The Evolution and Development of the Jonathan Quinn Series with Author Brett Battles

 

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Jonathan Quinn is the best at what he does: making bodies disappear. Within the espionage world, his reputation is impeccable.

There was a time, though, when that reputation was still being built under his mentor, Durrie. A time when the very man who had taught Quinn all he knew could have derailed the young cleaner’s future.

Fifteen years ago, Quinn was offered a job. On the surface, a straightforward mission to stop a terrorist. But the client gave Quinn the additional task of taking on Durrie as his number two, as a last chance for the veteran agent to be rehabilitated.

Durrie had been on a downward spiral, going from being a highly respected operative to an unreliable has-been. These changes threatened to destroy everything—not only in Quinn’s life, but Orlando’s, too. She was Durrie’s girlfriend, and Quinn’s best friend.

Both she and Quinn were desperate to help Durrie return to the person he once was.
They hoped this job would be the answer.

 

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Interview with microphone

 

 

 

Discuss the evolution of freelance operative and professional “cleaner,” Jonathan Quinn.

When Quinn shows up in The Cleaner, the first book of the series, he’s been in the business for, I think, just under fifteen years. His first five years were spent as an apprentice, then, after being on his own, he becomes one of the best body removal specialist in the espionage world. To be clear, he’s not an assassin, though if he needs to act, he will. He’s the guy you hire to “clean” the scene of an operation so that it looks like nothing happened. This includes making whatever bodies have been left behind disappear forever. With the exception of his apprentice, Nate, from the first time we see Quinn, he’s basically a loner. But, over the course of the series (twelve novels, several short stories and a novella, so far), he reunites with Orlando, the woman he has secretly loved for years. With her and Nate, they become a team that only gets better and better at what they do. 

 

 

 

Secret guy. Man saying hush be quiet with finger on lips gesture looking to the side isolated on gray wall background.

 

 

 

How did the relationship between Quinn and Orlando originate?

Quinn and Orlando started off as apprentices at the same time, for mentors where friends. So, they often worked together. Quinn found himself drawn to her from the very start. But his mentor, Durrie, made the first move, beginning a relationship with Orlando that left Quinn out in the cold. Five years later, after a tragedy that threatened to divide Quinn and Orlando forever, Quinn has little choice but to go to her for help. From that moment, their relationship begins to mend until it becomes something even more than Quinn could have ever hoped.

 

 

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Who are the members of Quinn’s team?

Orlando, of course, who is both a badass in the field and pretty handy with computers. Nate, who is Quinn’s apprentice in the first several books, and partner in those that come after. Daeng, a former Thai monk who is pretty chill even in highly stressful situations. And, most recently, Jar, (my current favorite character) a young Thai woman who is on the autism spectrum, and is even better at all things cyber than Orlando. She’s also getting better at working in the field, too. There are other operatives who make occasional appearances, but these are the core members of the team.

 

 

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Discuss the development of the series featuring Nate in Night Man.

It wasn’t too long into the Quinn series that I began to think about featuring his apprentice Nate in his own stories. The problem was coming up with an angle that would set his books apart from Quinn’s. A few novels ago, an event happened in the Quinn novels that opened up an avenue I hadn’t even considered before. And from that came Night Man. I’ve also been able to set up up so that these “personal missions” of Nates come between jobs he does with Quinn, allowing him to continue on in the Quinn books, too. I’d tell you more but, you know…spoilers.

 

 

 

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Did anything stand out in your writing process during Night Man?

A few things. The Night Man books—well, book at the moment—will all be more crime based thrillers as opposed to spy thrillers like Quinn. This have given me a whole new area to dive into, which is exciting. I love that Nate is driven to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves by…let’s just call it…a voice in his head that he can’t say no to. The stories are also told in first person by Nate, which is different than the Quinn books, too. I absolutely love writing in first person. Finally, Night Man was a blast to write.  I’m not saying my other novels weren’t fun, too. It’s just that Night Man was enjoyable from beginning to end.

 

“Stay faithful to the stories in your head” – Paula Hawkins

 

 

In addition to the recently released NIGHT MAN, Battles has just published THE DAMAGED, another novel in his Jonathan Quinn spy thriller series. This time the story takes place fifteen years ago, when Quinn was still establishing himself as a cleaner—the person who makes bodies disappear—and centers around his deteriorating relationship with his mentor, who may or may not be going mad. A dangerous thing in a world full of guns and secrets and death.

 

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Brett Battles is a Barry Award-winning author of over thirty novels, including Rewinder, the Jonathan Quinn series, the Logan Harper series, and the Project Eden series. He’s also the coauthor, with Robert Gregory Browne, of the Alexandra Poe series. You can learn more at his website:

BrettBattles.com

 

 

 

 

RED Hotel: A Q&A with Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller

CORRECT RED HOTEL Cover

 

 

 

BOOK RELEASE DAY – RED Hotel by Gary Grossman & Ed Fuller

 

 

 

 

 

A Q&A WITH THE AUTHORS

 

ED FULLER:

What was the primary motivation for writing a thriller before you met Gary Grossman? 

Growing up, I loved the James Bond books and movies. The adventure and the characters were exciting.  Then, over my 40 years with Marriott, I experienced a number of global crises situations that felt like they could have even come from Bond.  Along the way – a long way – 22 years as President of International for Marriott, I learned through kidnappings, evacuations, dealing with drug cartels, and foreign governments that crisis management was absolutely critical.  Since retiring from Marriott I decided to combine my realities with my early fantasies. RED HOTEL was born.

