What motivated you to
write this book? What inspired the
storyline?
I had been surfing the internet and came across an article
about this organization called ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers). Basically, it turns out
they have this “fail-safe” system to literally “restart” the internet - and
it’s controlled by seven key-card holders from around the globe who have to all
bring their sections of the root key together to restart the Web. I found it fascinating that there would even
be such a wild scheme in existence – I mean, that SOUNDS like something out of
a book or movie. I then thought - what
if some organization or individual had nefarious plans for the Web – and knew
about the seven “magic” keys. What if
that same organization or person was willing to eliminate the key holders in
order to ensure their plan’s success?
Viola! – an idea was born.
You bring some
current events into the storyline (the Ukrainian crisis) - was that planned?
Absolutely. I wanted
some real events to ground the storyline – and the Ukrainian crisis gave me the
perfect backstory and motivation for the book’s villain, Vitaly Lukashenko.
Tell us about your
main characters – the FBI and NSA agents
Alan Silverman is the crusty FBI veteran. He’s worked a lot of cyber-crime cases in his
time, but doesn’t get out in the field much.
Wendy Tosca is the younger NSA cyber hot-shot. She’s got “street cred” and operational
experience in the field. It’s a bit of a
forced partnership, and the duo’s personalities are both sarcastic and a little
abrasive, but they learn to get along and are constantly zinging each other,
which is great fun to write. There is
also another great main character – our infamous hacker, Frank Alvis. A bit stereotypical in description, but
without him, our government duo would be in deep trouble on several occasions.
Do you think your
described scenario could actually happen?
Let’s hope not!
Remember – it is a work of fiction.
While the premise is loosely based on fact, most of it is largely made
up by me, so don’t get any ideas!
This is your first
published novel – have you written other pieces?
You bet. I think I’ve
always written in some form or another. I
write a lot of short stories, and I’ve published a few small pieces for
Yahoo.com. I also wrote a food blog for
a short time. My biggest inspiration for
writing a novel had to come from NaNoWriMo.org (National Novel Writing
Month). Every year they challenge writers
to compose a 50,000 word manuscript in just 30 days (the month of
November). It’s a great creative
exercise, and it also gives a person like me a much needed deadline in order to
get something down on paper. I’ve gone
through the process a few times now (over several different years).
So, NaNoWriMo.org
asks for a finished piece?
Not at all. Their
focus is on the creative process. They
encourage writers to “turn off” the inner editor and just write. It’s all about the “practice” and craft of
writing. Try things out – see what works
and what doesn’t. There is plenty of
time to go back and edit later. I will
admit; however, that probably 95% of this novel came out in its finished form -
just as you see it on the pages – in my first draft.
What’s your writing
process?
I really have only a rough outline when I start out. I’ll look some things up and do some basic
research, but my outline is literally only one page – just broad strokes. I try to keep a “three act” play in mind
overall, but once I start writing I simply start from the beginning and tell
the story I want to tell. I don’t have
an agenda (i.e. character “A” has to be in this particular situation by page
14, etc.). I tend to visualize the story
in my head and then just write what I see.
If I happen to run into problems or bottle necks, I’ll back up and
rethink my direction. I tend to write a
few chapters a day and once I start I write every day until the story is
finished, so the overall plot is generally very fresh in my mind.
Who’d be interested
in this book?
Anyone who likes a good thriller or adventure story will
like this novel. It’s an easy read (even
with the technical jargon, which I think I’ve limited) and would make a great
book to take to the beach, read on a plane, or just enjoy from an easy chair at
home. There aren’t dozens of characters
to remember and countless back-stories to process. It’s just a fun, exciting, straight-forward
story. I’d like to think it would translate
into a great screenplay and make an exciting movie as well (hint-hint – ha-ha).
FairView Press is pleased to support the release of
“APOKALYPSIS”.
No comments:
Post a Comment