Friday, January 30, 2015

Brett Battles - An Author Interview in the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on thriller Author Brett Battles. He is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Jonathan Quinn, Logan Harper Thriller and Project Eden Series.



Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Website: Brett Battles
Author's Blog: Books & News
Twitter: @BrettBattles
E-Mail: brett@brettbattles.com
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Facebook: Check Out Facebook


Author Description:
Brett Battles is the author of over twenty novels and several short stories. His novel THE DECEIVED (part of his Jonathan Quinn series) won a Barry Award for Best Thriller. He is one of the founding members of Killer Year, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He lives and writes in Los Angeles


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Congratulations on your book: Down. What do you have on the drawing board next? Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon called Rewinder. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

Next up for me is the ninth novel in my Jonathan Quinn series. THE BURIED will be out in mid to late March. Working diligently on it right now. And you’re right about REWINDER. The first book is going to be rereleased by 47 North (Amazon’s sci-fi/fantasy publishing imprint) in July, and they’ll then bring out book 2 in December. No tease yet other than to say it’ll be another wild ride!

You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?

Social media has been a great way to get word out about new release, but even better, has proven an excellent avenue for connecting with fans and new readers. I haven’t consciously done any heavy lifting to improve it other than be myself in my posts and tweets, and make sure to keep my presence fresh.

Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?

Definitely. I have a list people can sign up on on my website. That way they’ll receive a newsletter from me every time I have a new release. Again, I don’t go over the top recruiting people to join my list. It’s been growing organically over the years.

Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

Not as much as I used to in the pre-ebook era, but I still try to get out there. I do some library events, reader conventions, and other gathers where there are writer and fans. Next up for me is Left Coast Crime in Portland in mid-March. Really looking forward to that. As far as keeping up with where I’ll be, the best way is to follow my Author page on Facebook. I usually post events there.

You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

I’m very picky about covers, so I work closely with graphic artist whose skills I admire. We’ll talk themes and perhaps an idea or two, but I’m no artist myself, so I try to refrain from giving any concrete design directions at the beginning. I will give feedback once we start seeing some designs, with an eye to make sure my overall brand is carried through from book to book. I don’t show work in progress to everyone usually, but will occasionally ask for opinions from a select few authors and readers.

Several of you novels have been converted into audio books. What has been the impact on your regular sales? Has the audio books gained a new audience?

All but, I believe, two of my books are available in audio. Audiobooks have been huge for me. I’ve gain a lot of readers through them, and always get many people asking for audio release dates. They’re actually great in another respect, too. For my different series, I will often listen to the audio version of the last book I put out before writing the next one to freshen my memory. Love doing that.

I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a several novel collections like the Mortal Crimes and Deadly Dozen Bundles. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other mystery authors? How did you put something like that together?

I don’t know precisely what their effect has been on other sales, but I’m guessing they have definitely help. For me, the main reason to participant is to expose my work to readers who might not otherwise have found me. By bundling with authors who write in similar genres, we are creating something that’s perfect for our target readers. Don’t ask me how they’re put together, though. When I’m asked to join, I just say, “Yes,” and send off my stuff.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

It’s been a year or two since I gave anything away free. It worked well back then, and helped your ranking in the process, but that changed a lot over time. Nowadays, I’m more likely to run a .99 sale. These sales get my books into a lot of hands quickly, increase my rankings, and pull a little money in my pocket while costing the readers very, very little. In the end, though, it’s always about exposing my work to new readers.

What is the objective for your newsletter? Do you try to build a list of readers? Do you see a carryover to the sales of your novels?

The purpose is very straight forward for me. I use it to inform people who are already fans of book release. To that end, I absolutely see a correlation between when a newsletter goes out and sales.

What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?

I don’t actively seek profession reviews anymore. The reality is it’s the reader reviews that most people see and read. So what I do is encourage people to review my books when they are done. Occasionally I’ll put up a post urging people to do this, but I’ve been pretty lucky. Reviews tend to come in at a fairly steady rate. What I never do is ask for people to give me a good review. I just want them to give an honest review—good, bad, or indifferent.



Author's Book List
Down - A Project Eden Thriller Book 7
Matt Hamilton’s last words have led Daniel Ash and his team to the snow-covered town of Everton, Vermont. On a field just outside city limits sits an unassuming hut.

But this is no innocent building. Inside is the entrance to the secret Project Eden base known as Dream Sky, the key to the Project’s success. Or its defeat, as Ash hopes.

To give the team the best chance to succeed, Resistance groups have moved into position outside Project installations around the globe. The purpose: to create diversions that will draw Project attention away from Dream Sky.

