RI Authors Showcase - Meet Glede Browne Kabongo

Nov 16

Written By

Welcome to the Rhode Island Authors Showcase! Each day in November, this blog will feature a different Rhode Island author. Read the post and leave a comment and you are eligible to win this day’s giveaway!

Leave a comment every day this month for over 30 chances to win either our Grand Prize (a $250 Amazon gift card), our Bonus Prize (a $100 Amazon gift card), or a Cheer-Up Prize (amount to be determined), just in time for holiday shopping!

A winner will be randomly selected one week after the publication of the blog post, and the Grand Prize and Bonus Prize winners will be randomly selected on December 7, 2021. For the daily giveaways, the author will contact you directly to coordinate delivery. Print books for delivery within the US only, please.

GLEDE BROWNE KABONGO writes gripping, unputdownable psychological thrillers—unflinching tales of deception, secrecy, danger, and family. She is the Eric Hoffer, Next Generation Indie and IPPY Award-winning author of the Fearless Series, Our Wicked Lies, Swan Deception, and Conspiracy of Silence. Her novel Winds of Fear was voted one of 24 Books to Read During the Coronavirus by Rhode Island Monthly Magazine.

Gledé holds a master’s degree in communications, and has spoken at multiple industry events including the Boston Book Festival. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime (SinC), Crime Writers of Color (CWoC), and The Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA). Gledé also leads workshops and webinars on fiction writing and publishing. Her writing blog can be found at www.gledekabongo.com/blog. She lives outside Boston with her husband and two sons.

3 Reasons Why I Write Diabolical Psychological Thrillers

By Gledé Browne Kabongo

One of my favorite aunts once told me that I had a diabolical mind. She had just finished reading one of my novels and while I took the observation as a compliment, what she really meant was that the type of stories I write don’t mesh with the girl she knows. Growing up, I was the good girl. I got good grades, never talked back to my parents, and went to church on Sundays. In my spare time, I was either buried in a book or listening to the BBC. Yes, I was that kind of nerd. So how did a timid girl who spent her formative years on a small Caribbean Island end up writing twisted, diabolical psychological thrillers?

Reason #1 - The Genre Chose Me

Binge reading Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Famous Five Mysteries was only the beginning. What took my obsession with mystery, suspense, and intrigue to another level was a 1980s Australian radio drama called "The Castlereagh Line." That drama taught me so much about nail-biting suspense, edge-of-your-seat thrills, cliffhangers, and ruthless, despicable, complicated villains. I’m looking at you, Jack Seager.

When I sat down to write my first novel, Conspiracy of Silence, I knew I wanted to include as many thriller elements as possible but also felt the need to dig deep into the motivations of my characters, their emotions, vulnerabilities, and deepest wounds. However, I wanted to do so through the lens of deception, misdirection, secrets, and lies, in an environment where nothing was as it seemed. At the time, I didn’t know there was a name for this type of story under the thriller umbrella until I was trying to figure out exactly what genre the book fell into. An editor I was working with at the time told me it was a psychological thriller and the rest as they say is history.

Reason #2 - The Inner Workings of the Human Mind Fascinate Me

The more seemingly normal a person appears, the more fascinated I am by the root cause of their deviant behavior, both in real life and in fiction. I went so far as to purchase the book, The Sociopath Next Door, and spent time understanding the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath. My understanding of the psychology behind what drives people to do horrific things or play with fire—oftentimes causing them to be ethically or morally compromised-—puts me in a great space to explore my characters and their motivations, flaws, and decisions they make that move the plot forward.

Reason # 3 – The Thrill of a Killer Twist

Although it’s a genre trope/expectation, one of my favorite things about writing gripping psychological thrillers is messing with the reader’s mind. It makes the big twist at the end so much more intense. My readers seem to like it, though. They will admit in reviews that they thought they had it all figured out until the plot took them in an entirely new and unexpected direction.

Many authors write in multiple genres. Will I ever consider doing so? Maybe one day in the very distant future. Right now, I’m having too much fun thinking of clever ways my characters can commit crimes and cause mayhem.

Find out everything you can about Gledé by visiting her website: https://www.gledekabongo.com/

Follow her on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/2sja9xfr

Gledé is giving away a copy of Our Wicked Lies to one lucky winner (I read it and highly recommend this one!). Just leave a comment on this post and/or answer this simple question: What keeps you awake at night?