New interview with legal thriller author Heath Daniels

I’m happy to welcome Heath Daniels back to the blog to chat about his latest novel – a new international legal thriller, Don’t Fence Me In.

In December of 2017, Heath was here and chatted about two of his novels Three Kisses and Day of Judgment.

Bio:

For many years during his professional career as a professor focusing on international issues, Heath Daniels travelled the world and lived in several countries where he made a point of involving himself in local culture, politics, and friendships. While living in the Middle East in late 2005, he received inspirations and strong motivations to write his first novel, Three Kisses, about an anti-U.S. group’s attempts to infiltrate the U.S. using Russian medical technology.

Since then, he continued to travel and move. The same characters that came to life in his first novel metaphorically pressured and inspired him to continue to tell their stories of international espionage, intrigue, adventure, legal drama, and continued infiltration of the U. S. Each time he received such inspiration he sat down to his computer and began writing the stories that are now well-received U.S, historical novels focusing on current events. Many events he has written about fictionally have actually happened at a later time. Characters reflect persons he has encountered directly or indirectly, not always under favorable circumstances; there are no stereotypes.

Now he spends most of his time in the U.S. but still traveling internationally when opportunities present themselves. When not thinking of ways to spoil his grandchildren, traveling, or writing, he reads and is involved in spiritual activities that inspire the themes of empathy, respect, and acceptance that are woven through all his works.

He has written four novels.

Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews, Heath.

Please tell us about your newest release.

Russia, with the help of Iran and North Korea, has dug a tunnel under the Mexico-U.S. border to infiltrate the U.S. as the U.S. teeters on the precipice of civil destruction. Behind the cacophony of chaos, a sinister secret group of presumed diplomats based in Mexico orchestrates their infiltrators to enter the U.S. and conduct acts of terrorism to collapse the United States from within. There are frequent bombings of prominent institutions.  In addition, during this period there are lengthy government shutdowns and mass illegal immigrant detainments adding to the chaos. At the epicenter of the activity, where the Texas, New Mexico, and Mexican borders meet, key civil servants of the United States investigate and bring perpetrators to justice.

Muslim-American U.S. Deputy Attorney General, Yusef Shaito, is suddenly thrust into a position of leadership under intense scrutiny of the media and the general public, with everyone judging the implications behind every prosecution and sentencing. Issues of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and citizenship are all called into question, with no stone unturned in this thrilling examination of what makes the U.S. what it is today and how susceptible it is to collapse if it doesn’t find a way to come together. 

What inspired you to write this book?

When my third book, Justice!, was published, mentally I began to compose my memoirs. Many persons have said that I really need to write my memoirs soon because they would be so interesting. I even had a title for a book of memoirs and some idea of how I would organize the contents. Then, suddenly, inspirations came into my mind to write a fourth novel based on current events of the day. Russians were using many means to infiltrate and create chaos in the U.S. to bring down the society and democracy. Because of the Maria Butina and other scandals, U.S. authorities had become much too vigilant for the Russians to continue creating chaos from within the country. So, now, why not write about Russia’s infiltration, with help from Iran and North Korea, countries that had their own reasons for damaging the U.S., by coming in through the back door, Mexico. Inspirations just began to flow. The U.S.-Mexico border had its own set of issues as widely reported by the media and Russia could take advantage of that discord. Dig a tunnel to get people and bomb-making supplies into the U.S. from Mexico, and get people back under the border once things were stirred up. Characters from the previous books were in ideal positions to be sent to the border to continue the saga.

Excerpt from Don’t Fence Me In:

Wednesday, November 28, 2017

San Antonio, Texas, USA

It was mid-morning on a warm, sunny day, typical of late fall in South Texas, when Yusef Shaito entered the office of John Holmes, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, one of the largest, if not the largest, judicial districts in the U.S. in both population and geographic size. Yusef was the deputy U.S. attorney for the district. He focused primarily on human and civil rights, and was viewed as one of the nation’s experts on hate crimes. He took the position almost three years previously after exemplary service in the U.S. Attorney General Headquarters in Washington, DC. He was in his early thirties and stood five feet nine inches with slightly curly black hair and a trim build.

