Author Interview / Russell Brooks

CRACK THE CODE AND YOU'LL SAVE LIVES...BUT KNOWING IT EXISTS COULD GET YOU KILLED.

When two American embassies in northern Africa are bombed, CIA operatives, Ridley Fox and Nita Parris, are assigned to track down the perpetrators. 

However, when their top asset is killed in a failed op, the agents suspect that there may be a new threat. 

Their search for the truth puts them on a collision course with a powerful multinational—which will go to extreme lengths to bury its criminal activities.

However, the agents soon learn that someone with a personal vendetta against that company not only knows their secrets, but will expose them in a way that could result in the largest single-day attack against America.

​1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

I'd like to work with Kevin Smith. He once penned a SUPERMAN script which was later canned by Tim Burton when he was assigned to make a Superman movie several years ago. I read the script online and thought that it would've made a pretty decent movie. I have an idea for a Superman/Wonder Woman screenplay. It would be cool if I could run it by him.

2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write? 

I write everywhere there's an electrical outlet and WiFi. That could be my dining room table, the plane, the train, at a friend's house. I don't write at any particular time of the day. It just depends on when I'm ready to do so.

3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you? 

Usually it's the fact-checking. The subject matter in my stories is very specific, and may be complicated for some. So it's important that I fact-check all of my explanations so that my stories make sense to everyone.

4. When and why did you first start writing? 

I began writing in elementary school. After my grade six French teacher read a short story I wrote, she told me not to give up.

5. How did you come up with the idea for the book your book? 

THE DEMETER CODE is a mash-up of scientific articles, documentaries, and several news reports. The central plot of the story is based on something that is actually going on right now--something we all take for granted. I won't reveal what it is because doing so would give away a major spoiler. However, if you look in the back of the book you'll see the 53 references that I used in order to research the story.

6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now? 

I love to read, and most of the books that I read I use to help me to improve my craft. I'm currently reading TEMPTED BY TROUBLE by Eric Jerome Dickey.

7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

Don't stop writing. That's the advice NYT Bestselling author Joseph Finder gave me while I was working on my first novel.