Guest Blog: How to Write a Thriller - Brian Drake

I suppose my “How To” title may throw off some folks who think James Reasoner is going to share the secret to how he writes so much, but I’m afraid he’ll have to divulge those secrets at a later date. My name is Brian Drake, and James has graciously allowed me to use this space to talk about my latest indie spy novel, SHOW NO MERCY.


When I first started on the indie route last year I did not like the “indie author” title. I thought that was a PC feel-good term used to make such people feel like they were actually accomplishing something. My original intent with an ebook was to build an audience that I could take to a traditional publisher to show them I had the chops. Well, one year later, I am embracing the “indie” title. Why? I’m having more fun promoting and selling my work on my own than I ever dreamed I would. I’m going to keep doing it. The checks that come in the mail are very nice, indeed.


For SHOW NO MERCY, I wanted to do a story about a conflict in a family, and thought that taking that subject matter into the established spy thriller genre would be a nice twist. In the story we have a son and daughter who are faced with the possibility that their father, who taught them their values and helped shaped their beliefs, has betrayed those beliefs. All three are CIA officers. The kids—if I can use that term when referring to 30-somethings—have to determine if Dad has truly done what he’s accused of, or if he is being manipulated.


I wanted this spy story to have a stronger emphasis on the characters and their connection to one another than spy novels of the past. I also wanted an adventure that didn’t reference any current political or social event. You can read SHOW NO MERCY and not be hit in the face with the same issues that boiled your brain during the day. This book is pure escapism in the truest sense. I think that’s how any writer should approach a story of this type, and what we need right now. Too much “entertainment” lately revels in current events. Sorry, but I have had enough of the news. I want to read a story that takes me away from all that. Don’t you?


I hope you give SHOW NO MERCY a try. If you like stories with a lot of action and good characters and one that has a twist at every turn, this is for you.