Secrets of Crafting Fast-Paced YA Thrillers with April Henry

Send us Fan Mail

It’s not every day that a bestselling author invites you into the secret world behind their creative process. In this episode, I sit down with April Henry, acclaimed writer of thirty-two mysteries and thrillers, to discuss how she crafts her gripping stories—making them both intricately plotted and beautifully accessible. Here, we dive into the wisdom and practical strategies April shared about writing, resilience, and reaching all readers.

Timestamp:

00:00 Finding Inspiration for Story Ideas
03:34 Blending Plotting with Pantsing
09:12 Tessa's DNA discovery and implications
12:56 Ensuring accuracy in medical details
15:20 Overcoming writing roadblocks
20:04 Persistence leads to publishing success
23:10 Writing books with teen protagonists
24:43 Making books exciting for readers
30:18 Starting a New Book
33:05 Writing through challenges and goals
37:03 Editing and revising chapters
40:21 Collaborating with an editor
43:23 Finding writing community and resources
47:44 Concerns about book censorship
48:55 Where to find April's work

Full show notes

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
📚 Write and Publish your book
🤫 Secret Podcast: Born to Write, Scared to Start
⭐ You're Allowed to Write This Book

CONNECT
📷 Instagram
🎬 TikTok
👫🏻 Facebook
💼 LinkedIn
🐦‍⬛ Twitter
🤝🏻 Apply to be a Guest

LEAVE A REVIEW
✍🏻 Review on Apple Podcasts
✍️ Review on Spotify

🖱️ Episode Webpage