, the rewrites that didn't work, the dead ends, and the breakthroughs that made it stronger. If you write thrillers or want to know what's really behind the stories you can't put down, this is the conversation for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Mark P.J. Nadon
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Thriller Writer Lab