Archives for April 2016

‘War Hawk,’ A Conversation with James Rollins

April 19, 2016 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

James Rollins is known to millions of readers. His bestselling thrillers have been translated into more than forty languages. His books are noted for their originality, scientific authenticity and breakthroughs; as well as for being rich in historical facts and in revealing secrets ranging from findings far beneath the earth’s surface to those deep within its seas.

Along with co-author Grant Blackwood, James has launched a compelling spin-off series from his popular Sigma books. The first was The Kill Switch, featuring Tucker Wayne, a former Army Ranger, and his military working dog, Kane.

In War Hawk, the second novel in the series, a former army colleague needs Tucker’s help. She’s on the run with her son from assassins. In his efforts to help, Tucker must learn who killed a brilliant young woman—a crime whose roots go back to the most powerful people in the U.S. government. Tucker, with Kane’s help, must unravel a mystery which began in World War II and involved Alan Turing, the genius mathematician largely responsible for breaking the German Enigma code during the War.

In War Hawk, Tucker Wayne is still suffering from the psychological effects of war. Tell us about that.
One of the goals of writing the series was to explore PTSD. I wanted to examine a specific variation of PTSD, something I’d heard about while working with veterans’ organizations. It’s called moral injury.

During war, soldiers are often asked to do things defying their internal moral codes. Each of us has a moral compass built into us—one differentiating right from wrong. Because of the necessities of war, powerful strain may be put on that compass causing it to break. It can bring about a type of PTSD that can initially go unnoted, but manifests itself years later. The therapy for moral injury is different from that for the more frequently seen form of PTSD. While medication and counselling are typically given for the more frequently seen type of PTSD, medication doesn’t help for moral injury. The treatment is generally the passage of time and psychotherapy. It takes time to repair that moral compass. With Tucker, I wanted to shine a light on this aspect of the pathology.

Tucker’s relationship with Kane, his Belgian Malinois, is a central element of both War Hawk and The Kill Switch. Do these military dogs really have the intelligence and extensive receptive vocabulary depicted in the books?
They do. For The Kill Switch, I did extensive research, spoke to dog handlers, and went to Lackland Air Force base. I had a good understanding of these dogs. After The Kill Switch was published, I received some raised-eyebrows responses to the question of whether these dogs could really do what was depicted in the novel.

I inquired more deeply and learned what I was doing with Kane was completely realistic. In fact, I was told, ‘These dogs can do all that, but if anything, Jim, you’re pulling their reins back. Actually, these dogs are more capable than what you depicted in The Kill Switch.’ When writing War Hawk, I wanted to show what these dogs can truly do.

In The Kill Switch, Kane was obeying Tucker’s orders. War Hawk highlights these dogs’ true intelligence; they can think on the fly, listen to an order and make judgments in the field. When necessary, they can alter their behavior beyond the orders they were given to bring about the desired results. In this novel, Kane shows he can think independently.

What kind of receptive vocabulary do these dogs have?
A real-life military dog named Chase, an Australian shepherd, has a vocabulary of over a thousand words. So of course, Kane had to have at least that extensive a vocabulary [Laughter]. Most of these dogs have about half that vocabulary. But more amazing is this: they can link commands; they can follow a chain of commands in the exact order in which they were given. It’s also a reflection of the bond between the human being and the dog. We sometimes find when a handler is no longer in service and the dog is switched to another person, the vocabulary diminishes. But with time, as the new bond develops, that previous vocabulary is re-established.

War Hawk has incredible details about warfare technology—especially tracking and hacking devices along with ‘intelligent’ drones. Tell us about that.
In the novel, I wanted to explore drone technology because it’s been in the news. At first, I thought the notion of nearly invisible, semi-autonomous drones was pushing the envelope a bit. But as I was completing the work, I learned this had become a reality. When I began the novel, I thought I was writing something bordering on science fiction, but during the course of writing it, drone technology not only caught up but surpassed what I had envisioned. Recently, Elon Musk, the Tesla creator, and Steven Hawking have advised banning these war machines because they could be so dangerous.

