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 Utah, a red State. Plus I'm Jewish and they are all Mormon! But the book transcends party lines and religions. Everyone is guilty. We need to act to survive.”

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 Iran is next in their sights.”

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 22^nd.

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.