John Holmes was fairly new in the position, having been appointed three months earlier by the Trump administration and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He had been the deputy in another U.S. judicial district and recently moved to San Antonio with a promotion. He was of average height and build, about five feet ten inches, with neatly trimmed brown hair. He was in his middle forties, young for a senior position. Both Yusef and John were professionally dressed with suit, dress shirt, and tie, their suit coats hanging in their offices.

Yusef and John had developed a good working relationship during the relatively short period John had been on the job, but they were not close and remained mostly professional in their

interactions. Yusef immediately took a seat, not feeling a need to wait until asked.

After pleasantries, John said, “First of the year we need you to move to El Paso temporarily.”

Yusef, stunned, blurted out, “What? Move to El Paso? Now?”

“Yes. As you know, Emiliano is retiring early to go into private practice, leaving a big vacancy at the top. Lots of things are going on in the El Paso area, and a good defense attorney, especially one with previous experience with the AG like Emiliano, would be in

demand and do well.”

“What about Susana? She’s number two there and doing a good job.”

“Yes, she seems to be doing a good job. But, if we promoted her, even temporarily, it would leave another hole. Things are shorthanded there anyway, and we don’t have authority to hire right now. Besides, just between you and me, Susana’s a great number two, but I’m not sure if she has the personality and style to take over, even if just temporarily. You are forceful but unassuming, and they all like you and respect you.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Yusef said. “You know I focus on human and civil rights. Drug trafficking and immigration are not my thing, and that’s what they have a lot of there.”

“I know. When I was there to get to know them, Gerard was taking the lead in handling drug issues and doing very well. He can keep on handling the drug cases under you. The other staff all deal well with immigration issues. As you’re no doubt aware, it’s human rights and civil rights issues that are becoming much more important with migrants from Central America. El Paso doesn’t have strength in that area. With you in charge, we’ll have that covered. You’ll still be in charge of human and civil rights for the whole district, but you can

handle that from El Paso just as well as you can from here.”

“You know I’m Muslim,” Yusef continued. “This administration doesn’t seem to like Muslims, to put it mildly. How would they react to my being there? I can keep a low profile here, which I would likely do Muslim or not. But head of a division is higher profile.”

What’s the next writing project?

Inspirations are coming to me for the next novel, mostly inspirations for subplots and some characters. The main thing missing is the beginning that sets a thread for a plot to be carried through the book. Last night in a dream the ending for this fifth book just came to me. I still need the beginning, though. *smile* When the inspiration comes for the beginning, I’ll start the next novel. Almost certainly it will be necessary to wait until the 2020 election in the U.S. is over; there is too much uncertainty to latch onto a plot.

The notion of memoirs is also there when the inspiration comes.

What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)

Putting distractions aside in order to sit at a computer and write!

If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?

While I am writing, if I come to a place in the story line where I need to fill in details, I do the research. Only once did I do some research at the beginning. For the third book, Justice!, I knew that my lead character needed to continue to move up in his career. He had moved up with promotions as far as he could at the U.S. Attorney General office in Washington, D.C. until someone retired or died. In order to continue to progress up the career ladder, he would have to transfer to one of the 90+ judicial districts in the U.S. It couldn’t be just any judicial district, but instead a big and important one. Research showed me that one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in both population and geographic size, is the Western District of Texas with headquarters in San Antonio. Because I am very familiar with western Texas and could easily write about it, it was a very fortunate result of research.

What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.

While I can’t say the muse is more active here, my writing space is my home multi-purpose room where I have my desk, computer, etc., i.e. a home office. It is also an extra sitting room, has a couch that makes into a bed for a guest bedroom, and serves many other purposes. That is why it is multi-purpose.

What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?

One of my favorites lately is John Grisham. I have discovered that his genre and mindset are very similar to mine, although I was not that familiar with John Grisham before I started writing my books.

Also, I have re-discovered Allen Drury who had cult following when I was in university more years ago than I want to admit. Drury wrote about political events in the late 1950s into the 1960s that included Russian infiltration (the Soviet Union in those days) of the U.S. Drury’s books confirm the old saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Because I re-discovered Drury after I had written three books, I can’t say I got any inspiration from him, but there are many similarities in genre although I pointedly avoid partisan politics.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?