Yes, in fact, some of the technology described in War Hawk, reminds me of the machines in the film, Terminator.
We’re getting to that point. A general recently announced he’s growing concerned because we’re now building drones capable of making their own decisions on “Shoot to Kill” orders. Once given the task, these machines can lurk overhead, evaluate situations and shoot on their own volition. They no longer need human guidance. It’s quite frightening to realize that we may be relinquishing human involvement and will no longer have total control over these drones, especially when we consider drones take lives.

When not working with a co-author, how do you approach the process, from doing research to producing the completed project?
Typically, I’ll spend ninety days researching the history or science to be included in the novel. I’ll also look at locations for the novel’s setting. At the same time, I build a skeletal plot to the story. By the ninety-first day, I have a rough outline and the major points of the novel are researched.

I then begin to write,, though with each day more things come up requiring research—some minutiae or facts to fill in certain blanks. It takes about six to seven months to complete the first draft; then another month or two to do a final polish. Then, off it goes to the editor.

I can write for five hours a day before feeling burned out. I typically produce five double-spaced pages daily. The rest of the day may involve some research, making calls, or going over a previously written manuscript. There’s some overlap which allows me to write two books a year.

I heard Lionsgate is turning the first book of the Sigma series, Map of Bones, into a feature film.
I’m very excited about that. The screenwriter is Joe Robert Cole.

Tell us about your work on the advisory board for a new grassroots organization, US4Warriors.
I’ve always supported veterans’ organizations. I was approached by US4Warriors which was founded by an author-friend of mine who wanted to pool the efforts of a large group of writers to support veterans. It started in San Diego and is expanding nationally. I’m on the advisory board because of my past experience with Authors United for Veterans. We have various projects; one is putting together an anthology to raise funds with the goal of getting veterans’ stories published that might not otherwise be accepted by mainstream publishers.

And with all these activities, you’re still donating time to do veterinary medical work?
Yes. One Sunday a month, I work with a group that captures feral cats in a ‘trap and release’ program. And, I can still neuter a cat in less than thirty seconds. [Laughter].

Your books have sold millions of copies. Your photograph is on the flap of each one. Has your life changed since you began writing novels?
Not particularly. Once in a blue moon, someone will recognize me which is startling. Once, someone called my name in an airport. I was shocked he actually recognized me. [Laughter]. That’s only happened three times, which is sort of a nice thing about being a writer—you have anonymity. Most people don’t really recognize an author they’ve been reading, even if it’s their favorite one.

If I’m in a public place and see someone reading one of my books, I’ll ask the person, ‘What do you think of that book?’ If they don’t like it, I’ll shrug and walk away. If they’re enjoying it, I’ll identify myself, and we’ll talk for a while.

What’s coming next from James Rollins?
I’ve completed The Seventh Plague, the next book in the Sigma series. And I’m also constructing the plot for the novel after that.

Congratulations on writing War Hawk, a gripping page-turner with some of the most vivid and tension-filled action, technology and suspense scenes found anywhere in thrillerdom. It also sheds light on the amazing capabilities of some of our best friends, dogs.

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‘Devotion,’ A Conversation with Ros Barber

April 12, 2016 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Ros Barber is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning The Marlow Papers, which was written entirely in iambic pentameter. She began her career in the sciences and is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex; lecturer in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London; and Director of Research at the Shakespearean Authorship Trust.

Devotion, a novel, examines the distinction between faith and science to explore the story of a man struggling with incomprehensible grief. Finlay Logan, a psychologist, is tasked with examining the mental health of April Smith, a young woman who has blown up a busload of people, an atrocity inspired by her religious beliefs. Logan is dealing with his own tenuous mental health while overcome with grief after the accidental death of his daughter. Seeking solace from his work, he meets Gabrielle Salmon, a cognitive scientist who studies consciousness, induces spiritual experiences in her subjects, and claims to have made contact with the dead. Logan struggles with the interplay between scientific/pharmaceutical relief and religious salvation.

