Dr. Derek Stillwater is a very busy guy.
He’s now married and raising kids, but he still finds time to combat a terrorist plot against the United States in Oxford resident Mark Terry’s latest novel The Fallen, set to be released April 5, 2010 and sell for $25.95.
The action takes off as 20 world leaders meet at the G8 Summit at the Cheyenne Resort in Colorado Springs, CO. What could possibly go wrong when you have the Secret Service, the FBI, Homeland Security, the military, and security from 20 different governments? on-hand?
How about a terrorist group calling themselves The Fallen Angels infiltrating the resort and taking the world leaders hostage and issuing an ultimatum ? release 20 prisoners from Guantanamo Bay or we’ll execute one world leader each hour until our demands are met.
It’s all up to Stillwater, who is working undercover as a maintenance man at the resort. Only Terry knows how Stillwater plans to take down the terrorists and free the world leaders in this intense thriller.
It’s the third novel in the Derek Stillwater series. The first two novels, The Devil’s Pitchfork and The Serpent’s Kiss, have been translated into French, German and Slovak
Stillwater is a trouble shooter for homeland security and an expert in chemical and biological warfare and terrorism.
Terry describes Stillwater as nutty and neurotic. ‘He’s convinced that he will die from this so he is tends to be a little fatalistic. He’s kind of superstitious; he has a four-leaf clover necklace, juju beads and a St. Sebastian Medal.?
Even with the items, Stillwater doesn’t believe in them, but he believes in bad luck, so he just attempts to avoid it.
Like Stillwater, Terry has worked in the field of Microbiology. He has a Bachelors of Science in Microbiology and Public Health from Michigan State, so it makes sense when he said he comes by the topic naturally. ‘I noted that the 9/11 attacks, as horrible as they were, just a few months later there was the anthrax attack in the mail. That created a different kind of panic in a different way. It really hit the fear factor in a way that other types of things don’t necessarily do because we are all afraid of disease and we can’t see it.?
One of the common threads throughout the Stillwater novels is the use of time.
‘I like that ticking clock all throughout my work’I like that aspect of it. It’s sort of a classic element in a thriller, beating a ticking clock,? said Terry. ‘To me, it creates a wonderful sense of urgency.?
According to Terry, he did a lot of research surrounding security measures. He talked to some people at a resort in CO that has hosted some high-security UN events. He also talked to a former military pilot, asking him to check to make sure his helicopter scene was accurate. He researched elevators and guns, too, since he proclaims he isn’t a gun guy.
‘When I have a question, I just don’t guess. I try to find out the real information. At the same time its fiction, I’m not writing a nonfiction book. I hope I’m as accurate as can be without causing too many problems,? said Terry.