Your feedback, comments, and reviews are always very welcome.

Links:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Thank you for coming back to Reviews and Interviews!

Interview with debut legal thriller author Michael McAuliffe

Today’s special guest is debut author Michael McAuliffe to chat about his legal thriller, No Truth Left To Tell.

Bio:

Michael McAuliffe has practiced law for over 30 years. He has served as an assistant United States attorney and as a federal civil rights prosecutor at the Department of Justice. In 2008, Michael was elected as the state attorney for Palm Beach County leading an office of 125 prosecutors. After leaving public service in 2012, Michael was the general counsel for a global company. He also has been a partner at a major law firm, a senior lecturing fellow at Duke University’s School of Law and an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary’s School of Law. In 1993-94, Michael was a CEP fellow and visiting law professor in the Czech Republic.

Michael is an avid alpine mountaineer having climbed and reached the summits of Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Island Peak in the Himalayas, and many other mountains.

He and his wife Robin, a US district judge, have three children, and live in Florida and Massachusetts.

Welcome, Michael. Please tell us about your current release.

No Truth Left To Tell is a story about the feds trying to stop the Ku Klux Klan from starting a new race war in the South in the 1990s. Adrien Rush, a young, ambitious federal prosecutor from Washington, DC, is sent to Lynwood, Louisiana, to work on the Klan investigation with Lee Mercer, an experienced and skeptical black FBI agent. They must solve a series of cross burnings targeting the town’s minorities before the violence escalates. Their case becomes compromised when the feds realize a local police detective employed his own brand of justice to extract the confession from the culprit, who is the grand dragon of the Klan. The inescapable collision of right and wrong, of white and black, has deadly consequences.

The novel is about violent racist extremism and police brutality in America and the high cost of protecting the rights of us all.

What inspired you to write this book?

Early in my legal career, I was a federal civil rights prosecutor in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. While in the section, I travelled around the country investigating and prosecuting violent extremists, corrupt law officials (many in law enforcement) and human traffickers. The novel is loosely based on those experiences including a case in which I prosecuted thirteen members of the Klan in Louisiana and their grand dragon. Also, many of the victims of racial violence I met while working as a federal prosecutor showed great courage and resolve in the face of terror. For decades, I wanted to create a fictional world that reflected their very real and inspiring bravery and determination.

Excerpt from No Truth Left to Tell:

…

Nettie Wynn awoke from a deep slumber that night to the siren calls of the fire engine. She grasped the corner post of the full-sized bed and lifted her small frame. She shuffled toward the offending noise, and as she drew back the heavy floral curtains, the cycling lights sprinted into the room and around the walls. She reached out and tried to touch the truck’s folded ladder, but her hand hit the windowpane instead.

With her sleep-blurred vision, Wynn thought she saw a tree on fire in her yard. The tree’s impending demise would be yet another unexpected loss for her. Just last month, Shirley, her neighbor of thirty years, had stopped visiting after she was moved into a nursing home. And six months ago, despite a legion of dedicated customers and decades of service, the grocer down on the corner had closed his tiny shop. The new economy didn’t have any room for him, he had said.

She stared out the window for the ten thousandth time but didn’t, or couldn’t, easily see that she was looking at the branded expression of hate. She wasn’t made that way. So she stood awhile longer before she recognized the true nature of the spectacle before her.

Oh, my—Lord, help me.

(From Chapter Two, page 16, of No Truth Left To Tell.)

What exciting story are you working on next?

