Tag Archives: thriller

Ravenna’s Road is up for pre-order now, coming 7/8/25!

Posted by lisavb2012 on

I’m thrilled to announce that my latest novel, Ravenna’s Road, is set for release by Crossroad Press on July 8, 2025. Meanwhile, it is available for pre-order in all the usual places: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Smashwords, and Google Play.

Here’s a little preview:

In the not-too-distant future, climate change wreaks havoc on agriculture, the economy, public health, and the very fabric of society. Everything is in short supply: food, water, money—and hope.

Convicted of a murder she did not commit, Ravenna opts for a work-based diversion program in place of prison time. She becomes a first responder in Chicago’s toughest and most desperate section. She faces violence, suicides, and danger on every shift.

One day, Ravenna learns the immense personal sacrifice that led to her conviction was in vain. The discovery drives her to take a risky leap. Determined to make a new life for herself one way or the other, she meticulously plans her escape to Mexico, then sets out on the road.

But she encounters far worse obstacles and dangers than she imagined—and there’s no turning back. Her plan in tatters, she has to find a way to reach a safe place to start over.

Will the road be Ravenna’s salvation—or her undoing?

A brief summary of my backlist titles…

Posted by lisavb2012 on

Since I finally finished my most recent work and sent it in to my publisher, I figured I would post a little synopsis of my existing titles. People ask me which one they should start with. Well, they are all independent of each other, so it depends more on the sort of things that interest you. Here goes (in chronological order of publication)!

The Genesis Code. My debut novel. I completed work in this in 2006 (it was first published in 2012)–long before DARPA started testing brain implants on veterans to alter memories and alleviate PTSD, and long before Musk got the idea. So I was there first, folks! This one’s about a mega tech company that decides it would be a good idea to surrepticiously implant brain chips in its employees to boost productivity. Too bad the scientest who developed the chip has other plans, and intends to use those employees as unwitting test subjects for his scheme.

The Janus Legacy. Jeremy Magnusson inherits SomaGene, his father’s successful custom organ cultivation and transplant company. He takes over operations, only to find his father had been secretly developing other sources for transplantable organs. Jeremy faces an enormous ethical dilemma, even more so when his severe Crohn’s Disease forces him to seek a transplant–or die.

Ash and Bone. This one’s a novella. It’s a little tale of a haunted motel in a harbor town–and how it got that way.

Blockbuster. I consider this one a “BigPharma” thriller. A deadly, flesh-eating bacteria is on the loose, the body count is rising. Competition is fierce among BigPharma companies to find the cure–and Denali Labs believes it’s developed a business model to guarantee its success. How far will they go?

Skinshift. This one’s a novella. Dominic Donato’s partners in crime try to cut him out of a deal. They leave him for dead in the Mojave desert, but he manages to survive. And he wants revenge more than anything. He acquires a special power out there in the desert, and plans to use it for revenge–and more.

Broken Chain. I consider this one a “BigAg” thriller. An unprecedented wave of senseless and brutal violence is sweeping the nation, livestock is dying in droves. What is going on? The CDC sends out teams to investigate, and Dr. Kyle Sommers tracks down the cause. Something has gone horribly wrong with the food chain…

Moon Over Ruin. This is also a novella. Peter Watson loses his pregnant wife in a tragic accident. Despondent, he gets on the road to go somewhere, anywhere. He stops for the night in an abandoned old resort on a lake, thinking he has the place to himself. He doesn’t. Will he make it through the night?

Down the Brink. This one is, hands down, the darkest novel I’ve ever written. Zach Winters works in IT for a large for-profit prison company, and learns the very dark secret of how they boost their profits and feed the pipeline. He risks everything to try to put a stop to it…

Incidental Findings. This novel introduces young attorney Nikki Avalon, and her character may eventually be the basis for a series. It’s part legal thriller, part medical thriller. Nikki takes over a major product liability lawsuit against SignalBoss cell phones after the prior attorney mysteriously disappears. The phone appears to be causing serious neurological harm, and Dirk Demerest, owner of SignalBoss, will stop at nothing to kill the lawsuit and conceal the truth.

Scorched Earth. In this one, the largest drought in history has led to the largest wildfires in history. When I wrote it, I thought I was being over the top in having the entire panhandle of Nebraska ablaze. Soon after, there were the huge fires in Australia and California, and my plot didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore. Jake and Lexi try to escape to the west coast with their baby Ava. Will they make it to safety and a better life?

These titles are available in all the usual places: Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, B&N, Google. The Genesis Code and Down the Brink are also available in audiobook format on Amazon. The only exception is Moon Over Ruin–it is solely available on Amazon in ebook and paperback forms.

Thanks for reading!

Lisa

At last! My latest novel submitted!

Posted by lisavb2012 on

There were times I thought it would never happen, but I did recover my momentum and completed my 11th fiction title (I put it that way because two of my books are novellas, not novels).

