Suspense Magazine July 2013

character
B.T.: Pike Logan has been bubbling in
my head for years. People always ask
if he’s based on someone specific, or if
I’m writing about myself using fiction
as a tool. The answer to the first part
is, “Yeah, a little bit.” Pike Logan is a
compilation of men I have served with,
but only in their skill set and dedication
to our nation. The baggage he carries is
pure fiction. The answer to the second
part is a resounding no. I make it a
practice to never write about anything I
have ever done or witnessed, period.
In truth, I originally wanted to write
a story of redemption simply because
I like that theme, and, in the end, I set
out to write a story that I would like
to read. I wanted to show a distinct
moral component for the work that men
like Pike Logan execute. Too often the
characters in Hollywood run around
killing or torturing people without a
shred of remorse, instead throwing out
some wiseass quip, when that’s not really
the case.
A lot of time, effort, and thought go into
counterterrorist activities in the real
world, and the men and women who
execute them operate within a moral
framework. They make decisions with
life-or-death repercussions, and live with
those decisions—and not all are good
memories. They aren’t robots. I wanted
to show that through the interactions
between Pike—an operator experienced
with combat—and Jennifer, a relative
newcomer to what combat actually
entails.
S. MAG.: For readers new to your
series, can they start with “The Widow’s
Strike” and work backwards
B.T.: They certainly can. All of the books
stand alone. The only issue with reading
“The Widow’s Strike” first—or any of the
books out of order—is that they contain
small spoilers from the previous books.
Little references that have no effect on the
plot, but if the reader is paying attention,
he or she will know a few things that they
wouldn’t have known otherwise.
S. MAG.: Within the “The Widow’s
Strike,” which character had more of a
role than you originally planned
B.T.: Surprisingly, it’s Elina, the Chechen
Black Widow. Originally, she was nothing
more than a tool for General Malik,
the commander of an Iranian Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Qud’s force. In my
mind, the book was going to be a little
bit of force-on-force, with the Taskforce
pitted against a state-sponsored terrorist
group, the Iranian IRGC Quds. They
would have a deadly ballet, with both
entities fairly equal in terms of support
and skill.
As I wrote, though, Elina took more
and more prominence, with the novel
becoming a bit of a character study as to
why someone would be willing to become
a suicide bomber, only in this case,
instead of harming just those in the blast
radius, she’ll release a pandemic that will
sweep the earth. The Black Widows are
a real Chechen phenomena, as are the
Iranian Quds—but Elina became the
central focus, so much so the book’s title
changed to reflect that.
S. MAG.: With terrorism hitting so
close to home, are you worried the
subject matter in your books might
bring readers too much terror
B.T.: Not at all. Just the opposite. Have
you watched the nightly news lately
What scares me is coming up with a
scenario and having the reader say,
“What’s the big deal Why should I care
if the Taskforce stops this I saw worse
on the TV last night,” followed by them
putting the book down. Another question
I get asked, in a similar vein, is whether
I think I’m giving terrorists an edge by
creating the plots that I do, in effect, that
I’m giving them a blueprint. Once again,
I’d say no, not by using fiction.
Think about it: If English was your
second language, would you read fifteen
novels on the off chance that you’d find an
idea you could use I wouldn’t. I’d come
up with my own ideas based on specific
weaknesses I found in the open press that
I could exploit, which is exactly how I
come up with my plots in the first place. I
had a reader mention “Debt of Honor,” a
book written by Tom Clancy in 1994 and
involving a hijacked aircraft being used
as a weapon, as if that were a precursor
to 9/11. But the truth is that scenario
had been a threat for some time.
Israel, in 1973, went on red alert because
they believed a hijacked aircraft was
going to crash into Tel Aviv. It wasn’t
a new idea, and Tom Clancy didn’t
create 9/11. It was a weakness that was
exploited. A better question is whether
there’s anyone on the good-guy side who’s
reading fiction and then plugging holes
from the weaknesses that are shown.
Answer: No.
S. MAG.: When writing military/
political thrillers, would readers be
shocked at things that are really true
and done by certain governments
B.T.: This is a two-pronged question,
given the revelations of the last
couple of months. In today’s world,
everyone immediately believes the U.S.
government is doing evil, when I think
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