There’s crime fiction, and then there’s crime fiction written by someone who actually knows what happens after the yellow tape goes up.
Former detective and forensic investigator Steve Rush brings real-world investigative experience to his writing, whether he’s teaching authors how to create believable murders or putting forensic expert Ridge Warner in the middle of one.
If you like your crime fiction grounded in the details or you’re a writer determined to get those details right, Steve Rush has you covered.
Strive for Uniqueness
Life in a place one person claimed got hotter after sunset than in the middle of the sunny afternoon will doubtless never become a best-place-to live city. That city is Atlanta, Georgia. My home. It is surrounded by places to enjoy outdoor activities, but best suited for writing in an air-conditioned room, begging for winters that avoid us most years.
Here are a few important bits I’ve learned about writing: Strive for uniqueness. Write for one reader. Write a character’s story told the way you talk to a friend.
Ideas for my stories stem from a growing up in a minister’s home and tenure investigating homicides and employment in a medical examiner’s office, which led to a forensic consulting job with national travel and investigations and plethora of ideas for novels.
The first literary agent I queried asked to read my work. I thought, “Okay, this is a good start.” He rejected it. Looking back. I understand why. Rejections are a major downer when they begin to fill file folders. I edited the story based on feedback and the recognition of this subjective business. I continued to write and read while I waited on a bright-future moment to shine on me.
I enjoy crime fiction and suspense/thriller novels. I enjoy writing in this genre for the challenge it offers in adding suspense, red herrings, and unexpected twists.
I am an organic writer. I outlined my first novel and changed much of what I had written in the process. I felt it best to let creativity take over. When I reach a sticking point, I ask, What if?
Craft alone is not enough. Readers know when include incorrect facts in our stories. Along with craft, we strive for authenticity, believability, and credibility to keep readers turning pages.
Accuracy reflects credibility and enhances belief. Facts paint images we want readers to see as if everything happens in their presence. This is one reason I wrote Kill Your Characters, a nonfiction book published by Genius Books in 2022.
In crime fiction, suspense, and thrillers, tips offered in Kill Your Characters show readers how to kill, collect evidence, investigate deaths and put together a case for prosecution. Each endeavor embraces appropriate facts and validates scenes. Like Jack Webb’s character Joe Friday in the TV series Dragnet, “All we want are the facts.”
I’m all-in for offering readers an impression of reality and adhere to self-imposed standards based on my experience in environmental and forensic pathology and medicine.
Details in fiction reflect real-world situations. The major difference is the writer’s personal perspective. A story’s foundation based on personal perception and response. Personal knowledge provides the foundation for writing what you know. The best part about the advice is, it works.
Life is full of encounters and experiences useful to every writer. A unique opportunity exists to write like no one else. No writer can tell a story from a perspective unique to other writers. The water and nutrients needed to make stories grow and thrive come from each writer’s viewpoint.
These are a writer’s assets. Uniqueness comes from personal aspirations and dreams, life experiences, life lessons, insights, nature and humanity, positive and negative emotional responses involving the five senses, pain and suffering, personal loss, love, sadness, happiness, grief, empathy, passions and interests, inspiration, loneliness, fears, desires, wants, disappointments and discoveries. Sensory details rate as one of the most powerful tools a writer uses for creating emotional depth.
I give life to characters and place them in true-to-life situations and watch their reactions and responses. I create a few based on a person’s unique name. Of course, I always ask permission and portray those characters as good people.
Two unique names, Ridge and Berky, became characters in my Ridge Warner thrillers, Blood Red Deceit and After Her Deceit, also published by Genius Books. I met Ridge in a Western store in Tennessee. Berky worked in a local jewelry store. More than surface characters, Ridge became the main character while Berky became Berky Raines, owner of Eagle Fire Lodge with a secret hidden from all except a select few.
When I write, I shut off my surroundings and become a spectator in my characters’ world. I get involved to the extent I have no clue what is going on around me.
Here are my responsibilities: Hook readers with the first sentence. Lure them with promise in the first paragraph. Embrace them through the first chapter and refuse to let go through every chapter thereafter until I write those important and satisfying words, “The end.”
A finished novel is only the first step toward success and I am honored to be a part of the Genius Books family.
Here are the opening lines from my upcoming novels.
“No room existed in my heart for mercy or forgiveness.” After Her Deceit, release date in September 2026.
“The note drew Detective Mike Canyon into a deviant’s game.” The Shocking Truth, release scheduled for late 2026.
“No one expected Wanda Norkum’s killer to investigate the scene of her murder.” Deadline 4:59, scheduled for release in 2027.
“A haunting specter clung to Nicholas Marek from the moment he heard the threat.” The Threat in His Shadow, scheduled for release in 2027.
“No one proved more adept at levying shame than Kellen’s father, Rodney Koufax.” Where the Pieces Fall, scheduled for release in 2028.
I want readers to experience my characters’ highs and lows the way I did while writing their stories and hope they approve of the way I fulfilled my promises. My objective is to transform readers into fans. I’ll do my best to live up to their expectations.
Steve Rush
Ready to step inside the crime scene?
🔎 Writers: Kill Your Characters: Crime Scene Tips for Writers gives you practical forensic knowledge for creating murders, evidence, investigations, and crime scenes that hold up under scrutiny.
🩸 Thriller readers: Start with Blood Red Deceit, where forensic expert Ridge Warner is pulled into a deadly investigation involving murder, secrets, shifting loyalties, and a truth that may cost him everything.
🎯 Then continue with After Her Deceit, where the danger becomes deeply personal and Ridge faces an adversary who knows exactly how to manipulate evidence, reality—and him.
Explore Steve Rush’s books from Genius Books and discover what happens when real forensic experience meets crime fiction.
