For a novel to a page-turner, it doesn't have to feature a serial killer or ticking time bombs or car chases. It does need characters who the reader cares about and a story that unfolds and builds forward momentum. In this talk, Hallie Ephron will reveal the secrets to giving a story and scene structure, tension, and a viewpoint to build that forward momentum, and to putting your characters in the driver's seat.

Hallie Ephron is the author of eight novels, most recently the bestselling There Was an Old Woman. Her award-winning Never Tell a Lie was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network. Her Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel was nominated for an Edgar Award. Her work has been called "unputdownable" (Laura Lippman), "Hitchcockian" (USA Today), and "deliciously creepy" (Publishers Weekly). Hallie also reviews crime fiction for the Boston Globe.

The Writing Life events in 2013 were generously underwritten by Jenny Lawrence.