These groups have been waiting for the signal to attack. The wait is over.


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Dream Sky - A Project Eden Thriller Book 6
A hush has settled over the planet. The once dominant human race is in full retreat. But man is not yet defeated.

Augustine dream sky. These were Matt Hamilton’s last words. Daniel Ash has no idea what they mean, but he’s sure they are key to defeating Project Eden. His only hope is that he’s able to figure out the secret in time.

The survivors on Isabella Island are surrounded by death, and need to get off the island before the flu can claim them, too. But there are not enough boats at the resort to get everyone to safety. The only solution involves a risky trip to the mainland that may be even more dangerous than remaining on the island.

In Mumbai, Sanjay’s friends watch as the Project Eden survival station is abandoned. Curious, they search the facility once everyone has left. They expect to find very little, and at first they are right. But only at first.

Ben Bowerman’s search for his girlfriend, Martina Gable, takes him to the only place left he thinks she can be. When he gets there, he’s hurled into the unexpected, where he begins to see the truth of what is really going on, and knows if he doesn’t do something drastic, his days are numbered.

And in an idyllic town covered by a blanket of snow, all is quiet. Except for the rotating squad of soldiers who watch and wait for a problem they believe becomes more and more unlikely as each day passes. The world, after all, is quickly depleting.

But they are wrong.


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Eden Rising - A Project Eden Thriller Book 5
The Sage Flu pandemic is sweeping across the globe, killing almost everyone in its path. Those who have so far avoided its deathly grip struggle to remain among the living.

When the message from the man claiming to be Secretary General of the United Nations plays around the world, hope begins to bloom. But the message isn't from the UN, and its promise of a life-saving vaccine is a lie.

Project Eden is working toward its endgame, when it will be in full control of what remains of the human race.

In Montana, the small group that has remained at the Bunker, after the rest of the Resistance relocated to a safer location, now has no choice but to leave. Daniel Ash needs more time to recover, but a storm is coming. Instead of heading for the remote Resistance base in Nevada, however, the Resistance's leader has a much different plan.

A plan that could change everything.


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Ashes - A Project Eden Thriller Book 4
The hammer has fallen. The deadly Sage Flu has been unleashed. The scramble for survival is in full force.

Martina Gable and her family escaped to a secluded mountain cabin in hopes of avoiding the death sweeping the desert valley below, but have they gone far enough?

Dominic Ray, manager of a tropical, private island resort, has a dream job. The weather, the food, the drinks, the people—life couldn't be better. What he didn’t expect—what no one could have expected—was that his good life was about to disappear.

In a sea of the sick and dying, Sanjay and Kusum desperately search for a place beyond Mumbai where they and the group they are leading can be safe, and where they can prepare for what the future may bring.

Brandon Ash wants nothing more than to be with his father and sister, but there is something waiting for him on a deserted, snow-covered highway. Something that may mean the reunion will never happen.

As Daniel Ash, Brandon's father, lies unconscious from the serious wounds he suffered while hunting for his son, his daughter Josie realizes it's up to her to find her brother and bring him home. But the search will be a dangerous one, that will take her far from home.

And then there is Project Eden, watching the plague kill as they had planned, even as they prepare to activate the next phase.

What will you do to survive?


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Pale Horse - A Project Eden Thriller Book 3
A simple push of a button and the world will never be the same.

Martina Gable returns home from college to spend Christmas break with her family, but the relaxing vacation she expects is not even close to what she'll get.

Sanjay, a young man in Mumbai who knows more than he should about Project Eden’s plan, will do whatever he can to keep Kusum, the girl he loves, alive and safe.

A boy named Brandon Ash runs for his life in the hills of Montana, wanting only to see his family again.

But first there is Daniel, the boy’s father, who watches Olivia Silva’s finger hover over the enter key that will decide the fate of humanity.

Do you think you’re safe?


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Exit 9 - A Project Eden Thriller Book 2
Before, it was just a test, a little demonstration to see if the virus worked. It did, and so much better than its creators could have ever hoped.

But the testing phase is over. It’s time for Project Eden to take the next step. If its members have their way, humanity is about to get a reboot.

It’s up to Daniel Ash and the others in the outnumbered resistance to keep the Project from severely downsizing mankind. But can their small force succeed in the face of a plan decades in the making?

The human race had better hope so, because if Ash and his friends can’t…


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Sick - A Project Eden Thriller Book 1
Daniel Ash wakes after midnight to the cry of his daughter. Just a bad dream, he thinks. She’s had them before. Yet he can’t help but worry when she cries out again as he pads down the hallway. Stepping through her doorway, he expects to find her sitting up in bed, frightened by a nightmare.