 

 

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ED FULLER:

What was your experience writing fiction versus non-fiction?

While I was still working with Marriott, I wrote a book “You Can’t Lead with your Feet on the Desk.” It was a business book that reflected my experiences and philosophies.  It was published by Wiley in the US, China, and Japan.  The reason I sought partnership with Gary Grossman was based on my lack of experience as a fiction writer.  So the way it works is I contribute stories and strategy and Gary applies the glue, creativity, and through-line that binds our stories, characters, and the overall international plot.

 

 

GARY GROSSMAN:

After meeting Ed Fuller what potential did you see in his story concept?

Gary Grossman – Initially, I wondered what would I have in common professionally with the former President of Marriott International.  After all, I was a thriller writer, he was a global executive with the responsibility over thousands of peoples’ lives and careers. I worked in fiction.  He worked in reality. But then we met and in the first thirty seconds I realized Ed was as much in the anti-terrorism business as the hotel business. He extracted his teams in Cairo and Tripoli during the fall of Mubarak and Gaddafi.  Company hotels were bombed. He dealt with drug cartels, kidnappings, and high-level officials in foreign governments around the world. Then I asked Ed who he had on speed dial. He told me. Dramatically. And I realized we could work together and create a wonderful plot fictionalizing Ed’s real life experiences.  

 

 

CLAP-THRILLER

 

 

GARY GROSSMAN:

How did you co-create Dan Reilly?

Dan does real life things, but in a fictional world.  Where Ed didn’t carry a gun, we gave one to Dan for a key scene.  But there’s so much of Ed in Dan. Key was focusing on Ed Fuller’s creation of the color code threat assessment levels he implemented at Marriott that we adapted for RED HOTEL.  So, as you meet Dan Reilly in print, you’ll understand a great deal about Ed Fuller’s remarkable career.

 

 

GARY GROSSMAN:

Tell us more about him and what makes him your protagonist?

Dan Reilly has contacts in the international intelligence community, just as Ed does.  For the sake of RED HOTEL, that pits him against a master assassin in the employ of the president of the Russian Federation.   The background for the entire plot deals with the president and his desire to rebuild the old Soviet bloc on Russia’s western front.   Fiction for RED HOTEL, but a real and present danger for NATO and the West.

 

 

 

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GARY GROSSMAN:

What kind of terrorists is he dealing with?

Spoiler alert.  The terrorists are actually agents of Russia.  But that’s for Dan Reilly and his team to figure out.  So right now, consider yourself head of the protagonist.  But there are more surprises in RED HOTEL to discover.

 

 

GARY GROSSMAN:

What are the stakes if they’re aren’t stopped?

The clock is ticking for Russia to make a dramatic and bold move.  To expand Russia’s existing borders into western Europe. So throughout RED HOTEL, all the Russian president needs is the right provocation.  That’s when and where Dan Reilly must step in.

 

 

 

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GARY GROSSMAN:

Describe how you came up with the title, Red Hotel.

The RED in RED HOTEL refers to the highest threat level in the color code system created by Ed Fuller at Marriott and Dan Reilly in the thriller.  RED means the property looks and feels more protected, and in Ed’s experience, the more visible the defenses against terrorists, the more likely bad guys are to move on.

 

 

GARY GROSSMAN:

What’s next for you?

Ed and I are nearly finished with the first draft of the sequel to RED HOTEL.  It picks right up from where the first book leaves off. So, stay tuned and thanks for deep diving into RED HOTEL.  We hope you’ll enjoy it.

# # #

 

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ED FULLER is a hospitality industry leader, educator, and author of the international Top 20 bestselling business book, You Can’t Lead with Your Feet on the Desk, published by Wiley. He is president of the Irvine, California-based Laguna Strategic Advisors, a global consortium that provides business consulting services to corporations and governments. Fuller is a director of the Federal Bureau of Investigators National Academy Associates Foundation (FBINAA). He has served as a Board Executive of several Charity Boards and Three University Boards. His 40-year career with Marriott included serving as CMO and several regional operational positions which was capped by his role as president and managing director of Marriott International for 22 years. As worldwide chief, he directed and administered corporate expansion of 555 hotels in 73 countries and $8 billion in sales. During that time, he oversaw the creation of Marriott International’s Global Security Strategy. Fuller served as a captain in the U.S. Army and was decorated with a Bronze Star and Army Commendation medals.

 

 

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Gary Grossman is a multiple Emmy Award winning television producer and author of the bestselling international political thrillers Executive Actions, Executive Treason, Executive Command, Executive Force, and Old Earth. He has also written two highly regarded non-fiction books on TV history. Grossman has been published by Dell/Delacorte, Byron Preiss Publishing, Diversion Books, Harlequin, Arlington House, and CBS/Popular Library. He has produced for NBC News, served as a columnist for the Boston Herald American, written for the Boston Globe and the New York Times. Grossman is Contributing Editor to Media Ethics Magazine and has produced more than 10,000 television programs for 40 networks. He’s a member of ITW, the International Thriller Writers Association and the Military Writers Society of America.

 

 

RED Hotel

REDHotel.com