Dr. Finlay Logan is a fascinating and flawed character. Tell us a bit about him.

Some readers have found him to be unlikable because he’s a womanizer. That surprised me because I’m aware that when you meet him, you’re meeting him through his own self-loathing eyes. He blames himself for his past behavior. I suppose the reader can loathe him as much as he loathes himself. Some readers judge him for his past behavior, but he has his admirable qualities, and it may say more about the reader than about the character. After all, most of us haven’t been so morally pure in our past behavior. To me, he’s simply a compromised human being.

Of course, he’s struggling with a terrible tragedy in his life.

Yes, he’s embedded in grief over the death of his daughter, and grief can be a self-loathing state of mind. But to me, he’s a sympathetic character; yes, he’s made mistakes and done some things he’s not proud of, but he retains a certain kind of goodness.

Tell us a little about April Smith, a young woman who has killed a busload of students on their way to an atheist rally.

When I began the novel, I didn’t know much about her or why she would do such a thing. Only as I wrote did April unfold as a character. She has a disturbing back story and it was the most difficult part of the novel to write. She’s an oddball and a misfit. Unlike people who commit violence in the name of religion, her actions have nothing to do with God.

Devotion deals with the interface between faith, science, and grief. Tell us your thoughts about this issue.

I’ve long been interested in the possibility that science and spirituality connect. I thought about the book for a long time before I wrote it. I really had no way into the subject. It suddenly came to me when I thought about Logan; it crystallized when I thought of his losing his daughter. At that moment, I began writing the novel. Grief was the pathway into the subject. It seems to me when people are challenged—whether by grief or any emotional turmoil—they’re empowered to grow and view the world differently. So, the death of Logan’s daughter allowed him to look at the issue of spirituality.

I understand your own grief played some role in your writing this novel.

Yes, it did. I wasn’t aware of that until I was about three-quarters of the way into the book. It was thirty-five years since my brother had died, so I wasn’t consciously touching on that loss. I think these kinds of issues arise when we’re creating characters. Of course, Logan’s losing a child is very different from my losing a brother.

At that juncture of the novel, I couldn’t move Logan on, because I was unable to move on. I was stuck in my grief and couldn’t have my character let go of his suffering. It certainly demonstrates the power of the past and how it never truly leaves us. When my brother died, I didn’t have the opportunity to properly grieve him. My focus was entirely on my mom because she had experienced the loss of her child.

After having read Devotion, I must ask: do you find religious faith and science to be mutually exclusive?

No, not at all. I would say it’s not really about religion with its trappings and dogma. Those things don’t really connect for me. To me, religion is one thing while spirituality is another. I don’t see science and spirituality as mutually exclusive, although I once did. I’d been an atheist but had some experiences that made me rethink things. For me, the book was an exploration of these issues.

Can you share with us some of those experiences that made you rethink things?

These things are difficult to describe, though I attempted to do that with Logan in the book. Some time ago, I experienced being at one with everything. I had the sense of being a complex arrangement of energy connected to the matrix of other arrangements of energy. It was a peculiar experience lasting about twenty minutes. It changed the way I saw everything. One has to have one’s own experience for it to make sense. Even with my scientific background, it eventually dawned on me that consciousness is received rather than generated.

The prose in Devotion is quite lyrical. Who are your literary influences?

Graham Greene is a strong influence. I suppose it’s more a factor that I favor poetry over anything else. I like accessible poetry. I can’t name any particular influences because when you read widely, everyone influences you. In the end, you just develop your own style of writing.

What’s coming next from Ros Barber?

There’s a third novel boiling away. I could probably talk about it, but it’s still in utero, so I’ll leave it at that.

Congratulations on writing Devotion, a beautifully written novel dealing with some of the most profound issues besetting people everywhere.

