Meet Gledé
Stories are where secrets come alive.
Gledé Browne Kabongo is an award-winning psychological thriller author, speaker, and strategic communications leader, speaker. With more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communications, and a master's degree in communications, she explores the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and influence.
Her nationally recognized psychological thrillers have earned multiple literary awards and finalist honors, including the Silver Falchion Awards, Reader Views Literary Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), the Eric Hoffer Awards, and the National Indie Excellence Awards. Readers have praised her work as "gripping and powerful," "spellbinding," "razor-sharp," and "deliciously duplicitous."
Drawing on her experience leading strategic communications initiatives for global organizations and writing award-winning fiction, Gledé shares practical insights on storytelling, leadership communication, branding, marketing, creativity, and the psychology behind ideas that move people. She speaks at conferences, leads workshops and webinars, serves as Vice President of Sisters in Crime New England, and lives southwest of Boston with her family.
Gledé Browne Kabongo writes addictive psychological thrillers a
Award-Winning Psychological Thriller Author
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awards & recognition
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Silver Falchion Award Finalist
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Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner
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IPPY Award Winner
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Eric Hoffer Award Winner
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National Indie Excellence Award Winner
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Reader Views Literary Award Finalist
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Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist
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Bestthrillers.com Book Award Finalist
professional leadership
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Vice President, Sisters in Crime New England
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Strategic Communications Leader
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Master's in Communications
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20+ years in strategic marketing and communications
The Themes
What lives beneath the surface.
“I explore universal themes such as deception, secrecy, family, courage and resilience because they are staples of the human condition, and relatable on a universal level.”
Deception
Secrecy
Family
Courage
Resilience
The Craft
How suspense takes shape.
“The biggest source of suspense for me is character revelation.”
“But it's through the writing process, revising and refining that the suspense really builds.”
The Twist
The Questions
The Stakes
The Revelation
“When I sit down to write, I usually know what the plot twist at the end is going to be; I write out a ten-page outline that includes a few twists and turns.”
“It comes down to asking a lot of questions, maximizing both internal and external conflicts (can be a goldmine for suspense).”
“Making decisions about how to keep raising the stakes, and how to end each chapter to keep readers turning the pages.”
“Subplots also have their own ways of adding intrigue and suspense to the story because you never know when a seemingly harmless character might be hiding something sinister.”
What are the toughest scenes to write?
“Emotional scenes. As an author, it's my job to be authentic and true to the characters without being over the top. On the other hand, I know if I'm not feeling those emotions after the scene is written, then it won't pull readers in either. It's a delicate balance.”
Gledé Browne Kabongo
WHERE THE STORIES BEGIN
Where the next one begins.
“Inspiration can come from anywhere. For example, a conversation (my sisters-in-law have the juiciest stories), a news item, or even history. Writing a heist thriller inspired by the Gardner Museum theft is on my bucket list as an author.”