Mark Terry writes exciting, page-turning suspense that will remind readers of Jeffrey Deaver, since both excel at plots that deal with a ticking clock. Terry's third Derek Stillwater novel, The Fallen, is his best yet. Mark Terry talked to ITW.How did Derek Stillwater originate?
When I wrote the first Derek Stillwater novel, I started it with a prologue that took place in Iraq in the first Gulf War. That was a piece of writing I'd tried to turn into a couple other novels unsuccessfully for a couple years. It's basically a scene where Derek and another Special Forces soldiers (Richard Coffee) are deep behind enemy lines setting up a laser guidance system at an Iraqi weapons depot so the U.S. can drop a bomb on it. Well, everything goes to pieces and one of them--Coffee--gets exposed to the fallout from the bombing, and Derek evacuates them. Derek really stepped out of that scene as a Special Forces guy who was all too familiar with biological and chemical weapons and was very cool under pressure. Then I moved him 10 or 15 years later, thinking about what this guy would have become out of the military, but in a world that had gotten very focused on battling terrorism. And then, like most characterization, bits and pieces came to me like his superstitious quirks and his total lack of patience with chain-of-command, especially non-military chain-of-command, and his belief that bureaucracies don't respond well to terror threats, and his hypochondria and panic attacks. Derek's a guy with a lot of mileage who still manages to perform at a high level.
What sparked the idea for The Fallen?
Well, as you know, there was some unfinished business at the end of the first Derek Stillwater novel, The Devil's Pitchfork. I wanted to address that by bringing back The Fallen Angels, and given what I knew about them--very skilled, very disciplined, audacious, and apocalyptic--and add in the fact that some of their members were in prison after the first book--I thought something big like the G8 Summit would be the kind of worldwide showcase someone like Richard Coffee would consider as a terror target. Also, I really wanted to put Derek into a situation sort of like the Die Hard films, particularly the first Die Hard film, where he's running around a contained building picking off bad guys. I thought it would be fun to write--it was--and hope it will be fun for the readers, too.
What can a reader expect when they pick up a Mark Terry book?
Short time frames, lots of action, escalating tension, a fairly high level of risk. A ticking clock. The ticking clock is such a strong motif in my books that the cover artist put one on the second one, The Serpent's Kiss--complete with skull and crossed-bones. Derek's an expert on terrorism, but he's also an expert on two particular areas of terrorism, biological and chemical, both of which have the ability to kill hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people. I really want to write a page-turner in the old-fashioned sense, the type of book you'll stay up late reading, one that can kind of get the reader's adrenaline rushing as they read it. And I want the stakes to be really high.
Why write thrillers?
True love, I guess. I've been reading mysteries and suspense and thrillers most of my life. I think my writing style, which is fairly straightforward and direct, lends itself well to the genre, especially the action-suspense thrillers I'm currently writing. I really like to keep the suckers moving along. I read pretty broadly and enjoy lots of different types of books, but the ones that I tend to like most move along pretty well, have a lot of action, and preferably a memorably quirky character.
You write for The Big Thrill.
Well, I'm one of the original writers for The Big Thrill, I believe. I joined ITW in its first year and when they were looking for writers I volunteered. So I've worked with all the editors so far, from Kathleen Sharp to David Hewson to Joe Moore to now Karen Dionne. I'm pleased to say they're friends. I enjoy doing the profiles and getting to know writers a little bit better. It's always a thrill to interview someone you've been a fan of--I interviewed Douglas Preston recently and I love his books, so hopefully I can interview his writing partner Lincoln Child sometime, too; Eric van Lustbader, Keith Raffel, Chris Kuzneski, Colin MacKinnon, Allison Brennan, Steve Berry, James Rollins ... the list just goes on and on. How could you not want to do that? It's like they're doing an author tour, but stopping by to talk to you personally.
How has ITW changed your life?