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The Gold Award

April 9, 2016 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

I’m proud to announce The Lovers’ Tango has won the Gold Award in Popular Fiction for this year’s IPPA Benjamin Franklin Award. The award was announced last evening in Salt Lake City. It’s quite an honor. It’s wonderful when your own hard work and effort is recognized by others in the field–writers, librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicity managers, and editors.

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‘Kill and be Killed,’ A Conversation with Louis Begley

April 5, 2016 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Louis Begley is best known to readers of literary fiction for his observations about life among the upper crust denizens of New York City. One of his earlier novels, About Schmidt, was made into a movie starring Jack Nicholson. His first novel, Wartime Lies, won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Irish Times/Aer Lingus International Fiction Prize. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Last year, Louis Begley made his suspense/thriller debut with Killer Come Hither. His new novel, Kill and be Killed, is the anticipated sequel. After avenging the death of his Uncle Harry, Jack Dana has taken refuge on Torcello, an island in the Lagoon of Venice. There, he is focused on his writing. He also plans to win back his girlfriend, Kerry. But Kerry is found dead, which brings Jack back to New York where he must face a deadly and ruthless enemy who will stop at nothing to end Jack’s life.

Jack Dana is a fascinating protagonist. Will you tell our readers a little about him?

Jack is a flower of Old New England. His parents were highly educated people. His father was a Harvard philosophy professor; his mother was a musician with a Boston group. Jack went to Yale; he then went to Harvard and studied classical history. He was a brilliant student who earned a Rhodes scholarship and was then asked to join the Harvard Society of Fellows, an extremely high academic honor. His parents are both dead and his only link to family was his uncle Harry, a distinguished lawyer and a bachelor, who became his surrogate parent.

After 9/11, Jack’s conscience was such he would not let himself stand off to the side while underprivileged kids went off to war. He became a marine infantry officer who was deployed to Iraq and then Afghanistan, where he became a war hero and was seriously wounded. While in Walter Reed Army Hospital, he began writing a book and discovered his true profession—that of being a writer. His first book was a success, and he went on to write other books, which was what he was doing in Venice in Kill and be Killed.

Kill and be Killed has wonderful descriptions of New York nightlife, weapons, military tactics, and of various financial doings. Tell us about your research.

I haven’t done very much research. I imagine your mention of ‘financial doings’ relates in the novel to the criminal empire of Abner Brown (Laughter). I spent forty-five years practicing law concentrating on large international transactions and advising very rich men. I just happen to know how various things are done in the world of family finance, as well as international finance. I drew on that knowledge.

And for New York nightlife and weaponry?

I served in the U.S. Army as a heavy weapons infantryman. I tapped into those memories which were burnished by my consultations with a young friend who is a former marine infantry officer. As for nightlife, I have to admit being a very serious, elderly gent, and a very happily married one, I did not conduct any field research. (Laughter). It was purely imagination.

There’s something very striking about your two thrillers. Though tense and suspenseful, the writing is beautiful, even lyrical. Tell us a bit about your writing style.

Is it awful for me to say that I think I write well? (Laughter). In correcting the German translation of Kill and be Killed, it struck me my dialogue is quite funny. But how and why the writing style comes about—I really can’t tell you. It’s something you either have or you don’t. I’ll tell you though, I’m a very good listener. I try to get onto the longest line at the supermarket so I can hear what people in front of me are saying. I love going to our garage and waiting while the oil is being changed. I enjoy listening to conversations. I pay attention to how people talk. As for description, it’s the way I write. I’ve been a compulsive reader since I was five years old, and that habit has to have influenced my writing.

Was there anything specific that made you transition from writing literary fiction to the suspense-thriller genre of storytelling?

Actually, no. The last non-thriller novel I wrote was Memories of a Marriage which was published in 2012. It’s a novel told in the present day that looks back to people’s youth. I live in a world of septuagenarians and octogenarians, and I’m a bit tired of them.

