What began with Ghost Road Blues and continued with Dead Man's Song reaches its terrifying climax in Jonathan Maberry's Bad Moon Rising. This supernatural thriller will solidify his award-winning reputation and bring new readers seeking their thrills with chills.  

What was your inspiration for the trilogy?
 
The trilogy started off as an experiment that grew out of my nonfiction writing.  I've been a nonfiction guy for thirty years now, and after doing about a dozen books on martial arts I took a left turn into writing about occult and paranormal folklore.  My grandmother (who died in 1978 at 101) told me as a boy about the myths and legends - or as she called them 'beliefs'-- of the supernatural, so I grew up knowing about the European legends of vampires, ghosts and werewolves.  The legends, by the way, are substantially different than the depictions seen in popular fiction and film.

As I was writing my second book on spooky folklore (Vampire Universe - Citadel Press, 2006), I began to speculate about how real people would react/respond if they encountered the supernatural.  And these would be real people with modern pop culture sensibilities, so they would know about stakes and crosses and all of that.  But since none of that stuff is in the folklore (the novelist Bram Stoker added much of what we now consider vampire lore) the characters would be confronting evil that they truly would not understand or know how to stop. 

So I took a swing at writing a story.  As I outlined it I realized that the story I wanted to tell was a BIG story.  Lots of characters, lots of threads that would allow me to explore the different facets of folklore and the dynamics of human reaction to the known and unknown.  So I outlined what came to be known as the Pine Deep Trilogy.

There are some novelists who write with a common theme, a "what" that drives their fiction. Others discover the "what" as they go along.

International bestselling author Eric Van Lustbader doesn't so much write with a "what" in mind, but a "who."

He calls this The Outsider.
    
"Since I'm an Outsider myself," Lustbader explains, "all my protagonists are Outsiders, as well, starting with Nicholas Linnear [of the Ninja Cycle novels].  Being half-Asian, half-Western, he belongs in neither world.  He stands apart and, like all Outsiders, is more qualified to comment on society.  Because he has no biases, no axes to grind, his observations are neutral, therefore balanced, most truthful and thought-provoking."

In addition to his numerous creations, Lustbader has also carried on the saga of Jason Bourne, in cooperation with the Robert Ludlum estate. The same Outsider motif drew Lustbader to Bourne.

"Many's the time Bob Ludlum and I would discuss our respective prototypical heroes," says Lustbader, "remarking on how similar in makeup they were: loners yet fiercely loyal, they were walking, talking oxymorons, which made them special not only to the two of us, but to our millions of readers.  Because aren't human beings, by nature, paradoxical?  Think about it.  How many times have you found yourself experiencing two opposite emotions simultaneously? We wonder how we can love and hate someone at the same time, but that's rational thinking; emotions like love and hate are irrational, not subject to the artificial 'laws' humans have imposed on society, in a futile attempt to turn chaos into order."

Summer means big blockbuster titles and big blockbuster movies. One of the most anticipated films coming out this summer is the latest movie in the Indiana Jones franchise, titled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  And one of our own ITW members--James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Judas Strain--was hand-picked to write the novelization to the upcoming blockbuster, due out May 22nd.  He sat down with The Big Thrill to answer a few questions.

So how were you chosen to write the novelization to Indy 4"?

Well, over the years, my books have been critically compared to Indiana Jones.  I think mostly due to the historical or archaeological nature of the novels.  In fact, one reviewer of my book, Map of Bones, described it as a cross between Indiana Jones and the The Da Vinci Code.  To this day, I'm still not sure if that reviewer was insulting me or complimenting me.  But I personally take any comparison to Indy as a compliment.  And such reviews did eventually draw the attention of Random House who obtained the adaptation rights to the upcoming film.  After that, my name got submitted, and I got the thumb's up. 

Julie Compton's debut novel, Tell No Lies, is the story of a family man's obsession and the price he's forced to pay. When assistant DA Jack Hilliard finds himself simultaneously seduced by a dream job and a tempting woman, he soon learns how easy it is to compromise his values and comfortable life for ambition and desire. But when the object of his obsession is charged with a heinous crime, and Jack alone can prove her innocence, he must choose between saving her by speaking out, or saving his marriage and career by remaining silent.

