Countdown to

FLASHPOINT

3/02/04

28 days (and counting to Flashpoint, in stores on March 30th)

Note from Suz:  GONE TOO FAR is out today, in paperback!  If you haven't had a chance to read Sam & Alyssa's story, or prefer paperback books, now's the time to pick it up!

Today our feature for the countdown is the complete interview that was excerpted in the FLASHPOINT Chapter Sampler.  (If you're asking "What's a FLASHPOINT Chapter Sampler, and how can I get one, click HERE!)  But first I want to share some news with you, and remind you of a few deadlines that are approaching.

If you're impatient and want to jump immediately to the interview, click on the link, it'll take you to the bottom of the page!  If you're patient and want some news, just keep on reading!  

As many of you already know, I'm going to be hitting the road on a 27 store book signing tour, starting in Pensacola, Florida on March 30th and ending in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 15th.  It's taken some time for all the details of the tour to shake down, but it's all finally set!  Click on over to my APPEARANCES page and check out my upcoming tour schedule!  (But use your back button to come right back!)

FLASHPOINT Does Dallas!  In case you haven't heard, we're having a party in Dallas, Texas on Saturday April 3rd to celebrate the release of FLASHPOINT!  Folks are flying in from all over -- we've reserved a block of rooms at the Hampton Inn in Hurst, near my Saturday evening signing store, but the block will only be available until March 3rd!  Of course, you don't have to stay over at the hotel to come to the Saturday night party -- local readers are welcome, too!  Click HERE to find out more about the Saturday night party and Sunday brunch in Hurst!  (I hope to see many of you there!)

And even if you can't join me in Dallas, or at one of the stops on my booksigning tour, you can still get a signed copy of Flashpoint.  But time's running out if you want to get your copy of the book close to the release date.  Orders must be received by March 25th!  Click HERE for details on my Virtual Signing!

Okay, that's all the reminders for now.  

Here's the complete interview: (some of which was printed in the Flashpoint Chapter Sampler booklets!)

Suzanne Brockmann: Have I ended my Navy SEAL series?! Absolutely not! There will be plenty more books featuring the SEALs of Team Sixteen. And as for the question of whether Flashpoint is the start of a new series... The answer to that is both yes and no.

Flashpoint is set in the same world as my SEAL Team Sixteen books, but it features the men and women of Troubleshooters, Incorporated, a covert civilian team. This organization is made up of former military personnel -- including SEALs, Rangers, Marines, SAS -- and former law enforcement agents -- CIA, FBI, police -- as well as an ex-con wildcard or two, just to spice things up.

Owned and run by Tom Paoletti, the former commanding officer of SEAL Team Sixteen, Troubleshooters, Inc. specializes in personal and corporate security, and, during these uncertain times, Tom’s phone has not stopped ringing. Because of this, he’s constantly looking to recruit trustworthy operatives to lead high risk missions into dangerous places.

Enter Lawrence Decker and Flashpoint’s hero, Jimmy "Diego" Nash. Decker and Nash have been partners for over seven years, working together at the top-secret government organization known only as "the Agency." The pair are an interesting match. Nash describes them best: "Two angry men, one of them -- him -- accustomed to working alone, first cousin to the devil, and the other a freaking Boy Scout, a former Navy SEAL..."

Having recently left the Agency, Decker and Nash get a call from Tom, asking them to go deep into the tiny country of Kazbekistan. How can they turn down an assignment that takes them into that hotbed of terrorism known to most members of the Spec Ops world as "the Pit," especially when their goal is to locate and extract a laptop computer that might contain information about the next major al Qaeda target?

And so they go to work for Troubleshooters, Inc.

As does Tess Bailey, Flashpoint’s heroine. Tess is a former employee of the Agency, too, but she worked in the support office as a comspesh -- a computer specialist. She’s done all the field training, but she has no experience out in the "real world."

Every field operative has to start somewhere, but Jimmy Nash is particularly dismayed when he discovers that Tess’s first time out is going to take her to "the Pit" -- a country that’s not known for women’s rights.

SB: That’s right. And unlike an FBI counterterrorist team, Troubleshooters, Inc. isn’t limited by U.S. laws and policies. The members of Tom’s new team aren’t representatives of the United States -- they’re civilians. Because of that, they can enter hostile territories without fear of international repercussion if they’re caught. ("Hey, we’re just tourists...")

Of course, to this team of highly trained experts, getting caught is not an option.

The beauty of the real life spec ops world is that the various teams and organizations involved in counterterrorism often work together, in task-force-like groups. It would not be unusual at all for the operatives of Troubleshooters, Inc. to find themselves working closely with the SEALs or the FBI.

Just think of the possibilities in terms of plot...