When we last spoke I talked about a recurring nightmare of an intruder making his way into our bedroom at night, and I sometimes jump out of bed trying to protect my wife. I still experience that dream. That kind of nightmarish scenario became something I thought I would like to write about. In addition, I was opposed to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and am horrified by the plight of our returning veterans. I conceived of a young man of privilege who went to war, and created Jack Dana. So, all these elements came together and resulted in these thrillers.

Do you feel there are significant differences between genre and literary fiction?

Not in my case. I haven’t read many detective or thriller novels. But I have this protagonist who I have now grown to like enormously. I also have a villain and a continuity of evil that give me the opportunity to return to Jack Dana’s landscape.

But in answer to your question, I write the Jack Dana novels just the way I would write any other.

You have such a varied and long career, both as an attorney and a novelist. Do you find any difference working with an editor today as compared to years ago?

I’ve been very fortunate to have Nan Talese as my editor. She’s so talented and there have never been any difficulties. Before Nan, I had two other editors at Knopf, Elisabeth Sifton and George Andreou. They were excellent. I’ve never had any of the problems that can occur between authors and editors.

Which authors do you enjoy reading nowadays?

I enjoy reading Dante’s Divine Comedy. I’ve just reread Camus’ The Plague and The Stranger. And right now, I’m reading Jane Mayer’s Dark Money.

Which question are you asked most frequently in interviews like this?

The question I’m asked most frequently is ‘Why did you start writing so late?’

And the answer is?

I didn’t think I had anything to say. It’s very much tied to my background. I arrived in this country at the age of thirteen. I went to college at sixteen. And then, I got caught up in my life. What broke the barrier was a sabbatical my firm offered me during which I began writing Wartime Lies. I guess I was ready to tackle the subject of what happened in Europe at that time.

What’s coming next from Louis Begley?

I have two projects in mind, but they’re both in early stages, so I won’t say a word about them. But, something will happen.

To read more about Louis Begley see my conversation with him on the Huffington Post, dated April 7th, 2015. http://tinyurl.com/zbhug5c

Congratulations on writing Kill and be Killed, a gripping thriller filled with tension, danger, and the unknown; and written in such graceful prose, it deserves to be called a literary thriller.

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‘Fool Me Once,’ A Conversation with Harlan Coben

April 3, 2016 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Harlan Coben is known to millions of readers. His books appear regularly on the New York Times bestseller list, and more than 60 million have been sold internationally. He was the first writer to receive the Edgar, Shamus and Anthony Awards.

Fool Me Once, his 28th novel, features Captain Maya Stern, a former Army special-ops helicopter pilot. While grieving the death of her sister during a home invasion, Maya witnesses her husband Joe’s murder during an attempted robbery. Left to care for her daughter alone, Maya sets up a nanny cam, and though nearly impossible to believe, sees footage of her dead husband playing with her daughter. What is going on? Is Joe still alive, or is Maya losing her mind? And who is in the car following her? The novel rockets to a stunning conclusion so unpredictable, Kirkus Reviews described it as “a tale guaranteed to fool even the craftiest readers more than once.”

The opening lines of your novels are often startling. The first sentence of Fool Me Once is, ‘They buried Joe three days after his murder.’ And, the first sentence of The Stranger is, ‘The stranger didn’t shatter Adam’s world all at once.’ Tell us your thoughts about the importance of a novel’s first sentence.

I want to hook the reader as fast as possible. If I can accomplish that with the first sentence, that’s what I want to do, but it’s a heck of a challenge. I think the first sentence sets the tone for the rest of the novel. It’s like I’m saying to the reader, ‘Strap yourself in; we’re going on a very fast rollercoaster ride.’

Maya Stern is a fascinating character. Tell us a bit about her.

I think she’s my favorite protagonist outside of my series’ character, Myron Bolitar. She’s strong, stoic, independent, and very damaged. She’s brave and realistic, but she’s not terribly warm or cuddly. She’s not classically maternal, yet you sense her love and devotion perhaps even more because of that trait.

