Meet Our Thrilling Members!
From emerging writers to best selling authors, we’ve got a great community of writers writing strong women in thrillers! 
Best-Selling Author
AK Weller
AK Weller writes thrillers with strong female leads. While working as a graphic designer, private investigator, and technical writer, she wrote and published her first novel, Enemy Closer, in 2022. She hopes the late Sue Grafton and Stieg Larsson wouldn’t be too mortified to know they’re the two authors whose work has influenced her the most. She loves dinosaurs, Krav Maga, and art history; and she hates spiders, Subarus, and carrots. AK lives in Montana with her husband, two dogs, and four cats.
With an amazing new book and more on the way, AK Weller has a great thrilling read. You can find more information and her email sign-up here.
You can find her latest book on Amazon!
Emerging Writer
Kara Smith
Kara Smith is a career intelligence analyst and Air Force OIF/OEF Veteran. After separating from the military she continued her work in counter-terrorism first at the NSA and later working at the FBI.
Kara has dedicated herself to the pursuit of hunting criminals worldwide. Her expertise in intelligence began serving in the United States Air Force deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan. This is where she honed her expertise in various fields, including SIGINT and All Source Analysis. Throughout her career, she has served esteemed organizations such as the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), National Security Agency (NSA), Air Force Office of Special Investigation (AFOSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other law enforcement entities from coast to coast. Find out more about her consulting here: https://karasmithconsulting.com/
When she isn’t busy being a workaholic she is a single mother, an outdoor adventure addict, a movie buff, an animal lover, and an aspiring writer. You can find her shiny new author website here: https://karasmithbooks.com/
Award-winning author
Amy Rivers
Amy Rivers is an award-winning novelist, as well as the Director of Northern Colorado Writers.
She was named 2021 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project. Her psychological suspense novels incorporate important social issues with a focus on the complexities of human behavior.
Her most recent novel, STUMBLE & FALL, is the second book in the A Legacy of Silence series.
Amy was raised in New Mexico and now lives in Colorado with her husband and children More on her website.
Or find her book on Amazon.
Best-selling Author
Michelle Tennant Nicholson
Good Morning America Producer Mable Chan calls Wasabi Publicity’s Chief Creative Officer Michelle Tennant Nicholson a “five-star publicist,” but Michelle calls herself a “storyteller to the media.” An award-winning writer, Michelle peppers PR campaigns with insight from her master’s degree in human development, BFA from a top 25 drama school, and expertise seeing PR transition from typewriters to Twitter.
She is the author of “The Dairy Princess Chronicles: My Journey to W.R.I.T.E. the Trauma,” in which she shares how she at 17 years old incarcerated the neighborhood pedophile, healed her own mental injury, achieved a life filled with happiness, and shows others how to pursue the same. She writes a blog “Mental Injury is not Mental Illness: From Fight, Flight, Freeze to Flow” at Psychology Today.
Sign up for her email list here.
Find her short story, true crime thriller here.
Best-selling author
Kaitlyn Krna
Kaitlyn Krna lives in Western New York and is an avid lover of coffee and books. She is an insurance nerd by day and an Amazon best-selling author by night. She lives with her orange tabby cat, Luke Skywhisker, and her goldendoodle, King Wicket. On Sundays, during football season, she can often be found screaming her heart out for the Buffalo Bills. She writes thrillers and mysteries under the pen name Kellie Katrin and has a fantasy series in the works under a pen name that is soon to be established.
Her most recent work is the contemporary fiction piece, What We Can’t Leave Behind.
She can be found at kaitkrna.wordpress.com and on Instagram @kait.k.writes
Emerging Author
Tanya Hagel
Tanya is a multi-genre author who lives off of chai and writes under the pen name Harper Riley. Her lovefor psychological thrillers, mystery, and true crime started when she was in second grade. She wrote:“On the Wings of Death” for her English assignment. It earned her a week’s suspension.
Her first published work “Ghosted” is slated to be released at the end of 2023.
Tanya farms in the middle of Nowhere, North Dakota. Her goat and lamb have been known to hijack UPS vans and keep power pole linemen up a pole for three hours.
She is the mother of two beautiful queens and the grandmother of eight grandsons and one granddaughter.Her author assistants are her parrot and five dogs. The parrot is the reason all voice-responsive devices are not allowed in the house. It took the parrot a day to spend what was in the online bank account on bird food, particularly peanuts.
Tanya’s education includes criminal justice, gemology, paleographic, heraldic, and genealogical geneticsciences.
Her life has been connected with the military since birth. Her father proudly served in the Navy and she has been contracted with the Air Force for several years.
She is currently the Executive Producer for Book Talk on Booktok, with several other productions in the making. If you would ever like to be interviewed, let her know. She proudly supports and promotes the independent book industry.
Best-selling Author
Pat McGregor
Pat, like many other retired grandmothers, is active on Facebook and has two cats. During her 35-year IT career she worked on the project that built the modern Internet backbone, and helped physically build some of the first modern routers used on that backbone.
Pat likes to write speculative fiction. Most times it is paranormal romance with a dash of urban romance thrown in.
You can find her current published witchy romance here.
Emerging author
Dominique Jones
More about Dominique coming soon!
CEO & award-winning author
Sonja Dewing
Sonja Dewing is an award-winning author for her adventure/thrillers, loves travel, drinking too much coffee, and lives with her giant puppy, Bo.
An agent told her no one would ever read an adventure book with a main female character. She proved him wrong.