In Tell No Lies, the reader gets a glimpse of the differences between private law firms and the district attorney's office. As someone who has worked in both the private and government legal sector, which do you prefer?
 
On the private side, I worked at two larger law firms, and then a smaller, boutique firm, before becoming a stay-at-home mom for several years. When I returned to practice, I accepted a position with the US Trustee's Office, part of the Department of Justice. It was my dream job. Although I worked with great people at all my jobs, there's no denying that at private firms, an attorney has the constant pressure to bill more hours, bring in clients, become a partner, etc. I didn't have these same pressures at my government job, which made it easier to just enjoy the purely legal aspects of the practice.

After turning out three World War II military thrillers, author Steven Wilson took a step backward in time to embrace his other professional interests-the Civil War. His newest novel, President Lincoln's Spy, is the first in a contracted series featuring Captain Fitz Dunaway, a discredited army officer turned spy. Conveniently, Wilson works as the curator and assistant director of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.

Of the new novel, Wilson says, "It's about a discredited army officer who is given the opportunity to redeem himself only if he agrees to act as a spy for the Assistant Secretary of War. Being a military man, he thinks that spying is distasteful, but he also wants to get back in the fight and he wants a regiment, which is what's offered to him if he will only take on the role of the spy."

Keith Raffel caught up with Rob Palmer whose new book Eyes of the World is being released this month - perfect timing for a book featuring a female president.

In your new book, Lynnie Connor is America's first female president. Are there similarities to any real-life female who currently happens to be running for president?

Any similarities are entirely unintended! Actually, I got the idea for Eyes of the World years ago, before Hillary Clinton was a candidate for any public office. There are similarities that can't be avoided, though. For example, what stance would a woman candidate for president have to take on military matters? And what is the proper role of the president's husband?  In the book, I had to deal with dozens of questions like that, and it's been interesting to see how my solutions have sorted out in comparison to those of the Clinton campaign.

So give us a sneak preview.

Mike Stanbridge has known President Lynnie Connor since they were children.  Their friendship is common knowledge; their longstanding love affair is the most carefully guarded secret of their lives.  It's the campaign season, and Lynnie is running hard for reelection.  Mike is framed for murder, and his only way out is to dig into Lynnie's past.  What he learns seemingly turns her whole life into a lie, and sets him up for the biggest fall of all.

Wendy Corsi Staub is a novelist who defies traditional labeling.  Currently under contract with four major publishers, she'll release a total of sixteen novels in an eighteen-month period that will conclude this fall.

Two of those titles fall into the suspense genre and both will be released April 29. DYING BREATH is an adult thriller (Zebra) and LILY DALE: BELIEVING (Walker), is the second title in a hardcover series which has been optioned for a television show. Both stories contain an element of the paranormal in that both heroines are gifted psychics.

Wendy has an impressive list of honors and awards, including multiple NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling lists for her many of her more than 70 published works. She has achieved career landmarks under her own name in the psychological suspense market and under Wendy Markham in the area of chick lit and women's fiction.

She was awarded this year's Romantic Times Career Achievement in Suspense Award, and she is also moving into new technological territory with what the designers consider the first ever author-generated "social networking" website www.wendycorsistaubcommunity.com, which will be up and running as of April 18.

After just reading about all of Wendy's accomplishments, I feel that I've run a marathon, but I do have some questions for her.

Thomas Greanias revealed Antarctica as the hiding place for the lost continent of Atlantis in Atlantis Rising.  Now, the hero of that remarkable discovery must keep it a secret. On a visit to the grave of his father, he discovers a cryptic message concealed on the tombstone.  The deciphering of the code will propel him to discover a conspiracy buried in plain sight in the heart of the nation's capitol.  Clearly, the intensity increases in The Atlantis Prophecy.

What sparked the idea for The Atlantis Prophecy?

I was in Washington, D.C., as an on-air correspondent for NBC television affiliates, having just wrapped my report on the president's State of the Union Address outside the U.S. Capitol Building, when a friend in the government took me on a secret tour below the Capitol.  We're talking way, way, way below.  Then we went up a hidden staircase to the top of the Capitol Dome.  I was 21, and you could do those things back then in 1987 that you can't do 20 years later in this post-911 world.  Anyway, that night introduced me to the hidden world beneath Washington, D.C., and the secret history of America's capital city, and, ultimately, the American military's history of using astrology to wage war.