He’s offering a free e-copy to a lucky commenter, so be sure to leave a comment below to have your name entered in the draw.
CFC: Welcome to CFC, José. Can you tell us, in a
nutshell, what your new novel, Firefall,
is about?
JHB: Firefall is a harrowing tale of a grieving man
seeking a reason to live while dealing with insurance fraud and an
international ring of car thieves.
New York City
firefighter, Sebastian Martin, seeks sanctuary in spiraling alcoholic oblivion
following the loss of his wife and child in an air crash. Consumed by rage and
resentment, mostly directed against his brother and uncle, he takes a
last-ditch job in Dallas, Texas, investigating insurance fraud. Sebastian ends
up strapped to a chair facing torture at the hands of Howard Gonzales, a former
KGB trainee who enjoys playing with fire on his victims to get answers.
JHB: When Sebastian
Martin is not looking into the car theft operation, he is searching for missing
persons. His nemesis, Howard Gonzales, will stop at nothing to protect his auto-theft
business.
Their
confrontation is just as inevitable as two freight trains racing toward each
other on the same track.
And their clash
is just as spectacular.
CFC: Can you share an excerpt to illustrate that
point?
JHB: Of course!
Here’s an excerpt from near the climax when they meet face-to-face for the
first time.
A man wearing large
reflective sunglasses stood beside him. In one hand, he held a cigarette butt,
and a handkerchief on the other. The man’s skin was dark, a local. He wore
khaki cargo pants and the black polo shirt seemed to blend with the poor light,
giving the impression of a hovering head standing over him.
“I will make
this easy for you, Gringo.” The heavy accent told no tales about his mother
tongue. “Just tell me what I need to know.”
Sebastian
looked up with a frown. He had no idea what he could possible know that would
interest big sunglasses. As if in response, the man did something strange.
Extending his arm, he squeezed the handkerchief until a drop of clear liquid
fell on Sebastian’s arm. It itched on contact, but that wasn’t the end of it.
The man put the lighted tip of the cigarette in the exact spot. A blue flame
flared, burning the hair. The pain was sharp and intense.
Sebastian did
his utmost not to scream. He looked at his right arm. An irregular circle
formed; the skin raw. He recognized it as a first-degree burn, but he hadn’t
known it would cause such pain. However, the sharpness passed as swiftly as it
had begun, leaving a sting in its wake. He looked up to the man. Sebastian
figured the rag must be soaked in gas or rubbing alcohol. Damn, it hurt!
“That should
give me your full attention.” Big Glasses repeated the process and, if
possible, it hurt more.
“What the hell
do you want?” Sebastian spoke through clenched teeth.
“You know,
Gringo. I used to do this for a living, trained by the best – your own CIA. Can
you believe that?”
Sebastian
remained quiet. He wondered if his own countrymen would teach somebody how to
torture human beings. He was not naïve. He knew it must be true, but never
expected to come this close to such techniques.
“Man, I miss
the Cold War. Back in the eighties, we had no limitations. Your President
Reagan spared no expense.” The man laughed a sinister laugh. “We had a
limitless budget. And the training sessions? Everybody looked forward to the
end of the course. There was booze, broads, the works.
“Our primary
target was to keep the commie bastards at bay! We excelled at that. We
captured, we tortured, we created panic in their ranks, until they had nowhere
to go but back to Russia. Then, when the elections in Nicaragua finalized the
return to democracy, the flow of money stopped and we had an army with no
cause. So we each found our own line of business.”
Another drop,
another ignition. This time on his left arm. He sniffed something akin to pork
skin burning. Sebastian’s heart pumped hard against his chest. He did not know
where this conversation was going. The man kept rambling about the good ole
days against the Red aggression.
“You want
answers? Then ask the damn questions!” he blurted out.
“No, not yet.”
The man put out
the cigarette on his arm. It hurt like hell, but he remained quiet. Then the
man exited the room without asking anything. What the hell was he playing at?
CFC: You’re from Honduras and also write in
Spanish. How difficult it is to switch from writing in Spanish to writing in
English or vice versa?
JHB: It takes a
while to get in to the proper frame of mind to sit and write. I usually put
some music in the opposite language to which I’m writing. Why? Heck if I know,
really!
However, one
important thing is, I think and construct the sentences in the language that
I’m writing, rather than translating from one to the other. Of course, I’m far
from infallible. Enter proofreaders – can’t live without them!
The fun
part—and I’m using the word “fun” very loosely here—is getting the right
grammar and syntax. For example, Spanish places the adjectives after the noun,
while English is the other way around. Thus, the “carro rojo” becomes the “red
car.”
CFC: Tell us about your job coordinating the
weekly Roundtable for The Big Thrill.
JHB: It’s been
wonderful. I’ve been running the Thriller Roundtable since its relaunch back in
April of 2012. Since I had participated in them back in 2011, I approached them
to find a new spot for the promotion of a recent release; instead I got offered
the opportunity to run it.
Every month I
contact ITW members with upcoming releases to offer the spots. Coming up with
the questions is fun, and I get to meet some of my all-time writer stars, like
David Morrell and Raymond Benson. I recall bragging to my wife, “Hey, I’m
exchanging emails with the authors of Rambo and James Bond!”
J. H. Bográn, born and raised in Honduras,
is the son of a journalist. He ironically prefers to write fiction rather than
fact. José’s genre of choice is thrillers, but he likes to throw a twist of
romance into the mix. His works include novels and short stories in both
English and Spanish. He’s a member of the Short Fiction Writers Guild
and the International Thriller Writers where he also serves as the Thriller Roundtable Coordinator and contributing editor to their official e-zine The
Big Thrill.
“FIREFALL is smart and engrossing. It's an
intelligent, multilayered riff on international crime and punishment
that has atmosphere to burn. It's a damned fine book.”
~ Jake Needham,
author of THE UMBRELLA MAN and five other international crime novels
“From the power
plays of an international band of car thieves to the behind-the-scenes of
insurance fraud cases, all topped with a riveting and suspenseful climax,
FIREFALL is an action-packed thriller. The small-dosed chapters, amidst exotic
locations, won’t let you put the book down until you reach the end of this hell
of a ride!”
~ Joe Moore,
international bestselling co-author of THE BLADE and THE PHOENIX APOSTLES.
I'd like to thank the folks at CFC for letting me steal the spotlight. It's always an honor to participate here. Plenty of fun!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new release, and best of luck.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the release of your thriller, Jose! I look forward to reading it!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jenny and Jodie.
ReplyDeleteIt's been quite a ride, I'll tell you that!
A quick note to congratulate Jenny for winning a copy of Firefall. Thanks again for having me.
ReplyDelete