For example, my next book, tentatively titled Hot Target and due out in late 2004, features a Navy SEAL hero, Chief Cosmo Richter. Cosmo takes leave from the Navy when his mother breaks both of her wrists. (Yes, Cosmo has a mother!) During his time off, he also helps fill in at TS, Inc.

So is Hot Target a Team Sixteen book or a Troubleshooters, Inc. book? (Boom! I can hear heads explode.) But the answer is easy -- it’s both!

Think of it this way: I’m writing one big series, featuring heroes and heroines who come from SEAL Team Sixteen, or from Troubleshooters, Inc., or even from Max Bhagat’s FBI Counterterrorism Team.

SB: Max is definitely in the on-deck circle, yes! His book is up after Hot Target.

SB: This is an interesting question, because although I myself talk about "before" and "after" in terms of 9/11, the truth is, I was writing about the post-9/11 world long before 9/11.

You see, the War Against Terrorism has been going on for a long, long time -- it’s only been since 9/11 that it’s intruded into the lives of most Americans.

Back in the middle to late 1990s, I started a research file on Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda -- it was interesting, actually; I was researching one of my books (featuring a Navy SEAL counterterrorist team), and I found a website that had a list and a description of every known (to them!) terrorist organization worldwide. Cool, I thought, and without even scrolling down through it, I decided to print out a hard copy for my research file. Fast forward to an hour later when the document was still printing out... Yikes! I was stunned at how many terrorist organizations existed, mostly in third- world countries. We, here in America, were (and still are, even post 9/11) very isolated from what’s happening in the rest of the world.

I wrote my first book about the ongoing War Against Terrorism -- Prince Joe -- way back in 1995. In fact, long before 9/11, I wrote 14 books set in that world. Nothing’s really changed -- except the fact that my readers are more aware that my books are closer to reality than they might have thought, back before September of 2001.

As for why I choose to set my books in the real world -- like most writers, I write what I like to read. But I also feel that love stories, by nature, are all about hope. By setting my books in the real, gritty world, by allowing realistic, less-than-perfect characters to find love, to grab hold of a healthy dose of hope and happiness during a time fraught with danger and impending doom... Well, I hope readers will come away from my books with a solid feeling that good can triumph over evil -- that love will win out over hate.

SB: For me, it’s almost always character that comes first. I spent a lot of time writing books with recurring characters -- people whose personalities have been solidly established in previous books. I often move former secondary characters into main character roles and devise their story by asking the question, "What type of conflict or situation would push this particular character beyond their personal edge? How can I make them really suffer?" Because really, the best stories deal with characters who must face their personal vulnerabilities.

Here’s an example of what I mean. Say you had a hero who was a mountain climber. You could create a plot for him that involved him scaling a cliff to save a stranded child. You could throw in an impending thunderstorm -- no, make it a hailstorm with high winds. He’s got to get up there and rescue that child -- no, make her a toddler, trapped with her father who had a heart attack right there on the trail.

That could be sort of exciting, right?

Well, no. Because the hero’s a mountain climber. It’s no big deal for him to scale that cliff. He’ll probably yawn while he’s doing it.

And the reader will yawn, too.

But what if the hero isn’t a mountain climber? What if he’s the opposite of a mountain climber -- what if he’s terrified of heights? I’m talking Jimmy Stewart-level vertigo a la the Hitchcock movie of that very name.

Toss this hero into that scenario I sketched out above, and no one’s yawning now! When this hero rescues that child, he’s not just climbing a cliff, he’s facing his demons.

So what I do when I plot my books is figure out who my hero is going to be, what his vulnerabilities are, and what type of situation I can throw him into, to make him really suffer!

The same rule applies, of course, to my heroines.

Q: You’ve broken barriers in your work by featuring interracial romances and by creating a prominent and popular gay character, Jules Cassidy. Are mainstream audiences ready for a romance between two gay characters? Any plans for Jules to find true love?

SB: Ah, Jules! I absolutely love the fact that so many of my readers have fallen in love with Jules Cassidy. At every single stop on my last booksigning tour, I was asked "When are you going to write Jules’ story?" Even in cities and states where you might not expect people to be quite so open and affirming! I can’t tell you how happy that made me, as an outspoken supporter of gay rights.

As for what mainstream audiences are or are not ready for -- I think readers are always ready for quality fiction -- good stories with compelling characters. That’s what I try to deliver. And if some of my characters happen to be gay...

Truth is, I do have plans for Jules. Look for him to play a major secondary role in Hot Target. But, as is the case for many of my characters, the path to true love can be bumpy at times....

That's all for now!  Be sure to come back for tomorrow's installment in the Countdown to FLASHPOINT!

See you tomorrow!

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