HeyJaredSlaying the Craft: Inside the Mind of a Thriller Writer
Mystery and thriller fanatic, Sabrina Thatcher, interviews some of the best thriller, chiller, and mystery writers working today. Go inside the mind of a thriller writer to discover how they tap into the darkness that taps away something animalistic in all of us.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 4
- Latest publication
- Sep 4, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Aug 6, 2026
Latest episodes
Crafting Cozies Wrapped in Leather Jackets with Mindy Carlson (opens the original)
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Sabrina Thatcher sits down with Anthony Award–nominated mystery author Mindy Carlson for a lively conversation about writing mysteries that are dark, funny, and distinctly human. Carlson discusses the Reddit inspiration behind her short story Am I the Asshole for Using My Husband’s Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson? , her love of mysteries as puzzles with satisfying solutions, and the process behind what she calls her “leather jacket cozies”—stories that retain the relatable characters and community o
Crafting the Dark and Twisted with Brianna Labuskes (opens the original)
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Sabrina Thatcher sits down with bestselling author Brianna Labuskes to talk about her new thriller Clean Slate , which follows crime-scene cleaner Olive Hunt as she becomes unexpectedly entangled in a murder investigation. Brianna discusses the research behind Olive’s childhood with a mother who has contamination OCD, the importance of portraying mental illness responsibly, and the book’s larger themes of friendship, community, and learning to accept help. The conversation then moves deep into c
Crafting a Mystery Thriller Horror Mashup with Elizabeth Urso (opens the original)
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Sabrina Thatcher sits down with Canadian author Elizabeth Urso to talk about her debut novel Hail Mary , a genre-blending thriller about a woman returning to her Northern Ontario hometown, her family’s infamous funeral business, and the disturbing discovery of human remains inside a school time capsule. Elizabeth shares how grief and anger unexpectedly shaped the novel, including a second POV character who became an outlet for emotions she didn’t initially realize she was processing. She also di
Four Thriller Writers go to a Writing Retreat in Italy (opens the original)
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Sabrina Thatcher, Duke Craig, Renda Knapp, and Chris Wendel unpack their experiences at the Leopardi Writing Conference in Italy. They share the craft lessons that stuck with them—from watching authors line edit in real time and learning how to hook readers in those crucial opening pages to the now-infamous “Finlay Fix”—along with candid advice about receiving feedback, making the most of workshops, and knowing what you want from a conference. They also discuss the importance of finding communit
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