“I think through a scene or episode so I have an image of it in my mind just like I have a memory of a TV show I saw last night. Then I role play the characters and look at the scene from their perspectives.”
Terrence O’Brien 26 May 2012
The Back Flap
When the truth is your greatest danger, and the enemy knows the truth, things can only go downhill when the enemy finally gets the proof. And that’s the proof the Hashashin get when they steal what the Vatican doesn’t even know it has. Now the infallible decrees of two Twelfth Century popes and three kings, stolen by the Hashashin, threaten to catapult the bigotry, bias, and religious blood baths of the Third Crusade straight into the Twenty-First Century. When Templars Sean Callahan and Marie Curtis are drawn into the mess, they face an ancient enemy that has already nearly won the battle, a newly elected Mexican pope being undermined by entrenched Vatican powers, world class scholars who will sell their prestige to the highest bidder, and terrorists lingering over lattes in sidewalk cafes. Moving from Rome to London, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia, Callahan and Curtis are desperate to find some way to stem the success the Hashashin are having enlisting the majority of moderate Muslims in their Jihad. Out maneuvered at each step by the Hashashin, only a last ditch roll of the dice has any chance of success. But it’s the only chance they have.
About the Book
What is the book about?
If an ancient treaty between the Vatican and the European kings were found, and it called for the elimination of Islam from the earth, just how valuable might that treaty be? How might it rally moderate Muslims to the violent cause of the Jihadis? What would people on both sides of the struggle do for it, and how far would they go? The book tweaks history a bit and brings both the Knights Templar and the Islamic Hashashin Brotherhood forward to the present time, and places them in the middle of the struggle. I’ve always thought the power of ideas trumps the power of weapons, and that’s the context in which the story moves forward.
When did you start writing the book?
I began in September 2009 on the deck of a friend’s house in Steamboat, Colorado.
How long did it take you to write it?
The actual writing took about six months. Then I spent another six months trying to figure out what do with it as eBooks began to change the book world.
Where did you get the idea from?
The idea for the book began to grow a few years ago as news reports revealed more and more about Al Qaeda. What struck me was the fact that it had no national allegiance. It operated outside the established nation state system. Al Qaeda didn’t care what the government of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, or Iran thought. It did whatever it wanted, and claimed to be doing it to further world-wide Islam.
So, I wondered what things would be like if there was an organization in the West that was also free from the governments of the West. How would they combat Al Qaeda? What kind of scene would play out across the world if that kind of group challenged Al Qaeda without worrying about media, Congressional hearings, appeals courts, public opinion, or the next election cycle?
Then I remembered there once was such a Western organization when the Knights Templars were active from 1120 to 1307. They answered to nobody, had the strongest military of the day, crossed borders at will, amassed a huge fortune, engaged in trade and commerce, and financed many of the monarchies.
So, why not bring the Templars forward in time, and let some escape the ambush by the King of France and the pope that destroyed them in 1307? And since the Templars were a creation of the Crusades and the Church, let those players come into the present day, too. And the Hashashin, a secretive branch of Islaimi Shiite Islam that excelled in covert operations? Let them escape their destruction by the Mongols in 1275, and come forward to the present day.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Sure. I keep coming up with all kinds of great ideas that wander off into the weeds and have little to do with the plot. I have to drag myself back to the book I’m writing, delete the last few thousand words, and get with the program again. I do the same with characters. I come up with some character I really like, then have to drop him because he just doesn’t work in the book. They are all stuck in a bottom drawer hoping to land in a future book, and they might.
What came easily?
It gets easy when I know exactly where a sequence of actions is going to finish. Sometimes I write the end before I get to it. This could be the end of the whole book, a chapter, or some midpoint in the book. When the end point is sitting right there in front of me, it’s much easier to get to it.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
The characters are all fictitious except for some historical figures. But their personas are often an amalgam of people I have known. Sometimes this is planned, and other times I look at what a character has done and realize she acted just like some real person I know. I doubt it is random chance. It’s surprising how things like that come out.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I’m sure I’ve been influenced by lots of writers. It’s hard to say any specific writer influences me, but I do look at some writers and say, “He really does that well, and it would be great to do it as well.” For example, Richard Condon moves the story along at a pace that just doesn’t let you put the book down. When I read James Lee Burke, he weaves description in a way it seems I can smell the bayous of Louisiana. Tom Clancy can make the technology a character. And David Morrell is the best I know at fast action scenes. Daniel Woodrell’s writing is raw and majestic at the same time. For pure imagination and very clever plots, David Mcafee is a master. Do I do it like they do? No. Would I like to? Yes.
Do you have a target reader?
I’d love to target everyone, but reality says everyone probably won’t target me. So I’m hoping to attract readers who like thrillers with a side plot involving some real historical controversy. In the Templar Concordat, Papal Infallibility filled that role. In my next book, it will be the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I think through a scene or episode so I have an image of it in my mind just like I have a memory of a TV show I saw last night. Then I role play the characters and look at the scene from their perspectives. Yeah, just like Walter Mitty. I might do this while driving, working out at the gym, or just kicked back on the front porch. Then I type it out. And each time I actually run it through the keyboard, it changes.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just Chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I spent a long time in construction management building oil fields. Projects like that use a series of blocks and precedence lines to develop work flow and schedules. I do the same for the books.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I didn’t organize my editing well for the first book, and wasted lots of time. For the new book, I am editing as I go.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I use a proofreader, but haven’t used a content editor.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Never. Things just don’t work well when I do that.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I did, but it didn’t take long to figure out they weren’t interested. The work itself only got to a few agents. All the rest rejected on the basis of the query letter.
What made you decide to go Indie? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal about Amazon increasing royalties for independent eBooks from 35% to 70%. That’s really the first I knew about independent eBooks.. I looked into it, and never looked back.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?
A professional did it. I know my limitations.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I have a plan, but I have to admit the changes in the plan probably wear wings.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Yes. Make up a 25-page sample book and run it completely through the process of writing, editing, formatting, cover, and loading it to your personal Kindle. This will save an enormous amount of time and effort. The author will know where he is going and what he will run into. Writing the book is one thing. Getting it up on the eBook vendor sites is a completely different task. Experiment on something short that doesn’t matter. Make the mistakes on a trial run rather than on the real book.
What are you working on now?
I’m hoping to publish The Templar Constitution in June or July. It will be the second book in a series rather than an actual sequel. Some characters from the Concordat are back, and some are brand new.
End of Interview:
You can buy the Templar Concordat here, and you can find out more about Terrence here.