Literarily Speaking

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Author Interview-2

Q: Thank you so much for this interview, Stefan!  Can you tell us where you are from?

I have grown up and worked professionally most of my life in Melbourne, Australia.

Q: How did you come up with your title?

Deciding on the title has never been much of a problem for me, and I always try to select something that will reflect the meaning and content of a book. With Cry of Eagles, having researched what Mossad is prepared to do to further Israel’s interests, even when that means abusing an ally, the title pretty much crystallized.

Q: They say you can judge a book by its cover.  Can you tell us a little about your cover and who designed it?

I tossed over the cover for a while before settling on it. It shows an eagle, wings spread, perched on an island that is blowing up. In one talon, it is clutching a missile from which streams a US flag. In the other, a missile with an Israeli flag. The cover was designed by Laura Shinn: laurashinn.author@gmail.com

Q: Can you tell us something about your book that would make me run out and buy it?

Iran’s nuclear capability represents a clear national threat to Israel. Although concerned, the United States and Europe are reluctant to increase sanctions. Frustrated that nothing is being done, Mossad decides to force the United States into action. A black ops team sabotages a refinery complex in Galveston and plants evidence that incriminates Iran, confident that an enraged America will retaliate. Congress and the public urge the U.S. president to bomb Iran, but the administration lacks direct evidence. With carriers positioned in the Gulf ready to strike, the world waits to see if the Middle East will explode into open conflict. With tension mounting, the FBI uncovers a shocking truth. It wasn’t Iran at all, but Israel! A government falls and America forces Israel to confront the Palestinian problem.

Q: Are there any messages in this book that you want the reader to know about?

Wow, that’s a hard one. I don’t usually write books with a specific message, although one or a bunch may naturally emerge, depending on the reader’s point of view, but nothing deliberate from me as an author. I write the story and whatever messages might be in it are purely incidental … to protect the guilty, as they say. With Cry of Eagles, I guess there are two messages. One demonstrates that Israel is prepared to do anything to further its interests, and the other is that there is always an alternative to do what is right, provided the political will is there. I guess another could be that a nation should not act until all the situational facts are in.

Q: What was your most favorite chapter to write and why?

It is not exactly a favorite chapter, I like to think they are all pretty good, but Chapter Five combines the problems Tom Meecham has as the FBI investigator pinning down who sabotaged the Galveston refinery, his involvement with Mark Price from Homeland Security, and Admiral Ronald Vincent, commanding USS Nimitz, stationed in the Arabian Gulf, poised to send a strike against Iran. They are all vital elements weaving themselves through the tapestry of the book.

Q: Why did you feel you had to write this book?

Cry of Eagles touches a possible raw nerve, looking as it does at some of the history behind the Israeli/Palestinian problem, unwillingness by the American administration to broker a settlement, Mossad prepared to do anything to further Israeli interests, how FBI operates, makes for what seems a unique treatment of the topic. Combining these factors into the mix, plus extensive research and not seeing anything like this on the market, it did not take me long to decide to write a book about it. I hope it is also an entertaining yarn.

Q:  Now, some fun questions – What deep dark secret would you like to share with us?

Hah! I’ve got a whole raft of them, it is hard to pick a dandy. But if I had to choose, I wouldn’t mind being one of those muscular six foot three guys girls would go after and other he-men want to stay clear of.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Over the course of a long life, I had opportunities to see much of the world and experience its wonders, natural and man-made. Antarctica is one place I would love to visit. Seeing many documentaries about its wild beauty and tenacious fauna, the majesty of towering icebergs, its angry seas, magic of the auroras, seeing all that would be cool.

Q: Are you a morning person or a night person?

I am a morning person, a result of having to get up early over the years to go to work, and that’s when I like to write. That discipline hasn’t left me and I still get up early. I am fresh and my mind is charged, ready to go – most of the time. I find I am most productive during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, I spend transcribing material from my notebook into the computer and doing initial editing. Although I don’t normally write in the evening, sometimes I do. It all depends on inspiration and what I am writing about at the time.

Q: Are there any members in your family who also like to write?

I’m afraid I am the only odd person in my family who is captivated by words, a product of a fatal affliction – I love books and the universes they open for me. Creating my own was the next logical step.

Q: As a child, were you a dreamer?

Always! Ever since I picked up my first book, an illustrated copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I was hooked. As my imagination took flight in other books, the natural progression was dreaming about creating my own – and I did!

Q: Last but not least, the magic genie has granted you one wish.  What would that be?

Shift through time would be something invaluable. The ability to roam through the past, see what the future has in store, have all my questions answered, that would be cool. It would also be neat seeing how my books are doing, and seeing books I haven’t written yet. A time paradox? Perhaps, but it would be interesting ability nonetheless.

Q: Thank you so much for this interview! Do you have any final words?

If there is one thing I learned over the years as a writer, if anyone is contemplating taking this on seriously, he should be prepared to spend many lonely hours with a pencil and paper, and sitting behind a computer screen. There will be disappointments, frustration, angst … and moments of sheer exhilaration and satisfaction when the words flow and the creative process produces something wonderful. Writing is a gift, but it can also be a curse. But once bitten with the urge to create, there is no cure.

 

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