As I mentioned in a previous post, I started this novel in December 2019. I decided to try “pantsing” this one for a change of pace. I’ve always outlined first. Pantsing just doesn’t give me the path I need to write as productively as I like. And then came the pandemic and everything associated with that. At work, we were thrown back into dealing with a new foreclosure crisis. It was a lot.

Last summer, I decided pantsing was just not working for me, and outlined the rest of the story. That made all the difference. I finally finished the first draft, then the various editing cycles, and finally turned it in to my publisher, Crossroad Press, recently. It still needs the editing/cover art and all that, so I don’t have a launch date at this time. But it feels good to finally have it out of my hands.

It’s called RAVENNA’s ROAD. To give you a little preview, here’s my draft of the back cover copy:

In the not-too-distant future, climate change wreaks havoc on agriculture, the economy, public health, and the very fabric of society. Everything is in short supply: food, water, money—and hope.

Convicted of a murder she did not commit, Ravenna opts for a work-based diversion program in place of prison time. She becomes a first responder in Chicago’s toughest and most desperate section. She faces violence, suicides, and danger on every shift.

One day, Ravenna learns the enormous personal sacrifice that led to her conviction was in vain. The discovery drives her to take a risky leap. Disillusioned at throwing away her life for nothing, she meticulously plans her escape to Mexico, then sets out on the road.

But she encounters far worse obstacles and dangers than she imagined—and there’s no turning back. Her plan in tatters, she has to find a way to reach a safe place to start a new life.

Will the road be Ravenna’s salvation—or her undoing?

(Good heavens, this platform won’t let me do something as simple as indenting it, so I went with bolding.)

Stay tuned for updates!

Reflections on The Genesis Code and more…

Posted by lisavb2012 on

This month marks 12 years(!) since The Genesis Code’s original release–and something like 17 years or so since I began writing it. I’d written short stories–had some of them published–before I started on The Genesis Code. I wanted to get a feel for the process with a smaller number of words to wrangle. Even so, I remember plotting/outlining/drafting it. I often felt like I was out on the ocean in a rowboat without any navigation tools! But I finally got it done, wrapped it up right before starting law school. I (correctly) presumed I’d better wrap it up because I’d have time for little else during law school.

Darkfuse originally published The Genesis Code, and I kicked my writing back into gear (I’d done nothing but legal writing during/since law school at that point). Wrote/published a number of novels/novellas with Darkfuse in that time. Darkfuse closed down, then Crossroad Press re-released all my Darkfuse titles and released a couple of new titles as well (Down the Brink and Scorched Earth). Somewhere along the way, I self-published a novella (Moon Over Ruin) that had originally been solicited by another publisher.

I took a little break from writing after my latest novel, Scorched Earth, came out. Started my current work-in-progress in late 2019. Decided to try “pantsing” it for a change (I’m a devout outliner). That was a huge mistake. Between the pandemic and the lack of a roadmap for the plot, the manuscript grew at a snail’s pace. It was hard for me to pick up and work on it when I didn’t have a clue what was happening next. Some writers can do that, and they do it well (I’m looking at you, Allan Leverone). I’m admitting here and now, that ain’t me.

I think it was sometime last summer, I picked the manuscript up yet again and came to that conclusion. I needed to stop and outline or it would never get done. It’s made all the difference. Yeah, it’s not done yet. I retired earlier this year, and am adjusting to a very different rhythm, catching up on neglected tasks around the house and all. Now I am within spitting distance of the end of the first draft, which is the hardest part, so that’s good!

Anniversaries always make me reflect on things, and so Genesis’s 12-year anniversary prompted me to take a look back at its origin, what I’ve done since, and where things are now in my writing life. I’ve been quiet for a while, but I’m not gone!

Thanks for reading…

Lisa

The Genesis Code was there first…

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So, Mr. Musk has done it. He’s implanted a chip in a human brain. Well, *he* didn’t do it, some robot did. 

My debut novel, The Genesis Code, was originally published in May 2013. And I actually completed the manuscript in 2006. In other words, I beat him to it by a long shot. 

And of course, being one of *my* novels, some things go terribly, terribly wrong in the plot. The implant ends up being a sort of Trojan horse, supposedly doing one relatively benign and useful thing, but in reality doing a hell of a lot more so the inventor can try out some things under the radar. 

The news story this morning: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/elon-musks-neuralink-implants-brain-chip-in-first-human/ar-BB1hsnrD

Actually, I thought DARPA had been trying out implants to tackle PTSD for a while now…but still long after The Genesis Code dreamed it up.

Elon Musk has nothing on me…

Posted by lisavb2012 on

So, he’s working on an implantable brain chip, is he?

That idea occurred to me way back in the early 2000s. It fascinated me, so I wrote a short story centered on the concept. Never ended up published–instead, I realized the idea demanded a longer format. So I wrote a novel, finished it up right before I started law school in 2006.

And that novel–The Genesis Code–was first published by DarkFuse in 2013, later re-released by Crossroad Press.