As a former helicopter pilot in a war zone, Maya suffers from a psychological condition. Tell us about that.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for those who served in combat to suffer some form of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Part of being a good writer means being empathetic; the writer must get into where the character is really at emotionally. After finishing the manuscript, I sent it to several veterans I know who suffer from PTSD. Their responses told me I had nailed it. Maya’s psychological condition isn’t a major part of the book, but it shapes many things about her.

And, because of her condition, Maya is vulnerable to doubting her own perceptions when she sees her dead husband on the nanny cam, isn’t she?

Yes, to some degree. She knows she’s seen Joe on the nanny cam, but she has enough insight to recognize there’s the possibility she’s being played. She’s savvy enough to be able to step back and think maybe things aren’t quite what they seem.

You once said ‘Almost all my ideas come from something that happens in my regular life.’ Did that happen with Fool Me Once?

Yes, in two different ways.

One was when I went on the International Thriller Writers Organization’s USO Tour. We went overseas to meet the troops, talk about books, and do book signings. While there, I met an enthusiastic reader who was a combat pilot. She was nothing like Maya, but the idea of someone with her background stuck with me.

The second was when I began noticing more and more parents using nanny cams. I thought, ‘What would mess up my mind if I was looking at a nanny cam?’

So, those are two examples of how my regular life inspired elements in this novel.

Speaking of ‘messing with your mind,’ Fool Me Once may have the most mind-boggling twists of all your novels. What makes twists so important in thrillers?

I think we all love the ‘gasp’ moment in a book—that instant when we literally see everything from an entirely different perspective. If done correctly, we enjoy being fooled. But there’s more to it than simply being misdirected; it must work on an emotional level. A sleight of hand is fine—it’s like watching a card trick, but I hope the book emotionally blindsides you as well, so you feel something. I’m not satisfied with simply writing a fast-moving plot, if the book lacks real emotional impact.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about writing?

It’s a cliché, but you have to write. You have to turn off that voice in your head telling you it’s not working, or you need more time to get this novel right. You have to put words down on paper, and remember, you can always change them. You can always fix bad pages; you can’t fix no pages.

Looking back, is there anything you would do differently in your career as an author?

I would do nothing differently because if I had back then, I might have ended up in an entirely different spot from where I am right now; and I’m in a really good spot.

When you’re a new writer, it’s good to be a little naïve.

When I was starting out, there were no Amazon rankings, so I was wonderfully naïve, even benighted. I had two books published by a very small house; then I was a Dell paperback original author. My print-runs were small as were the advances. I had had no idea I was just a tiny pimple on the publishing world’s behind.

I stayed that way for four books. If Amazon sales figures were available back then, I probably would have panicked and stopped writing altogether rather than keeping at it.

It wasn’t until my tenth novel that I hit the New York Times bestseller list. I’m glad I kept writing.

What, if anything, keeps you awake at night?

I sleep pretty well. I have four kids, and like any parent, I worry about them all the time. But I’ve learned to not take it to bed. I worry about things I can control, and have stopped worrying about those I cannot.

Speaking of kids, you now write YA novels in addition to adult thrillers. Did you have to change gears to do that?

No, it’s pretty much the opposite. I’ve kept the same gears in motion. The difference is your lead character is sixteen years old instead of being thirty or forty. I try not changing anything else. You have to be a little careful around certain themes, but if you dumb it down, you’re dead. Interestingly, fans of the adult Myron Bolitar novels have liked the YA books about Mickey Bolitar as much as the kids do.

What’s coming next for Harlan Coben?

For British fans, I have a TV series coming on Sky1, and I’m now writing another Myron Bolitar novel.

Congratulations on writing Fool Me Once, a novel receiving a starred review from Publishers Weekly which also said, ‘Coben is like a skilled magician saving the best, most stunning trick for the very end.’

Mark Rubinstein’s latest novel is The Lovers’ Tango a finalist for the Benjamin Franklin Gold Award in Popular Fiction

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