Colonel, how did you develop the character of your protagonist? ................................... Patrick O’Donnell has specks of Mike Angley in him. He’s Irish-Catholic, a devoted father and husband, and he’s a USAF Special Agent! His faith becomes his foundation as he faces life-and-death decisions, and even when he simply battles his own human frailties. Although his faith is a large part of the story, I use it as a character development device. My stories are not Christian fiction in the traditional sense of the genre, although they have found a following among readers of Christian fiction. One big boost I received came with the first novel. When it launched in June 2009, the Library Journal put it on its Summer Reads List for Christian fiction................................................ What are your hero’s strengths and weaknesses? ...............................Pat’s strengths are his faith and family. He’s got a strong moral compass, and while he faces temptations like most people do, he has to occasionally re-ground himself and get on the right path at times. His greatest flaw is an inability to tell lies – most people would find that a strength, but as a government agent, the occasional white lie to cover an operation effectively is a necessity. He finds that hard to do, and his inquisitive wife is constantly in the background questioning what he is doing during late night missions and far away trips. ............................................ What about an antagonist…is there a unique “bad guy” or a recurring nemesis of any kind? ............................................ Each book has its own bad guys. There are no recurring ones in the series. In the first story, the bad guys are all internal to the government. People he works with are motivated by personal ambitions and their own flaws, and he must grapple all that as he tries to run his operations. In Resurrection, the antagonist is external to the secret program. Pat works with good people this time around, but the bad guy is someone on the outside. In Revelation, the antagonists are external and obvious – North Korean terrorists and the leader of the regime: Kim, Jong-il. But, Pat senses there’s something mysterious going on with this mission, and he has reason to wonder why the President and the Pope are involved. Are their intentions pure? Is the obvious collaboration he sees borne of good or bad intent? ................................................. Did any of your real-life experiences factor in to the plot at all? ................................................ Yes, but in a general sense. I certainly experienced plenty of investigations involving children as victims of crime, and each one touched my heart and helped inspire the series. I never had any involvement with a psychic, but I have had several walk in to my office over the years claiming an ability to solve crimes. Sadly, not one ever panned out. I am a genuine skeptic of the paranormal, but you would never know that from my stories! .................................................. Beyond this novel(s) what are your future writing plans? ................................................. To be the next James Patterson! I have no WIPs right now, but I have some loose ideas for future standalone stories. I think I’ve got the trilogy bug out of my system, and I loved the journey, but I want to focus future books on new characters and plots. I like the idea of protagonists who are unlikely heroes: school teachers, scientists, stay-at-home moms, even…so stay tuned! ............................................... Will you continue to feature the same protagonist in future stories? Will any other characters migrate over to future books? ............................................... No and no – but I won’t rule out the possibility of one or two of them popping up in bit roles in a future story. ............................................... Is there anything else you might want to add? Like your beagle named Brynn? .............................................. Working from home (both writing and my consulting work) enables me to take care of the family dog. Brynn is our American Beagle whom I’ve raised from a pup the last three years. I walk her daily, house broke her early, and in return she has kept me company. She usually sits by my feet when I write, and gives me someone to talk to. I bounce ideas off her for plot and dialogue, but she hasn’t responded yet. I take her head gestures for what they are worth: approval! ....................................................... Thanks for having me on your blog! I’d love for your readers to swing by mine and show some love: http://www.mikeangley.com/. ...................................................... Thank you Mike, for the insight into you and your marvelous books!
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