I am working on two new stories. One involves the same protagonist in No Truth Left To Tell, Adrien Rush, battling a sophisticated and brutal group of human traffickers. The second story is about a quiet Czech professor who becomes a war hero while fighting in the free Czech army based in London during WWII. After the war, he must escape again when the communists take all his property in 1948 and try to arrest him as a subversive. The velvet revolution creates the chance for professor to return to his native Bohemia after over forty years in exile. He must battle the old communists––many of whom who are now the new democrats––to recover his property and to discover the life that he might have led.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I write professionally and have for thirty years. Some form of storytelling, or at least advocacy through communication, is a part of what I do and who I am as an attorney. However, I was humbled by the process of writing fiction which I started in 2016. I only recently became comfortable accepting the label “writer” without it being tethered to the legal profession.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I balance writing with teaching law school on a part-time basis and also practicing law. I write nearly every day even if for only an hour.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I wake up during the night with an idea or phrase relating to an ongoing writing project. I grab my iPhone on the nightstand, and I type in whatever has just surfaced from the creative recesses in my head. I email the typed version of a scribble to myself (often accompanied by a short grunt or other verbal confirmation of my latest inspiration and the swish of the apple email being both sent and received by me). My wife doesn’t always appreciate this ritual, but the dog at the foot of the bed seems to get it.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An astronaut and a father. At least I accomplished the more important one.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Keep reading stories and sharing them. Sharing stories isn’t just an act of generosity, it’s also an exercise of self-preservation because we all need common experiences (real and imagined) to thrive.

Links:

Website | Book site

Thanks for stopping by today, Michael.

Interview with crime fiction novelist Eric Matheny

Today’s highlight is the legal thriller, The Victim, by Eric Matheny.

Bio:

Eric Matheny was born in Los Angeles, California, where he lived until he went away to college at Arizona State University. At ASU he was president of Theta Chi Fraternity. He graduated with a degree in political science and moved to Miami, Florida, to attend law school at St. Thomas University. During his third year of law school, he interned for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, where he worked as a prosecutor upon graduation. In 2009, he went into private practice as a criminal defense attorney. He is a solo practitioner representing clients in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Broward County, Florida. He has handled everything from DUI to murder.

In his free time, Eric enjoys writing crime fiction, drawing from his experience working in the legal system. He published his debut novel Home in 2004, which centers around a successful drug dealer catering to the rich in Orange County. His second novel Lockdown, published in 2005, follows a law student trying to prove that an inmate serving a life sentence in one of California’s toughest prisons might actually be innocent. Eric’s latest novel The Victim, is a tense, fast-paced, legal thriller/psychological suspense novel that centers around a young defense attorney whose horrifying misdeed from his college days comes back to haunt him. It was published by Zharmae in August 2015 and is available for sale on Amazon.

Eric lives outside of Fort Lauderdale with his wife and two young sons.

Welcome, Eric! Please tell us a little bit about The Victim.

Anton Mackey is a 32-year-old Miami defense attorney who has tried desperately to forget about the horrific mistake he made eleven years earlier while a student in college.  But that mistake has come back to haunt him in the form a new client’s wife - a victim of what appears to be a brutal act of domestic violence.  The fee is great and everything seems normal until Anton realizes that this new client - rather his new client’s wife - is a figure from his past.  What follows is a nightmare as Anton frantically tries to keep this woman from destroying everything he has built.  Though at the same time, he begins to learn that this woman - the victim - may be connected to an unrelated murder case.

What inspired you to write this book?

A few years after I graduated from college, I heard a story about a guy I knew from school who had been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide after smashing into a disabled car on the highway, causing a fire, and killing both occupants.  The individual responsible got out of his car and began to run away on foot.  I thought, what if you did that and got away?  Using my knowledge of physical evidence from my career as an ex-prosecutor/practicing defense attorney, I understood the technical aspects of how a person could get away with such a crime.  Now what if that person went on to live a normal life, perhaps became an attorney, and then the past came back to haunt him?  I think all good thrillers start with a “what if?”

Excerpt from The Victim:
Chapter 1

March 16, 2003

Payson, Arizona

He thought he was dead.

Steam hissed from the crumpled front end of the RV that had folded accordion-style against the guardrail. His face stung from the punch of the airbag. His lungs burned from that awful talcum powder that drifted through the cabin as the bag deflated. The chemical dust, suspended in the air, seemed to be frozen in time.

His nose was numb and swollen. He tasted blood trickling down the back of his throat like a cocaine drip. He peered through the cracked windshield, his eyes adjusting to the reddish glow of a desert sunrise. The crushed-in hood had jarred upward. The chassis was off balance. The whole vehicle wobbled as he shifted his weight in his seat.

Oh my God.

