On the other side, the bad-guy side, I was fascinated by the idea of a man whose heart was totally hard and corrupt, and yet he possessed so much charm or power or something that it attracted people to him, causing them to be influenced by his corruption. That’s Declan, the leader of the group that is terrorizing a small town with a powerful new weapon. He’s totally cool and attractive in a reticent-bad boy way. We witness his younger brother’s struggle with Declan’s pull toward badness and his own moral compass.

When the campers and the bad guys meet, the sparks are like fireworks—fascinating and dangerous. But to make it all work, they had to clash someplace where neither side could run away; they had to be contained like gladiators in the Colosseum. Northern Saskatchewan’s backcountry, which at certain times of the year can be reached only by floatplane or helicopter, fit the bill perfectly.

Talk about how you researched Deadfall. Did you visit the north country of Canada? Any special knowledge that you acquired to write about the hunters and their equipment?

I did go back up to northern Canada, where I’d been before to camp and fish. It’s beautiful and isolated. I remembered thinking when I was up there that there’s something intriguing about how it’s both peaceful and potentially fatal. If you get lost up there, you’re gone forever. In the fall and winter, you could freeze overnight. I’ve bow-hunted and a good friend of mine, who goes up to Canada every few years, is a big-time bow-hunter. He’s also the game warden for the Cheyenne area, so he’s knowledgeable about outdoor survival, camping, hunting, all of that. I spent many hours picking his brain. I also did a lot of reading and called a few bow-hunters who are internationally known. For the satellite laser canon, again I read a lot and interviewed about a dozen who work in the field, both civilians and military personnel. It’s as important to me to be accurate as it is to tell a good story and develop characters people care about.

Not only will Deadfall appeal to suspense-thriller lovers, but also to teen and young adult “gamers.” Have you received any feedback from them?

A few of the early readers either were gamers or somehow involved with game development. They congratulated me for being right on about the personality of gamers and the gaming terminology. Of course, that’s more a product of research than that I’m so game-savvy. I do play Halo 3 with my sons, but what the guys in Deadfall are into goes much deeper. Besides getting a kick out of terrorizing people, one of Declan’s motives for blasting townsfolk with a satellite laser is to get footage of the death and destruction for a video game he’s developing. I spoke to a gentleman who runs a video game company, so except for his not being a homicidal maniac, he was a lot like Declan.

Deadfall’s bad guys aren’t typical stock characters. What’s so scary about them is that they could come from any family. How did you conceive them?

I thought about people I’ve known who have destructive personalities, but still attract followers, usually people who for whatever reason feel they wouldn’t have friends if they didn’t have this one, no matter how bad the guy is. A few years ago, I read a book about charismatic people who are awful to the people around them, but no one’s able to walk away; these people have this sort-of gravitational pull on them. Once I had Declan in mind, I considered the type of people who would be attracted to him and stay with him, despite his being a nasty guy; that they are normal boys-and-girl-next-door is what makes them fall for Declan’s charm. If they’d had stronger personalities, they never would have put up with his behavior.

Hutch, Deadfall’s main character, acts in survival mode to save himself and his friends, protect a young boy from town, and yet has compassion for a couple of bad-guy enemies. He’s humane and believable. In what ways did you want him to grow or gain the most through his experience?

I wanted him to put his resources to use, to see that he was made of stronger stuff than he was exhibiting. While he was successful at his job, as a columnist for The Denver Post, he had kind of settled into his comfort zone: putting in his time, collecting his paycheck, going through life without really seizing it, making the most of it. A lot of people reach that point, I think. So when his wife hits him with divorce papers and tries to take away his kids, he’s not in fighting mode, he takes it the way he’s been taking most things: with a tacit acceptance. I wanted to shake him up. I wanted him to become more proactive about his life—my making him, literally, to have to fight for his life. Through his experience, he starts to understand how much he has to fight for, how much influence he has on what happens to him, instead of simply sitting back and letting life do what it will to him.

Declan is Hutch’s enemy. He strives to learn from mistakes, but he’s missing something important deep within himself. Compared to Comes A Horseman’s monster, Olaf, Declan is biologically human, more like a guy who lives in the neighborhood. But, Olaf had a heart—which I don’t think is true of Declan. What type of person is Declan?

As a child of a self-made billionaire, Declan grew up feeling like he’s another of his father’s possessions. He was reared to believe that life favors the bold and people who know how to manipulate others. He recognized early in life that he didn’t have to do anything to survive. Because of his father’s money, he would always be taken care of—at least, fed and entertained, if not loved. He wanted to find his own life. He wasn’t going to reject his family’s money the way some rich people do; he decided to use it to be even greater than his father. Unfortunately, in his household, “great” is defined by how much influence you have on people, how much money you have, how much power. So those are the things he’s after, to a strong degree.

Any news on the screenplays for Comes A Horseman and Germ? You’ve mentioned that Deadfall has already generated interest from producers.


Tell us about your political thriller. Does it have a publication date?

That’s the story that seems closest to making it to the big screen, even though I haven’t written yet. All the elements are in place: Mike Medavoy and Phoenix Pictures are the producers, along with director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive and The Guardian). I’m working with Andy to write the screenplay. We have some incredible actors in mind, and I have no doubt Andy will land someone big, based on who he’s already worked with. It’s a dream project that came together the way only dream projects can: Mike Medavoy liked Comes a Horseman and asked what else I had in mind. I pitched this idea to him and he liked it. Then Andy, who worked with Mike on Holes, went to him with a similar idea, and Mike told him, “Go talk to Bob, see if you guys can put something together.” So he did, and we did. It’s going to be a killer novel and movie.

I’ve decide my next adult novel (I have two young adult novels coming out first) will be a follow-up to Deadfall. That’s pushed the political thriller out to, probably, 2009. We’re hoping it’ll release simultaneously with the movie.

Tell us about your sniper trilogy.

They’re based on my short story called “Kill Zone,” which appeared in an anthology called Thriller, edited by James Patterson. “Kill Zone” introduces readers to Byron Stone, a crack SWAT sniper struggling with what he does for a living. The first book will be called Recoil. I’m excited about digging into it, but I have two other thrillers to write before I can [dig in to it].

Will you be touring with Deadfall? What is the next exciting venture coming up?

Yes. Right now, I’m hitting mostly the west coast—San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Seattle; then Phoenix and a lot of Colorado cities: Colorado Springs, Denver, Ft. Collins, Vail, Aspen. I’m looking into getting to Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, and New York. Readers can go to my website to see where I’m going to be.

I’m really excited about the young adult series. It’s called Dreamhouse Kings, and the first two books, House of Dark Shadows and Watcher in the Woods, will be out in July, 2008. I’m planning on six books in the series. It’s about a family who moves into a strange old Victorian house with a wicked history. They find a hallway of rooms that turn out to be very different, in terms of what they experience when they enter them. It’s part-horror, part-fantasy, part-family drama, and all suspense. I have a team of young readers who have read the first book. I was blown away by their positive response to it. They’re excitement got my heart thumping for the story all over again.

In addition, I have three adult thrillers slated for the next year-and-a-half or so: the Deadfall follow-up; a return to the big, global adventures I explored in Horseman and Germ, but this one takes a look at vigilante justice on a grand scale; and the political thriller I’m working on with Andy Davis. Lot on my plate—but I have an insatiable appetite for storytelling, so I’m loving it.

 

Robert Liparulo's website 

Deadfall on Amazon

Vicki McCollum's blog 

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