In prolific screenwriter Daniel Pyne’s latest thriller, WATER MEMORY—Black Ops specialist Aubrey Sentro may be one concussion away from death. But when pirates seize the cargo ship she’s on, she must decide whether to risk her life to save her fellow passengers.

As she plays their deadly game of cat and mouse, she pushes herself to survive by focusing on thoughts of her children. She’s never told them what she really does for a living, and now she might not get the chance.

While her memories make her vulnerable, motherhood makes her dangerous.

Daniel and I also discuss his process for writing the novel his first series, and the similarities and differences between writing for film and television as opposed to novels.

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s latest thriller, HER PERFECT LIFE, Lily Atwood, is an award-winning on-air television reporter with a seemingly perfect life. A job she loves that earns her incredible celebrity status, a seven-year-old loving daughter, Rowen, who goes to a posh private school; and the perfect beautiful home in a safe neighborhood. But not everything is as perfect as it seems. Lily has several dark secrets—including the fact that her older sister disappeared when Lily was Rowen’s age.

This chilling psychological standalone has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, which called it "A superlative thriller." It has also garnered a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and is now nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Novel, and the iconic Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Like protagonist Lily, Hank is also a television news reporter. She and I discuss how the idea of this plot came to her; what about Lily’s on-air career mirrors her own; and how she overcomes the doubt every author faces: writing that next novel.

Novelist Josie Brown interviews best-selling author James Rollins on his thriller, CRUCIBLE.

Something old—in this case, an ancient witch hunter's tome—and something new: artificial intelligence, which goes by the less frightening initials AI.

When combined, they are a hair-raising combination in James Rollins' thriller, CRUCIBLE.

Rollins success as a thriller author comes from his research. His deep dives into subjects from our past always comes from not just asking, "What if?..." But "What if it's catastrophic to the world—or worse yet, world order?"

Since writing CRUCIBLE, AI's conquests is everywhere: not just the sciences but the arts too. Rollins saw it coming, making this 2018 interview prescient on too many levels.

For more information on Josie, her books, and her interviews, visit her website: JosieBrown.com