 Ask the author: Bob Hamer
Next release: Targets Down (June). Publisher: B&H Books (B&H Publishing Group). As a Marine veteran and retired FBI undercover agent, you have a lot of material from which to draw, don't you? Besides an overactive imagination, most of what I write comes from cases which have already been litigated, and in many cases, I've testified to the facts in court. Twenty-six years on the street, many of those years undercover, provide more than enough experiences. Special Agent Matt Hogan goes into some dark places in Targets Down. Were you attempting to bring some of the reality you lived into its plot? Yes. Although no one ever accused me of being Billy Graham, I maintained my faith throughout my career. I don't believe I would have been as successful as I was without my faith and my family. But I've been in dark places, some darker than where Matt Hogan travels. Yet even in the darkest times, I felt God's protective arms around me. What kind of character is Hogan? I joke that he has more hair, is better looking and is a younger Bob Hamer. He's a warrior, a patriot and a devoted husband. Marine Corps General James Mattis popularized the Marine slogan, "No better friend, no worse enemy." I think that sums up Matt Hogan. Aside from your debut novel, Enemies Among Us, you wrote your life story. How do you like writing fiction? Writing the memoir was easy since the stories were mine and I had just enough notes, news accounts and court documents to fill in the details. I'm not sure I would like to write a nonfiction account of a life or event in which I did not have a direct involvement. I like fiction because you can adjust the facts to fit the plot. Although several defense attorneys accused me of doing just that in my various court documents, I always told the truth in my affidavits and testimony. Now I can lie and get paid for it! You have consulted for shows like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Does your TV work feed off of your fiction and vice-versa? When consulting, I stick to the truth. I help the writers in developing realistic plot lines and dialogue. I have several TV writing credits and clearly those ideas came from my life experiences with enough "Hollywoodizing" to make the scripts marketable. How would you encourage Christian retailers to promote Targets Down? A Hollywood producer says Targets Down is "pedal to the metal, red lining in every gear." It's fast-paced fiction, truer to life than you might imagine. Too many times as Christians we want to avoid focusing on the evil around us, but at times we must. Targets Down is written by someone who has been there, by an author who brings a Christian worldview to a dark side of society few will ever see. ECPA Fiction Top 101. Vicious Cycle, Terri Blackstock (Zondervan) Author Note: During her years working in prison ministry, Blackstock got to know several drug addicts who came from homes where everyone was using, and many had abandoned their children for drugs. She patterned the character of Jordan after some of those women. 2. Leaving, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan) 3. Unlocked, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan) 4. A Heart for Home, Lauraine Snelling (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) Author Note: In her research for A Heart for Home, Snelling was having trouble finding information about the Rosebud Indian reservation, so she posted her need on Facebook. Several people from South Dakota responded and were able to provide the needed facts. 5. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers (Multnomah Books) 6. Crossing Oceans, Gina Holmes (Tyndale House Publishers) 7. Hearts Aglow, Tracie Peterson (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) 8. Almost Heaven, Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers) 9. Breach of Trust, DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers) 10. The Shack, William P. Young (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group) The ECPA list is compiled from sales of Christian books in hundreds of Christian retail outlets nationwide, collected using Pubtrack Christian (www.ptchristian.com). April best-sellers are for the four-week cycle ending March 19, 2011. All rights reserved. © 2010 ECPA. www.ecpa.org. New fiction releases coming next month:Canary Island Song, Robin Jones Gunn (Howard Books) Fallen Angel, Major Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky (B&H Books) Lion of Babylon, Davis Bunn (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) Love by the Book, Cara Lynn James (Thomas Nelson) Perfectly Invisible, Kristin Billerbeck (Revell/Baker Publishing Group) Restless in Carolina, Tamara Leigh (Multnomah Books) Shadows on the Sand, Gayle Roper (Multnomah Books) The Blessed, Ann H. Gabhart (Revell/Baker Publishing Group) The Muir House, Mary DeMuth (Zondervan) Veiled Rose, Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) Wolfsbane , Ronie Kendig (Barbour Publishing)
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