Her most recent novel, Castoffs of the Gods, is the third book in the Idol Maker series.
Sonja Dewing started the WTWA to help other women write, publish and sell their books.
You can sign up for her email and receive two free short stories here.
Find her books at sonjadewing.com
Or on Amazon.
Emerging Author
Andi McDowell
More about Andi coming soon!
Best-Selling Author
Debbie Collins
Deb Collins is a thriller writer from Austin, TX. She is an active member of the Women’s Thrillers Writers Association and the Writers League of Texas.
She is a life-long copyeditor and self-professed grammar nerd. If she’s not at home, you can find her on the tennis court, the soccer field, or at a Tex-Mex restaurant. Or maybe in Mexico.
Stay tuned for her thriller works-in-progress, and you can find her latest thriller here.
Emerging writer
Ursula Vogt
More about Ursula coming soon!
Emerging writer
Daphne
More about Daphne coming soon!
Best-Selling Author
Dita Dow
Dita Dow is a Best-Selling Author who enjoys crafting stories that sweep you into thrillingadventures. With over three decades of experience in law enforcement, private investigations,and consulting, she possesses a deep understanding of the human psyche, which she skillfullyweaves into her narratives.Her passion lies in all things: mystery, thriller, and the supernatural, where she takes readers on mesmerizing journeys into the unknown.Beyond her writing, Dita’s adventurous spirit propels her along rugged hiking trails, discoveringarchaeological wonders, and on globetrotting adventures. She calls New Mexico home, whichshe shares with her family, a plump feline, a pampered horse, and a tortoise.To uncover more about Dita and her enthralling storytelling, visit www.ditadow.com. Immerseyourself in her gripping psychological thrillers, including “Cave of Terror” and “The Deceiver’sCasket,” currently available on Amazon.She has also been an avid adventurer since growing up in the American Southwest. She loves hiking, exploring hidden archaeological sites, andtraveling around the world.
Visit her website at: www.ditadow.com
Best-selling author
Saleema Lookman
Saleema is an emerging thriller writer. By day she is an established content and copywriter and crafts pet-focused content for a digital publication as well as technical articles for various veterinary journals.
However, by night Saleema writes unsettling stories inspired by her own deep fears. Her medical background and passion for research allow her to create twisted thrillers based on truths that will make your pulse race.
Saleema also enjoys updating her blog, Fearless Phrases, along with journaling, running, reading, crocheting, and spending time with her pets.
Folllow Saleema on Instagram for updates on her work.
Subscribe to her newsletter here.
Or, check out her best-selling short story, Haunting Figures: A Psychological Thriller Story – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1B84Q2W/
Emerging writer
Michelle Tinkham
Michelle Tinkham is a nurse and animal chaplain, both of which have had a huge influence on her writing. She has written many professional articles, a children’s book, “Becoming Chloe,” and is currently working on a pet loss memoir.
In her spare time, she is a nature lover and avid photographer. She is now branching out to write on other topics, specifically thrillers and horror, two of her favorite genres. She shares her home in Texas with 4 dogs and 2 cats.
Emerging Author
Joanne Bolnick
Joanne Bolnick was born in New York and graduated college with a degree in English. The inspiration for her story came after frequent trips to the Caribbean when her husband owned a Long Island scuba shop. She has always had an interest with both the scuba and the thriller genre, with some of her favorite authors being Dean Koontz, Nelson DeMille, Nick Sullivan, and Clive Cussler.
Joanne worked for a small book publisher as an editor and held a position as a local newspaper reporter in NY. She now lives in Utah with her husband of 36 years, two children, and five grandchildren. Her grandchildren’s names appear in her novel. She also named her dog, Tucker, after a key character in the book.
Joanne writes as a hobby and has begun the sequel to her novel. She is a full-time project manager for a large essential oil company in Utah. She enjoys the outdoors, specifically pheasant hunting, Jeeping, and hiking. She and her husband enjoy entertaining and travel, as well.
Editor
Lisa McCoy
Lisa McCoy is a freelance editor of fiction and non-fiction. She’s been helping authors turn their writing dreams into reality for 13 years and counting. She performs a variety of editorial services—developmental editing, line/copy editing, proofreading, beta reads—and seeks to connect with each writer’s voice and goals for their story. Lisa joined WTWA to level up her book world skills and knowledge—all-the-better to support authors.
Lisa is an avid reader with a taste for science fiction. Ask about her retro-SF collection! Lately, her stack-to-read is filled with brilliant books and short stories by WTWA authors and other self- and indie-published authors. Lisa has a passion for supporting artists—including writers!—and her house is filled with sculptures and paintings and book shelves. Her favorite flow activity is baking; her specialty are pies so yummy that she won’t eat store-bought pies anymore. Lisa lives in Albuquerque by way of a brief stint in Colorado after having grown up and lived in California for the first half of her life.
Visit Lisa McCoy’s editing website here.
Emerging writer
Courtney Ripoll-McBride
Courtney is an emerging writer in a few different genres. She’s based out of North Dakota, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and three dogs. Courtney completed her M.B.A. and is excited to start her Doctorate of Business Administration journey.
Courtney contributed a chapter to the collaborative book Infertility Success: MORE stories of Help and Hope for Your Journey that released April 2023.
She spends some of her free time as host of the Ripollsworkshop Reads Podcast where she has the exciting opportunity to interview authors about their books and writing journey.
Follow Courtney and her journey on Instagram and Youtube.
Best-Selling Author
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Emerging writer
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