It's a great organization and it's certainly helped me with networking. There's so many marketing and promotional opportunities that I can't keep up with all of them. I like its business model, which doesn't depend on dues, but uses a variety of fundraisers--anthologies, collections, audiobooks--to raise money. It's very impressive. There's a practicality to it that's less about networking and more about helping authors sell more books, which is what we're all about, after all.
What's next?
Promoting The Fallen, mostly. Lining up book signings, etc. The fourth book featuring Derek is written and scheduled for September 2011. I've started working on the fifth book featuring Derek. I'm working on a science fiction novel and there's another thriller I'm maybe halfway through that I hope to finish this year. It's either a standalone or a possible new series, but it's consistent with the Derek Stillwater novels in that it's got a lot of action and intrigue, but it's more traditional "espionage" than than the typical Derek Stillwater novel.
Well, as you know, there was some unfinished business at the end of the first Derek Stillwater novel, The Devil's Pitchfork. I wanted to address that by bringing back The Fallen Angels, and given what I knew about them--very skilled, very disciplined, audacious, and apocalyptic--and add in the fact that some of their members were in prison after the first book--I thought something big like the G8 Summit would be the kind of worldwide showcase someone like Richard Coffee would consider as a terror target. Also, I really wanted to put Derek into a situation sort of like the Die Hard films, particularly the first Die Hard film, where he's running around a contained building picking off bad guys. I thought it would be fun to write--it was--and hope it will be fun for the readers, too.What can a reader expect when they pick up a Mark Terry book?
Short time frames, lots of action, escalating tension, a fairly high level of risk. A ticking clock. The ticking clock is such a strong motif in my books that the cover artist put one on the second one, The Serpent's Kiss--complete with skull and crossed-bones. Derek's an expert on terrorism, but he's also an expert on two particular areas of terrorism, biological and chemical, both of which have the ability to kill hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people. I really want to write a page-turner in the old-fashioned sense, the type of book you'll stay up late reading, one that can kind of get the reader's adrenaline rushing as they read it. And I want the stakes to be really high.
Why write thrillers?
True love, I guess. I've been reading mysteries and suspense and thrillers most of my life. I think my writing style, which is fairly straightforward and direct, lends itself well to the genre, especially the action-suspense thrillers I'm currently writing. I really like to keep the suckers moving along. I read pretty broadly and enjoy lots of different types of books, but the ones that I tend to like most move along pretty well, have a lot of action, and preferably a memorably quirky character.
You write for The Big Thrill.
Well, I'm one of the original writers for The Big Thrill, I believe. I joined ITW in its first year and when they were looking for writers I volunteered. So I've worked with all the editors so far, from Kathleen Sharp to David Hewson to Joe Moore to now Karen Dionne. I'm pleased to say they're friends. I enjoy doing the profiles and getting to know writers a little bit better. It's always a thrill to interview someone you've been a fan of--I interviewed Douglas Preston recently and I love his books, so hopefully I can interview his writing partner Lincoln Child sometime, too; Eric van Lustbader, Keith Raffel, Chris Kuzneski, Colin MacKinnon, Allison Brennan, Steve Berry, James Rollins ... the list just goes on and on. How could you not want to do that? It's like they're doing an author tour, but stopping by to talk to you personally.
How has ITW changed your life?
It's a great organization and it's certainly helped me with networking. There's so many marketing and promotional opportunities that I can't keep up with all of them. I like its business model, which doesn't depend on dues, but uses a variety of fundraisers--anthologies, collections, audiobooks--to raise money. It's very impressive. There's a practicality to it that's less about networking and more about helping authors sell more books, which is what we're all about, after all.
What's next?
Promoting The Fallen, mostly. Lining up book signings, etc. The fourth book featuring Derek is written and scheduled for September 2011. I've started working on the fifth book featuring Derek. I'm working on a science fiction novel and there's another thriller I'm maybe halfway through that I hope to finish this year. It's either a standalone or a possible new series, but it's consistent with the Derek Stillwater novels in that it's got a lot of action and intrigue, but it's more traditional "espionage" than than the typical Derek Stillwater novel.
