Title: Betrayal by Blood and Demons: The Judas Factor
Author: Ian McBride
Publisher: 2014, Lulu Publishing Services
ISBN: 9781483421971
Pages: 213, Paperback
Genre: Thriller
Author Interview with Ian McBride
Today we are talking to Ian McBride, author of “Betrayal by Blood and Demons: The Judas Factor”.
HBR: This being your first novel, when did you first give thought to becoming a writer?
I wrote for my school newspaper in College. However, I chose to enter the high technology field to seek fame and fortune. While in the business world I worked for major corporations including Hewlett Packard and SunGard before becoming an entrepreneur and starting up two firms. While in business I wrote business plans, press releases, and white papers. I let the creative writing genie out of the bottle when I was spared during the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. I began writing a journal of my experiences that led to the decision to become a professional writer. I have a number of working manuscripts that I created in the years following 2001 and will be bringing to market. Betrayal by Blood and Demons is the first book that I’ve published.
HBR: Your book acknowledgements include a wonderful listing of favorite authors who have been influential to you as a writer. What did you find appealing in their writings?
I love great story tellers who take you on a journey as they create richly textured scenes, interesting characters and edgy plot twists. My favorite authors deftly build drama, conflict and tension while taking you an on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Powerful themes of betrayal, courage, love, tragedy, heroism and good overcoming evil captivate me.
HBR: What inspired you to write Betrayal by Blood and Demons?
One of my favorite books Disclosure, written by Michael Crichton, is a high-tech thriller laced with dark sexual allegations. Tom Sanders, the protagonist, will lose everything he holds dear – his job, his family, his reputation – if he can’t prove his innocence. I wanted to craft an even darker high-tech thriller with certain death facing the protagonist, Shane Connelly, in a hell-hole prison if he can’t overcome the horrendous molestation accusation by his son and wife. Shane must summon all of his survival skills to prove his innocence, save his newly formed company, protect his eleven year old daughter and find true love. In summary I wanted to craft a dark thriller with the stakes being even higher for Shane Connelly than Michael Crichton’s character Tom Sanders.
HBR: In your website, www.ianmcbrideauthor.com, you mention your experience at the time of the events of September 11, 2001. Could you briefly share what you experienced that day and why you felt it important to incorporate 9/11 in your story?
On 9/11, I planned to have breakfast at the World Trade Center Breakfast Club located on the 107th of the North Tower at the World Trade Center. I awoke to the sounds of blaring fire engine horns and air the consistency of pancake batter streaming in through my bedroom window. I left my 8th floor apartment and walked down a darkened stairwell into the building lobby. The scene was apocalyptic with people coated with white ash from head to foot. I proceeded to work with the concierge to set up a human car wash to remove the debris. From that moment I knew that I needed to volunteer in the rescue and recovery efforts. I authored an article about my experiences titled “The Human Car Wash” that is being archived at the 9/11 Memorial Library. Early readers of my manuscript wanted me to recreate for them what it was like to visit the World Trade Center before the attack and share scenes from Ground Zero. The themes of betrayal, courage and love have parallels in the protagonist’s life and the courageous work by the workers and volunteers at the World Trade Center disaster site. I thought that setting the book in the summer of 2001 and incorporating the World Trade Center scenes would add to the dramatic arc of the story.
HBR: You incorporate Christian elements in your plot. Briefly explain why you chose to include that in your plot.
I was raised in the Christian faith as a Catholic. The themes of good versus evil are rooted in the bible dating to the Garden of Eden with Cain and Abel. The betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot represents perhaps the most despicable act of treachery in recorded history. Christ’s redemptive story and Shane Connelly’s lesser but impactful redemptive arc from gang roots, to success, to betrayal, to rising above the betrayal to save his innocent daughter and claim love are powerful story elements that have Christian underpinnings.
HBR: Deano, the private investigator, has to be one of the most fascinating characters. How is it that you draw a parallel between a P.I. and The Penguin?
I ran with a rough crowd growing up – a bit of a smart ass and borderline juvenile delinquent. I frequently got into trouble with my best friend who ended up going to prison. I remember meeting with a crusty private investigator who took an interest in turning my life around. When I saw the movie Batman Returns I made the immediate association between the detective in my youth and the Danny Devito character “The Penguin.” I thoroughly enjoyed creating this PI character. I also drew from Dashiell Hammet’s rich character description of private detective Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon.
HBR: In your story, Shane and Lia help Jamal, a wheelchair bound man. How did you come up with this character and why?
I frequently passed a young man in a wheelchair when I lived in Lower Manhattan. He would set up in front of the Path Station by the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and greet people with a warm, almost angelic smile. Sometimes a person would put some change or a dollar in his collection cup. Most people passed him by as if he was invisible. I befriended him and wanted to incorporate him in the story. The scene of two Good Samaritans coming to his assistance when his collection cup falls is one of my favorite parts of the book. It also foreshadows a deeper connection between Shane Connelly and Lia Harrison that is developed later in the book.
HBR: Do you have any other writing projects in the works?
I’ve written a series of op-ed pieces that recently ran in major New York newspapers – The Daily News and New York Newsday. The articles deal with the after effects of 9/11 dust exposure and the need to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Sadly this act expires in 2016 as will the benefits. I am a strong advocate for continuing to provide health care and financial assistance to those who became ill from exposure to the toxic dust and ashes after the terrorist attack. Here are links to my articles:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/richard-dodd-health-care-responders-article-1.2240599
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/rage-of-the-ashes-1.10483540
I have other personal essays under development, a spiritually themed novel about a guardian angel and a memoir.
HBR: Do you foresee yourself writing more thrillers, or are there other genres that you’re interested in exploring?
I have another thriller planned with the working title The Black Swan Conspiracy. However, this will need to wait until I publish my spiritually themed novel Scent from an Angel. I plan to have this book go through the traditional literary agent/publisher model.
HBR: Since you raise issues about drugs and teens in Betrayal By Blood and Demons, do you foresee yourself continuing to write adult books, or shifting gears to write for teens or young adults?
I plan to write some personal essays on how our society fails to deal with the problem of mental illness which is frequently linked to drug addiction and alcoholism. I expect to write and submit a number of op-ed pieces on this subject over the coming weeks. These first person essays may grow into the publication of books that would appeal to both the adult and young adult markets.