Legends, Archaeology And Conspiracy With Thriller Author Dean Crawford
It's always brilliant to find a new series that contains all the aspects I enjoy in books. Dean Crawford's Ethan Warner series is super fun so I asked him a little more about what lies behind the stories …
Your books have aspects of legend, archaeology and conspiracies. What draws you to a particular idea for the books and what's been fascinating you lately?
I'm always drawn to aspects of the paranormal that have the strongest element of truth to them. It's not enough for me to hear about a myth or legend and just go write a novel about it. I like hearing about events or experiences that have actual evidence to support them, something tangible that a story can be built around that readers of my book can look up on Google and say: "Hey, that really did happen / exist!"
Mankind's history is littered with countless examples of the unexplained that demand further research. My Ethan Warner series of novels have explored many of them, from evidence of ancient cultures' interaction with advanced technology in Covenant and The Nemesis Origin, to extending human longevity in Immortal, time travel in Apocalypse and crypto-zoology in The Chimera Secret.
At the moment, my big fascination is with the ability of science to literally see our thoughts on screens: the technology has been developed in Japan and I've used it in my latest novel, The Identity Mine, where a terrorist cell is able to hijack human minds using technology that actually exists today.
You write fast paced thrillers, so what's your most thrilling experience, for research or just for fun?
Without a doubt, aviation. As a result of research I've done on several novels I'm now in the final stages of training for my Private Pilot's License.
However for technology research into my novel Apocalypse I studied the world of Virtual Reality, and now I own an Oculus Rift VR headset. The ability to witness worlds that most of us would normally have no access to, such as orbiting the Earth, flying a fighter plane or the space shuttle or driving a Formula 1 car is utterly enthralling.
As a result of staring down at the Earth in VR once and experiencing something almost emotional, it being so realistic, I was compelled to start writing a series of space opera novels ( think Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica etc ).
The Atlantia Series, about a former prison ship populated by an uneasy alliance of soldiers and former convicts fleeing an apocalypse that is spreading across the galaxy, is now five books strong and running well. I really enjoy writing the impossible and making it believable at the same time, and the Atlantia books let me stretch technology to the limit in a universe where anything can happen.
Do you travel for research? What places do you love the most that appear in your books?
I don't travel for research, as the Internet provides so much research data. I know that a lot of authors like to travel to get a "feel" for places, but I think that part of the art of writing is convincing the reader you've been somewhere when in fact you've never visited a place. I often get comments from readers lauding my back-street knowledge of one city or another, which is the highest accolade I could expect when I haven't actually visited those places.
One location that has appeared in one of my novels is Pitlochry, Scotland, a place I've visited more than once.
How much of you is in Ethan Warner? Feel free to give specific examples from books and your life 🙂
Ethan Warner is, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, not based on me at all. Like Ethan I do have some military experience, having trained with the British Army's airborne infantry in the Territorial Army as a teenager.
I actually based Ethan on Indiana Jones due to the nature of his go-getting attitude, tenacity and robust nature, and felt that those attributes are what most people would like to see in themselves. People are naturally drawn to uncompromising characters, as they represent the kind of attitude that we might all like to possess but our lives generally do not allow us to display.
I think perhaps Ethan's open mind toward the paranormal and the unexplained comes from me. Although I'm one hundred per cent a fan of science, which has achieved so much in our world, I do keep one eye on the paranormal and often find that behind the veil of the scientific method there is a surprising amount of interest in such phenomena from scientists too.
Although it's not explicitly stated in the novels, Ethan is also an atheist, like me. He doesn't see any value in elevating blind faith above evidence.
What are the themes that keep coming up in your work? What links the series' together?
A strong theme that has developed in my work is that of anti-corporate power. It wasn't something I consciously thought about before but over time, during research for numerous novels that involved the militarization of technology, I've seen considerable evidence for the control of our governments by business interests.
Presidents are bought, literally, their seat in the White House by the major corporations who finance their campaigns. Politicians in all countries are lobbied to ensure that companies who can afford to buy their loyalty continue to make profits, the needs of the ordinary people in the street over-ridden. This is not democracy, nor is it isocracy, it is government by an elite and it's something that keeps rising to the surface in the books. Ethan Warner and his partner Nicola Lopez often find themselves combating this nefarious rise of the military-industrial complex.
Where are you in the world and what does your writing space look like? Give us a hint of behind the scenes.
I'm fortunate enough to live in Surrey, UK, in one of the most desirable locations in the country. My office is a small one in our home, where I live with my wife and daughter. To be able to run a business with a six-figure turnover from a desk that's no more than one metre square is a huge thrill for me, and much of that success is down to a willingness on my part to embrace both traditional publishing and the now-huge independent publishing method.
