Discovery day with Kate Policani

Hi,

  Kate has been extremely generous to provide me her slot in the "Author Discovery" program that she runs on her blog. There is a day dedicated for each author, and I shall be having the slot on September 21st. to talk about "Cross Hair".

Do check out her blog at http://discoverauthors.wordpress.com/

What should be the ideal length for a Thriller

I have often wondered whether readers really have the patience to go through a book with about 150,000 words. Though the theme might be exciting and the plot knit taut enough, it often turns out that readers cannot devote time enough to read through it within a week's time. Prolonging the reading time to about a fortnight or sometimes even longer, results in the reader losing track of the plot at times, and thus losing the charm of the "read".

Shortening the book to say about 60,000-70,000 words would considerably reduce the 'reading time' that needs to be devoted to the book. However there might be people who might not perceive enough value in case the book is shorter and might not feel that they have got their money's worth. From the author's perspective, it takes much more effort to keep the book concise and yet make sure that the book does not get diluted with respect to it's plot or the quality as a whole. Hence, I feel that the effort required for concise shortened writing takes far more effort than a longer novel. 

However that just what I feel as an individual. I would like to know from others ( Readers as well as fellow Authors ) what they feel about this topic. Would you like a book with more than 150,000 words, or would you like a much more concise piece of work, which would demand lesser reading time, and yet have enough "juice" to quench the readers thirst?

Please leave your views in the comments.

Cross Hair

What do readers want from the sequel

"Cross Hair" was the first part of the series, "Trader of Souls". The people who have read it would know that 'Maria', the protagonist is out for vengeance against the murderers of Ralph, her husband. I In case you haven't read the first part, its available on Kindle store. The URL for that is:

 Buy "Cross Hair"

The second part of the series will obviously unfold the viscous international plot, that had started brewing in the first part. In addition to this, it may have several other approaches:

1. Tracking the history of Maria.
2. Pursuing Anatoly and the search of Elizabeth, the lost daughter of Henry and Lisa.
3. A lot of intrigue and suspense around what really lies in the murky depths of Lake Stolpsee.
4. Pursuing Jonathan's background and his associations with Bruck.

It would be quite interesting to hear from the readers about their ideas as to how the second part should unfold and how the thriller can be carried forward. I have formed a mould on how I would like the mystery to carry forward in the second book, but would definitely like reader feedback on how they would like it to progress.

Since it is a action based thriller, I would not like to add too much of romance into it. Apart from that any plan which keeps up with the basic premise of the series would be welcome.