Rachael Herron is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thriller (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction.

She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she teaches writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford and she is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. Today we’ll be talking about her thriller Stolen Things.

In this episode Rachael and I discuss:

• Where she believes plot originates
• The importance of sensitivity readers and what to ask them to do
• How to navigate voice when writing a novel from multiple POVs

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About R.H. Herron

Rachael Herron is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thriller (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she teaches writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. She’s a New Zealand citizen as well as an American.

You can find her at her website, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Stolen Things

Stolen Things, releasing in paperback on Aug 11th, is based on true events, written by an ex-911 dispatcher: With one call, her daughter’s life is on the line.

Laurie Ahmadi has worked as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California town for almost two decades, but nothing in her nearly twenty years of experience could prepare her for the worst call of her career—her teenage daughter, Jojo, is on the other end of the line. She is drugged, disoriented, and in pain, and even though the whole police department springs into action, there is nothing Laurie can do to help.

Jojo, who has been sexually assaulted, doesn’t remember how she ended up at the home of Kevin Leeds, a pro football player famous for his work with the Citizens Against Police Brutality movement, though she insists he would never hurt her. And she has no idea where her best friend, Harper, who was with her earlier in the evening, could be. With Kevin’s freedom on the line and the chances of finding Harper unharmed slipping away, Laurie and Jojo begin to realize that they can’t trust anyone to find Harper except themselves, not even the police department they’ve long considered family . . . and time is running out.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 318

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The post Episode 318: Voice, Pacing, and Sensitivity: The Art of Writing a 911 Thriller – Interview with R.H. Herron appeared first on DIY MFA.