Friday, October 05, 2012

Friday Q&A: author Jeremy Bates on his latest suspense novel 'The Taste of Fear' released this October!

Well folks, the time is fast approaching. The suspense novel ‘TheTaste of Fear’ by author Jeremy Bates (our review HERE) will be released on October 19. His first novel ‘White Lies’ has been nominated for several awards. He was an International Thriller Writers debut author for the year of 2011-2012 and a guest speaker at Thrillfest in New York this July. It was great of Jeremy to make time to answer a couple of quick Q&As with BOOKFABULOUS!


Q. How did you come up with the idea for ‘The Taste of Fear’? You also seem familiar with the region in which the story takes place, have you been to any of the countries mentioned in the book?
A. I’d done a lot of traveling over the years, and when I was thinking about the next novel a couple years back I wanted to do something that took place outside North America. Originally I had called the story something silly like Passport. Anyway, I must have heard or read about the anniversary of the bombings of the American embassies somewhere and thought it would make an interesting story to explore. I have been to a couple of the countries in which the story takes place but not to the Congo.

Q.What research did you rely on to bring everything together?
A. Mostly the Internet. Google Maps played a big part, so I had an idea of the geography etc. I also referenced a couple books along the way. One of the problems, however, was that there really isn’t that much stuff written about the Congo in relation to other countries.

Q. There is quite a strong cast of characters in ‘The Taste of Fear’ and all have a presence and personality that come through in the novel but which character did you most enjoy creating?
A. I probably enjoyed writing the bits with Damien Fitzgerald the best. He’s the bad guy, and bad guys are always fun to write because they can do stuff that other people can’t, morally and often physically. I once heard an actor say a similar thing: that he liked playing villains because it was so much more fun.

Q. Do tell more about Australian character ‘Thunder’. He seems out of place with this lot abducted in the African jungle. How did he come about?
A. He came about because Scarlett had just had that big fight with Sal (her husband), and they split up on a road in Tanzania. I needed a way to get Scarlett to the embassy right before the attack. But I had a lot of fun writing him too, and he ended up staying around until the end!

Q. Your heroine Scarlett baffles me. How would you sum her up in three words?
A. Rich, stubborn, and grounded.

Q. Will there be a sequel?
A. No, I don’t think so.

Q.  What are you reading now?
A. 'Don’t Blink' by James Patterson.

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