Is James Rollins the only world bestseller who's also a veterinary surgeon? Where does an alligator figure in his career? And what do you need to know about his latest book The Judas Strain? Here, in his own words, are the answers...

It all started when my sister received an alligator for a birthday present…a gift from her boyfriend at the time.  Subsequently and not surprisingly, they broke up shortly thereafter.  She got sole custody of the alligator, which ended up in a fish tank on my dresser.  Her only instruction:  “It eats live goldfish.”  Such music to a young boy’s ears!  In fact, it was my ticket to elementary school stardom.  I became a third-grade P.T. Barnum.  It also heralded my future career as both a biologist and a veterinarian.

But that’s getting ahead of the story.  I was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1961.  My father was a foreman at a Libby’s canning plant.  My mother stayed home and had children…many, many children.  Being Polish and Roman Catholic, I believe there was some requirement:  less than five children, and the secret of Kielbasa would be taken from you.  So I was born the third of seven children, and of that litter, I was the only true storyteller of the family (what my mother called “The Liar”).  My early work consisted of convincing my younger brothers that the new ventriloquist doll I got for Christmas would come alive at midnight and hunt for fresh blood…which led to many sleepless night and wet beds.   Or revealing to my baby sister that our family were really Martians—except for her, of course, as she was our adopted human pet. 



I still pay their therapy bills, but it was worth it.



And I did eventually survive childhood.  I even got accepted to veterinary school at the University of Missouri and settled out in Sacramento, California.  I started my own practice and ran it for two decades.  I even have the scars to prove it.  But I also could not ignore that twisted little corner of my mind, that demented little storyteller who terrorized young children.  I needed a new audience.  So I began to write.  I wrote much short fiction—truly bad short fiction, stories which are buried in my backyard and will never see the light of day  (unless some future archaeologist discovers them and declares them to be verifiable proof that this century was devoid of literary merit).



But I persevered (i.e., I wouldn’t take no for an answer).  I eventually wrote my first book, found an agent, and to my personal case of “shock and awe,” Avon Books bought it.  Thus began my dual career—as both veterinarian and author.  I often get asked, “As an author, why don’t you write about a veterinarian, like James Herriot, or about animals, like Marley and Me?”  My answer was simple.  “Not enough people die in those books.” 

Presently I do write full time, having weaned myself off my veterinary career.  Though one Sunday a month, I do volunteer my time and surgical skills to spaying and neutering animals for the local shelter—basically it’s eight hours of removing genitalia.  Otherwise, I continue to write novels that are equal parts historical mysteries, scientific thrillers, and action adventures.  And yes, many people do die.



And yes, I have dogs…way too many dogs.  I blame my mother. For more dirt, please check out my website:  www.jamesrollins.com 

The Judas Strain

Deep in the Indian Ocean, a terrifying plague washes to shore--but this is only a harbinger of the true doom to follow.  In its deadly wake, all life on the planet is threatened.



Aboard a cruise liner turned into a makeshift hospital, Dr. Lisa Cummings and Monk Kokkalis, operatives for SIGMA Force, seek some answer to the strange disease.  But others see only profit amid the madness.  In a savage coup, a shadowy terrorist organization hijacks the vessel, turning the ship into a floating bio-weapons lab.   



A world away, Commander Gray Pierce finds his Fourth of July celebration interrupted as a beautiful assassin crashes his party.  Wounded, hunted, she carries the first clue to a possible cure, one tied to a mystery involving the medieval explorer, Marco Polo.



Pursued by a relentless madman, the pair race to follow the explorer’s centuries-old trail through Venetian tombs, Byzantine cathedrals, and jungle-encrusted ruins. Gray finds the path leads to a most unexpected answer:  to a mystery buried in our genetic code, one with possible links to a cryptic thirteenth-century language known as angelic script.



Yet, as the worldwide pandemic grows, Gray Pierce begins to fear he is being led astray by those closest to him.  Can he trust his newest ally?  Or will she prove to be another Judas?

The Story behind the Story.  Where did the story come from?

It all started from a seed of an historical mystery, one concerning Marco Polo, the famous Venetian explorer.  Marco Polo, along with his father and uncle, spent almost two decades in China.  Upon the trio’s return voyage, Kublai Khan granted the Polos fourteen ships and six hundred men to escort them home.  But when they arrived in Italy, the returning Polos were down to two ships and eighteen men.  What happened to the rest of the escort?  Marco hinted at some mysterious tragedy, but he refused to ever say exactly what transpired…even on his deathbed.  Such a mystery I thought would make great fodder for a thriller.  What if what destroyed Marco’s fleet were to arise again today? 

Dire Secrets Lurk in the Language of Angels



Ancient Ruins Guard a Wellspring of Horror



Legendary Explorer’s Journal Hides a Shattering Truth



TWISTED GENETIC CODES PROTECT

A MYSTERY LIKE NO OTHER



THE JUDAS STRAIN....in stores JULY 2nd

 

What the critics are saying:

“Rollins has fine-tuned the formula to precision: characters rendered in broad strokes, punchy dialogue, short paragraphs that propel us headlong through the story...it's impossible not to be swept up by their energy and excitement”

Booklist on The Judas Strain

“There’s no time to catch your breath...Relentless action in spectacular places”

Kirkus Reviews on The Judas Strain

What the author is saying:

"I agree."