Somerset Maugham once said that he loved to read detective stories and that he wished that he had been clever enough to write one himself. Exaggerated modesty, we might think considering his talent. But I had this statement in mind as I read his famous short story Rain. It occurred to me that the story is built like a thriller. The prostitute that is harassed by the missioner strikes back in the most refined way. Alfred Hitchcock could have been the designer of the horrifying end.

I wonder what had happened if Somerset Maugham's publisher had introduced the story as a thriller. We don't know of course, but considering people were divided on the issue of thriller writing those days, some of his upper class readers had probably refused to read the story. Today we know that some of the best writers devote to the thriller and mystery genre.

One other of my favorites is John Steinbeck. I don't know if I would call Of Mice and Men a thriller, but I know that the psychology behind the plot is very exciting. I also know that John Steinbeck's crystal clear writing has a strong influence on my way of telling a story.

I'm not sure that my new thriller On No Account is written in the spirit of any of these great writers but I know that their writing remains a source of inspiration to me.

Yours Albert Loren