Tapping out stories from a roadside food stall in Bangkok or crafting a chase scene from a back-alley bar in Prague—just another Tuesday in the life of this nomadic thriller author.
In April of 2013, I sold everything I owned and bought a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia. My plan was simple: travel and write books. Not much strategic thinking went into this adventure. All I knew was that it would be one wild ride. By far the best decision I ever made.
Why Chaos Creates Better Thrillers
I've always loved working outside traditional office spaces—coffee shops, strip mall food courts, park benches. The more chaotic the setting, the better I write. I thrive on the swirl of activity. On the rare occasion it gets too crazy, I’ll throw on headphones and let the music do the filtering.
My creativity explodes in environments full of movement and noise. It's surprisingly easy to craft a complex plot twist in the middle of a bustling fish market—especially if I'm snacking on grilled snapper and sipping an ice-cold beer.
Here’s what most writers miss: that chaos isn’t just background noise. It’s fuel.
How Travel Became My Secret Weapon
Travel has made my thrillers come alive in ways a home office never could. The more experiences I collect, the more authentic details I have to pull from. Like the time I helped get a friend out of a Malaysian jail. Or when a Vietnamese woman told me about her forbidden love affair with an American military officer during the war. Those aren’t just memories—they're seasoning for my thrillers.
This fast-paced life fuels the page-turning energy in my stories. I doubt I could write bingeable thrillers from a sleepy suburban routine. Reading on a beach? Sure. But writing takes chaos, caffeine, and the occasional curveball.
The High-Concept Breakthrough
It's not always dramatic traveling situations that spark my best ideas.
While in Vietnam, I was reading an article in a local English-language paper about fake rice—yes, fake rice—flooding the Vietnamese market. This got me thinking about fake goods in general, and how the Chinese had become masters at counterfeiting everything from luxury handbags to ancient artifacts.
Then my brain made that leap: What if they took it a step further and counterfeited people?
That single "what if" moment led to my USA Today bestseller Suitcase Girl—a high-concept thriller about human trafficking with a twist that readers never see coming. A perfect popcorn thriller.
Why Routine Kills Creativity (And Thrillers)
Routine kills creativity, and creativity is what separates addictive thrillers from forgettable ones. When I feel stuck, I change locations—sometimes a new café, sometimes a new country.
The result? Forty-eight books and counting, each one loaded with details pulled from real life. When my protagonist navigates a back-alley bar owned by the local mafia, readers know I’ve actually been in one. When a character sidesteps an elephant on a sidewalk, it’s because I did too.
That authenticity is what keeps readers bingeing. They trust that everything else I’m telling them is equally real, equally possible, equally terrifying. I write thrillers, but I live the plot twists.
If you’re into binge-worthy thrillers with fierce women, twisty plots, and globe-trotting danger, check out my latest release, DarkBright. It’s everything I just described—poured into one unputdownable story.