Things don’t turn out so well for the characters in the novel…perhaps Mr. Musk should read my book before he goes too far…

Find it here: The Genesis Code on Amazon

Not all prisons are made from concrete and razor wire…

Posted by lisavb2012 on

I’ve written some dark fiction in my day. And my most recent novel, Scorched Earth, is no exception. But I still think the darkest thing I’ve ever written–and am ever likely to write–remains Down the Brink.

The novel takes the concept of for-profit prisons, sets it in the near future, and then adds something to the business model that I hope never happens in real life. I’ll leave it at that lest I give away the plot!

My narrator for the audiobook, Daniel Dorse, summed it up well. He had read through the novel to prepare his performance, and commented thusly: “ain’t you just a ray of sunshine!”

Yep, that’s me. For-profit prisons, firestorms, broken food chains, mind control, human clones, BigPharma gone bad. You name it, I can find the darkside…

Happy Halloween!

Down the Brink–audiobook

Down the Brink–ebook

Down the Brink by [Lisa von Biela]

So, it’s been a while…for a lot of things…

Posted by lisavb2012 on

Hello out there…

I realize it’s been quite a while since I posted anything here.  There just hasn’t been much to post about, and I’m no good at posting for the sake of posting.  I posted about the release of my newest novel, Scorched Earth, when it came out last fall.  Then Australia pretty much caught on fire, and I posted about that–how I thought Scorched Earth was perhaps a little far-fetched as I wrote it, and how the fires in Australia were proving me wrong.  I figured no way could an area the size of the Nebraska panhandle *really* burn down.  And I’m being proven wrong again by the fires right now in California, Washington, Oregon, and elsewhere.  

I started a new novel back in December.  This would be my 11th title overall.  I decided to try a new approach.  As some of you may know, I’m a dedicated outliner.  I plan out my plots, the timing, and so forth before I begin drafting.  Why?  A lot of reasons.  For one, the nature of my plots often demands that I have the timing of events right.  I’d rather do that in an outline than while wrangling a novel-length manuscript.  Another important reason is to give myself an easy-to-pick-up roadmap so if I get tied up with work or other things I can easily jump back in where I left off in the draft and get moving.  For this one, I decided to try pantsing it.  Why not, right?

So I started a novel where the protagonist is on the road, fleeing something, trying to get somewhere.  The country around her is deserted, a wasteland (she’s in the Midwest right now, where there should be plenty of farming activity).  I like what I’ve written so far, but I didn’t decide at the outset what the underlying problem was.  And so I got stuck, despite a good start.  It’s at a point where I need to know what she’s running from/to.

And the the pandemic hit.  I am fortunate to be able to work from home and stay safe.  But, to be honest, it’s making it even harder to pick up on writing this novel.  Those of you familiar with my work know I tend toward the dystopian on a regular basis.  And right now, I just can’t seem to muster the urge to write dystopian when it seems like dystopia is all around us.  I’ve not given up on the novel, but I am feeling stalled out.  

Do people even want to read dystopian novels in this environment?  I don’t know.  I do know I just can’t find it in me to switch to writing romance novels!

Meanwhile, I’ve been spending time with this little beauty…started playing dulcimer almost two years ago, then picked up a Fender acoustic guitar last December.  And then this…love my shell pink Strat!  (In the interest of full disclosure, I have a long way to go…still very much learning, so no gigs for me!)

Strat shoot from NEF to JPEG

And I thought I was writing fiction…

Posted by lisavb2012 on

Apparently not.

My newest novel, Scorched Earth, takes a look at what it might be like to live in extreme drought conditions.  What would day-to-day life be like?  The economy?  I envisioned the criminalization of water waste, massive unchecked wildfires large enough to engulf the Nebraska panhandle, and more.  My characters, Jake and Lexi and their baby daughter Ava, are forced to flee their home–fast–when a huge fire takes aim at their town.  They think life will be better in California, and take off through Nevada with a hasty plan.  Let’s just say things don’t go as planned for them…

I started writing this novel back in early 2017, wrapped it up and sent it to my publisher about a year ago.  When I started on the book, big fires were certainly in the news–but nothing like the mega-fires we’re seeing in so many places, and especially in California right now.

I really thought I was writing something a bit over the top, a dystopian near-future novel.  Fiction.  It frightens and saddens me that it isn’t so fictional after all.  My heart goes out to all the people affected and all the firefighters putting their lives on the line.

My 10th title, Scorched Earth, has arrived!

Posted by lisavb2012 on

Well, mostly.  The paperback was released today on Amazon, and the ebook is available for preorder, should be available mid-September.

I’m very excited about this book.  I began working on it in early 2017, wanted to do a climate-change/drought-related thriller this time around.  I had no way to know it would become as topical as it has, with all the horrendous, tragic fires that have taken place in the meantime.

I hope you check it out…and that you have pleasant dreams…or not!

Find it on Amazon

Scorched Earth cover