It's Oil or Nothing in The Shell Game
Contributing editor Jeff Ayers discusses The Shell Game with Steve Alten.
Steve Alten’s body of work has
explored the possibility of a gigantic prehistoric shark living in contemporary
waters, the true beast that lives in the waters of Loch Ness, and what the
world will experience when the ancient Mayan calendar ends in December
2012. But he has saved the most
terrifying story of all for his latest -- The
Shell Game. In his terrifying and
all-too real novel, Alten explores our country’s dependence on oil and the
lengths people in power have utilized to promote their agenda.
When asked what sparked the idea
for The Shell Game, Alten responded,
“It began with an article on the implications of Peak Oil and how the Big
Rollover (end of oil) will wipe out much of society as we know it. That sounds rather
dramatic until you think about it. Without oil, we can't feed the masses. We can't bring goods to market or heat and cool
our homes. Without gasoline there is no transportation. Bottom line: Without
oil, this planet can only support about 500 million to 1 billion people...AND
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR OIL. Not yet anyway. The more I researched, the
deeper the implications became, and it led to what really happened on 9/11.
Suddenly key contacts fell into my lap and I went from fiction writer to
investigative journalist. The story exposes the next 9/11 event -- a deception
that will lead to a retaliatory chemical weapons strike on
When the manuscript was finished,
Alten and his agent discovered the major publishers were frightened by the
topic. He said, “Frustrated, I contacted
PW Daily and told them that I had just reacquired the rights to my big novels,
MEG and THE LOCH, from Tsunami Books (they were closing up shop) and I would be
selling those rights to whomever optioned The
Shell Game. Twenty minutes after PW Daily did their afternoon blast, I
received an e-mail from Tim Schulte, a fan of mine who was working as a sales
manager at Cedarfort Books...an established publisher for the Latter Day Saints
market! Tim asked to read the manuscript, so I e-mailed it to him. Tim got it,
so did the owners of Cedarfort. They had
been thinking about setting up a new division for mainstream fiction. I agreed
to their offer provided they accepted my terms (my cover art, my PR. person,
and co-op space with the majors). They agreed. It's been a great relationship
so far...though I did not sell them MEG & The LOCH. Those I am holding back
for the publisher who buys MEG: Hell's
Aquarium in January.”
The novel deals with politics in a frank and
horrifying manner and one of the potential criticisms Alten faces is having an
agenda against a particular political party.
He responded, “I am a registered Democrat but far from a liberal, and my
publishers are Republicans from
For such a controversial and scary
subject, Alten had to find people to talk to him. Regarding the research, Alten described, “Thirty
months of research, including books, articles, interviews, and a few lucky
breaks. I include a bibliography and details about the most controversial plot
lines in the book. Remember...the book is still a THRILLER. But thrillers can be great teaching tools.
With our country’s reliance on
oil, what does Alten see in our future?
“World oil peaked in 2005. Whether what remains lasts 10 years or 20 is
not the issue. Societies are NOT ready for the end of oil. So the fall will be hard...unless
we radically change our infrastructure NOW so that we can prolong the end and
be better prepared. The Bush Administration made things worse. Rather than
prepare, these former oil people cashed in for more power and money. And
With a Presidential election
coming this year, the green agenda will be a crucial political topic. When asked about he sees in 2008, Alten said,
“The problem is, most politicians on both sides of the aisle receive donations
from big oil. Americans WANT change, politicians do not. We need to force them
to choose GREEN AND CLEAN over FOSSIL FUELS before the 2008 elections.”
Check out www.stevealten.com for his official site and www.TheShellGame.net for the opening chapters. The book will be available on January 22nd.
ITW contributing editor Jeff Ayers is the author of VOYAGES OF IMAGINATION: THE STAR TREK FICTION COMPANION Pocket
Books-November 2006. He frequently reviews thrillers for Library
Journal and regularly interviews authors for LJ, the Seattle
Post-Intellgencer, and Writer Magazine.
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
For 2011, we’ll be back in the heart of New York in July with the ThrillerFest conference including CraftFest and AgentFest.
ThrillerFest VI will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The dates will be July 6-9, 2011.
More information to follow.
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