He cranked the door handle and heaved his shoulder into it to pop it off the jamb. He hopped down onto the highway. The winds were heavy and dry, rustling the sage and scrub oaks that dotted the rugged landscape along the Beeline Highway. A sliver of fiery light barely illuminated the peaks of the Mazatal Mountains, which rose and fell against the horizon. Giant saguaros stood like sentries.

The back half of a red two-door sedan lay beneath the shredded front tires of the RV. Flattened like an aluminum can. On impact the RV must have bucked forward, rolling up onto the rear bumper of the smaller car, coming to rest on its roof. The significant weight of the RV crushed the sedan into something you might see stacked in a junkyard.

The highway was quiet. Just the rush of hot wind crackling the delicate spines of the sagebrush. He got his bearings quickly, the initial shock of the crash having passed. A sobering experience. Literally. Half a handle of Jack Daniels coursing through his veins had been replaced by something stronger.

Panic.

He saw long hair, a young female’s. How he could tell her age by the back of her head, he would never know. Maybe by its length and sheen—bright, yellow-blond. Slick with blood. Her forehead propped on the steering wheel. The driver-side window blown out. The windshield was a shattered web.

The man beside her—or boy, he was arguably young—was out cold, his body positioned in the passenger’s seat in a gimpy, off-kilter fashion. The passenger side had been thrust into the guardrail, which molded itself to the frame of the car. His head lolled against the door. Blood leaked from his ear and ran down his neck.

“Are you okay?” he screamed, although he knew he would get no reply. His voice resonated throughout the valley. “Hello?”

He braced himself against the ruined front end of the RV. He felt a surge of bile and whiskey come up in the back of his throat. He heaved forward but held it in. He was lightheaded.

Oh God, please let this be a dream. Oh God, please...this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening...  

What exciting story are you working on next?

A standalone crime thriller set in Los Angeles during the April 29, 1992, riots.  Aside from the standpoint of law enforcement, namely a tough female sheriff’s deputy,

the story examines a crime from several gang perspectives - a violent South Central Blood set; a ruthless outlaw biker club; and the Korean Kkhangpae (Korean Mafia) that maintains a stranglehold over its piece of the city. 

I lived in Los Angeles at the time of the riots and it was a frightening and oddly fascinating time in history.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I was 7 and I wrote stories on my mother’s word processor.  Throughout my life, even if I wasn’t putting words down on paper, I felt like I had a monologue going on in my head, as if I could watch events unfold and then narrate them to myself.  I started writing seriously when I was 21.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I am a full-time defense attorney, part-time writer.  I work all day, usually starting early in the morning.  I try to bang out a page or two before court and then I am off to handle my morning calendar, sometimes multiple calendars in multiple counties.  After the morning and once my pressing matters are handled, I go back to my story and crank out a little more.  I try to write 2000 words a day. 

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I almost always know the title of a story before I begin and the first thing I do before I put down a single word is find a quote to start the book. 

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A detective, a fighter pilot, a cardiovascular surgeon, a sports agent, and finally - a criminal defense attorney. 

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I have traveled through Transylvania and been to the house where Vlad Dracul (the inspiration for Count Dracula) was born.  It is now a vampire-themed restaurant.  Folklore aside, Transylvania is one of the best kept secrets of Eastern Europe.  Driving through the Carpathian Alps, you will see real horse-and-buggies, farmhouses that are hundreds of years old, and folks who live without any modern conveniences.  The scenery is breathtaking and full of real history - the hotel where my wife and I stayed was the “new” building in town because it was constructed around 1600.  I love Europe and have been to many of the popular tourist destinations in the west - Barcelona, Vienna, Amsterdam - but cannot stress enough the mystique and untouched beauty of the east.  Plus Romania is still on their own currency (not the euro) so the exchange rate is about four Romanian Leu to one U.S. dollar.  While Eastern Europe is relatively inexpensive to begin with, Romania is a bargain.  If you want something completely off the beaten path, not touristy, and entirely unique, fly to Bucharest (no direct flights from U.S., connect in Rome, London, or Paris), rent a car, and head north out of the city.

Readers can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.  And to learn more, go to http://www.ericmathenybooks.com/

Thank you, Eric!