My working day is 8am – 4pm, Monday to Friday, but I also work most evenings too doing cover-designs for my books and paperwork for Fictum Ltd, my own publishing label. I've also just started a proper marketing campaign for my books, something I've neglected somewhat while building a decent-sized list of independent titles. My latest title, The Identity Mine, is the first to have a planned launch campaign behind it. All the others have launched on word-of-mouth, so I'm eager to see how the book does.
On my desk right now is my Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset, my gaming joystick and throttle ( I'm just a big kid really ), some books for my Pilot's License exams and my Dead-Fred pen holder. From my office, I can sit and look out across our garden as I dream up the next scene in my books.
What are a few of the books you love and that you'd recommend readers check out?
Since independent publishing became a "thing" I barely get the chance to read as I'm also working so hard, but big favourites of mine include Wilbur Smith's A Falcon Flies, Tim Willock's Green River Rising and anything by Michael Crichton.
As I'm settling better into my new publishing schedule I'm hoping to find time again to read books by other authors, particularly more by A.G. Riddle, Nick ( Endi ) Webb, Celina Grace, David Gledhill and others.
Where can people find you and your books online?
Website: http://www.deancrawfordbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dean-Crawford-Books/227989043878445
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DCrawfordBooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5267335.Dean_Crawford
Mailing list: http://deancrawfordbooks.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=cd96b4051a98f039003363cf0&id=f3059a23ed
Filed Under: Interviews with Thriller Authors Tagged With: action adventure
Oracle. A Jade Ihara Adventure With Sean Ellis and David Wood
If you love kick ass action adventure with strong female characters, you're going to enjoy the new Jade Ihara series from David Wood and Sean Ellis.
I interviewed them about the first book in the series, Oracle.
The Oracle of Delphi is a fantastic hook for myth and history lovers like me. Tell us a bit about the story and why the Oracle captured your imagination.
Sean: To be perfectly honest, I didn't set out to write a book about the Oracle of Delphi. Like Jade, I just sort of ended up there. It was the "true" story of a teleporting Spanish soldier named Gil Perez that really sucked me in. I came across it in a book about Unexplained Mysteries and it immediately went into my "must write about this someday" file. I expected Delphi to be a red herring in the book, particularly since there are already some really excellent stories that deal with it, but the more research I did, the more I realized there was still a story to tell.
In brief: Jade, our intrepid archaeologist is part of a team exploring a previously undiscovered cavity underneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan (Mexico). In that chamber, Jade finds several strange spheres that appear to be a model of the solar system, but when she touches one, she has a vision of the future which not only saves her life, but launches her on a quest to discover the source of the visions.
The trail leads to Costa Rica, where she and Professor–our very own walking Wikipedia–investigate the mysterious stone spheres that were discovered there in the early 20th century, then it's off to Delpih (with a brief stop-over in London to find a crystal ball that once belonged to famed mystic Dr. John Dee).
I love kickass female characters! Why did you take a break from Dane Maddock and spin Jade Ihara into her own adventures?
David: The Maddock universe is expanding. We've already added a successful "Origins" series, and I've always felt Jade was more than strong enough to carry her own story, and so far, readers seem to agree! Also, I'm a fan of adventure heroines like Lara Croft and that Morgan Sierra chick, so it was fun to join the club.
Sean: I came to the Maddock universe with one of those Origins stories, but I jumped at the chance to help develop a new series with Jade and Professor because there's a lot more freedom to take things in a slightly different direction, which is what we did with Oracle. But it's also a chance to let some of those supporting characters shine.
One reviewer commented that she really didn't care for Jade in the Maddock books, and David always described her as being a little "bitchy"–you know you did, buddy. It was challenging, but in a good way, to try to keep the essence of the original character, while at the same time making her believable as the lead.
It seems like more male action-adventure writers are featuring women in the lead roles these days. Do you see a renaissance in action/adventure and a widening of the scope? Do you see any gender differences between the books?
David: If my audience is any indication, more women than men read "Men's Adventure" stories, so it only makes sense to feature protagonists with whom the reader can identify. As far as gender differences between the books is concerned, I can't say for certain. A lot of male writers craft characters who are female in name only – you can't tell the difference between their male and female characters in terms of motivations and internal dialogue- and I think we did a good job of avoiding that pitfall.
