Meeting Taylor Stevens.

The third day of ThrillerFest was filled with great panels, as well as an entertaining Anne Rice interview that was conducted by her son, Christopher Rice. Check out the highlights, photos and videos below.

Fist, Knife or Gun?

Fist, Knife or Gun?

• “It’s important to add vulnerability to your killer because no hero is all good and no villain is all bad.” – Wendi Corsi Staubb
• “Guns are usually the easiest way to assure someone is dead.” – Alex Berenson
• “My character isn’t setting out to kill people. So, for her, it’s about what’s available and what will work.” – Taylor Stevens
• “You take a lot of darkness into you when you write about people hurting other people. It’s really hard.” – Allison Brennan
• “You have to kill differently in different countries because of the cultures and the way people operate.” – D.L. Wilson

Keeping a Series Character Fresh.

Keeping a Series Character Fresh

• “My Davenport character has been around for more than 20 years. The way I handle it is he ages slower than everyone else.” – John Sanford
• “I loved my Charlie Hood series. But I didn’t want to be beholden to it. So, I decided to end it with my most recent book. I love the blank page, and I had to close one door to open another.” – T. Jefferson Parker
• “Paul Christopher appeared out of nowhere, and I never expected to see him again.” – Charles McCarry
• “In 10 books I’ve aged my character only one year because policemen retire at a certain age. But culturally I’ve moved the books along with each iteration.” – Peter James
• “I wanted to keep my character in an age frame that was believable as a prosecutor, so I aged her very slowly. And I think readers go along with that.” – Linda Fairstein
• “If Jessica Fletcher aged accurately, she’d be 175 years old. But I haven’t aged her a day.” – Donald Bain

Plotter or Pantser?

Plotter or Pantser?

• “I’m bi – sometimes I outline, sometimes I don’t.” – Michael Stanley
• “The biggest thing that sets thrillers apart is getting the tone right.” – David Rich
• “Harlan Coben is an organic writer. He once told me that he writes a story from start to finish and then revises it about 40 times.” – Diane Capri
• “Outlining is meant to help where you’re going, not mandate how you get there.” – Michael Robertson
• “43% of people put down thrillers because they run out of gas.” – Rick Anderson
• “I was a trial lawyer for many years and lived by the outline. Now I’m a loud and proud pantser.” – Joel Goldman

Anne Rice and her son, Christopher Rice.