On a related note, we're working on ideas to expand the Maddock universe even farther, with Tamara "Tam" Broderick taking the lead role in a new series featuring her Myrmidon Squad. I don't know if anyone else is writing an African-American female action hero, but she's been popular among Maddock readers since her first appearance in Quest, and I'm excited about that series.
Sean: Funny story. I was at an author event a couple months ago with a stack of my Dodge Dalton dieselpunk adventures. A woman picked one up and then proceeded to make a disparaging comment about 'yet another story where the men do everything.' Something like that. I had to laugh. In addition to
Oracle, I just wrapped work on the second book in my Dark Trinity series, which features a kickass female character, and this week, Flood Rising, a book I wrote with Jeremy Robinson featuring…you guessed it, a strong female lead, will be hitting the stores. I didn't set out to balance the scales gender equality-wise, with this or any other of my novels, but sometimes a story just works better with a female lead.
Your books are full of international locations, and Oracle is just as wide ranging. Tell us about some of the locations in the book and why you picked them.
Sean: It's funny. Some of the locations started out almost as random choices, but then when I started doing research, I was astounded at what I found. A good example is the opening scene at Teotihuacan. I had already decided to have Jade discover a room full of strange spheres, but when I started doing research, I discovered that archaeologists actually did find a new chamber under one of the other pyramids at Teotihuacan, that was full of gold-colored orbs. It was too perfect.
As I mentioned earlier, Jade also goes to Costa Rica to investigate the famous stone spheres that were discovered in the western part of the country–there are hundreds of them, some as big as that boulder that rolled after Indiana Jones in Raider of the Lost Ark, and no one has been able to supply a good explanation for who made them or why. The stone spheres were another one of those story elements that I've been wanting to explore for a long time.
Then there's a stop in London, some hijinks in and around Delphi, including a walking tour–well, running and fighting tour–of the ruins there. The trail eventually leads to everyone's favorite vacation spot, the Bermuda Triangle. Because the inspiration for the story began with the mysterious case of the teleporting Gil Perez, I felt like it was only natural that the mystery would eventually lead to the so-called Devil's Triangle. Once again, the research led me to some pretty interesting connections, including a famous disappearance that happened on dry land. I'll save that for the readers though.
What are some of the themes that obsess you and that keep coming up in your writing?
David: For me, action-adventure novels are about solving the ancient mysteries that fascinate me, visiting the exotic locales that interest me, and putting new twists on old stories. If you finish one of my books and don't feel like you've been on a thrilling, fascinating ride, I haven't done my job.
Sean: I would second that, but I would also add heroism. I like a story that is a bit on the gritty side, but I'm not interested in writing (or reading) anti-heroes. I want to write the kind of stories that I would want to read, and I think that in addition to ancient mysteries and hidden treasures, I just like a good guy (or girl) that I can root for. They don't have to be super-capable or larger-than-life, in fact, I prefer them to be a little more vulnerable, but they are going to try to do the right thing, and if necessary, be willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.
How much of you is in the characters and the situations within the book?
David: There's a little bit of me in the character of Professor. He's more studious and uptight than I, but we both enjoy learning and knowledge, and have a certain degree of impatience with people who, shall we say, don't catch on quickly enough.
Sean: I've always said that I am in every character I write, even the villains. A character won't do something unless I can rationalize it. Which I suppose means that all my characters might start to look, sound and act the same. That's where the collaborative approach really pays off. Now, for Jade, who is clearly still conflicted about her relationship with Dane, I had to channel some of my own life experience, so there's probably more of me in Jade than even I realize.
You co-wrote this – was the relationship like Dane & Bones? and which of you is which?
David: Sean might disagree, but I think his personality is more like that of Maddock and I'm more like Bones. Sean is more of a planner and pays more attention to details, whereas I pull a few ideas together and then just go for it. As a writer, Sean is stronger with prose, while I bring the irreverent humor that readers associate with Bones. Physically, it's the exact opposite. Sean's a big dude with a ponytail and I'm the short, stocky guy with blue eyes.
Sean: It's true. I have no sense of humor.
What's next for Jade?
Sean: In my endless search for really weird stuff, I came across something called the 'phantom time' hypothesis. It's the belief that maybe there were some errors in the way we counted time through the Dark Ages, which led to accidentally adding about three centuries that never happened. And if that were true, how would it change the world we live in?
David: And that's just the beginning!
You can find Oracle in print and ebook formats on Amazon here, as well as at other online book stores. You can also find the authors at DavidWoodWeb.com and SeanEllisThrillers.com
Filed Under: Interviews with Thriller Authors Tagged With: action adventure, adventure, interviews