But the nightmare is his. It’s real. And it's just beginning...

Something is burning Ash's daughter alive. Something horrible that is spreading beyond the walls of their home, and taking no prisoners.

Thirty seconds later, Ash will discover his daughter isn’t the only one in his family infected, and as his world spins, coming apart at the seams, a team of armed men in biohazard suits bursts into his house.

But these aren’t the good guys.

They haven’t come to save Ash’s family. They’ve come to separate them, to finish what they started.

The problem is Ash refuses to disappear. He wants only one thing: to find those responsible.

Because humanity is on the brink of execution.

And man is pulling the trigger.


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Takedown - An Alexandra Poe Thriller Book 2
After an op in Istanbul goes sour, all Alexandra Poe wants is a little down time, and a chance to finally sell off the family vacation home in Key Largo which carries too many painful memories.

Instead, she finds herself on a private Bahamian island, working with Deuce and Cooper to relieve a human rodent of some very sensitive codes, and to take down one of the world's most notorious terrorists. Just another job for Stonewell International. Or is it?

What Alex doesn't realize is that she's about to get caught up in a twisted maze of shifting allegiances that forces her to face those painful memories head on--even if it's the last thing she ever does…


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Poe - An Alexandra Poe Thriller Book 1
After losing her mother to a terrorist attack, Alexandra Poe was devastated when her father--disgraced and accused of treason--disappeared from the face of the earth. Now, over ten years and a stint in Iraq later, Alex is approached by a man who has information about her father and wants to help her find him.

But there's a catch. The man works for Stonewell International, a security firm that specializes in fugitive acquisition. And in return for their help, Alex must agree to run point on an extremely dicey mission. One that will take her behind the walls of a brutal and dangerous women's prison near the coast of the Black Sea.

When Alex finally agrees, she has no idea what she's gotten herself into. She may find her father, but she could very well lose her life.


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Every Precious Thing - A Logan Harper Thriller Book 2
It was supposed to be a fun weekend, a celebration of a marriage and growing family. Alan Lindley couldn't have been happier...until his wife Sara disappeared.

Asked by a mutual friend to help look for her, Logan Harper is sure he'd discover a wife who simply wants out of the marriage.

What he finds instead is a woman who didn't exist, a diabolical plan, and people who would do anything to keep it a secret, including taking the life of the person most important to him.

What would you do for those precious to you?


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Little Girl Gone - A Logan Harper Thriller
Logan Harper isn't looking for redemption. He just wants to live in peace and forget his troubled past. But one morning his quiet life is upended when he interrupts the attempted murder of his father's best friend Tooney.

The next thing he knows, Logan is on his way to Los Angeles, searching for Tooney's missing granddaughter and uncovering a sinister plot connected not only to Tooney's past, but also to the boardrooms of corporate America.

As the odds stack up against him, Logan must fall back on old skills from the life he'd rather forget. He's made a promise, and the only way to fulfill it is to bring the girl home alive.


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The Discarded - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 8
He thought his final assignment would be simple: Transport a package from Japan to Amsterdam. But for Orlando's mentor, Abraham, the job was not at all like he expected and ended up haunting him.

Seven years later, Quinn and Orlando know something is up when Abraham asks for a favor. At his age, he should be sitting on a beach, enjoying his retirement, not working. After he tells them of his search for the last package he ever delivered, they help him unravel the truth, but soon realize they can't simply look for answers. They must also protect the package, no matter the cost.

They just need to find it first.


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The Enraged - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 7
The rescue on Duran Island did not go as planned.

Jonathan Quinn knows that someone is responsible. That someone decided throwing people Quinn cares about into the line of fire in a cold-hearted act of self-preservation was a good idea. He also knows that this someone has made a serious mistake.

Because when Quinn gets mad, the last place anyone should ever be is in his crosshairs. He will not stop until the guilty pay.

Sometimes revenge is best served now.


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The Collected - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 6
A cleaner’s tasks are simple: get rid of the body so that it will never be found, and make the scene of the kill look like nothing happened.

Rule Number One: Don’t get caught.

With Jonathan Quinn’s career in question, his apprentice Nate has successfully taken on the role of full-fledged cleaner, using Quinn’s name to keep the business working seamlessly in case his boss decides to return.

But Nate’s latest job is not what it seems, and he finds himself on the wrong side of a trap.

With Nate suddenly missing, Quinn and his partner Orlando set out to find him, and learn the reasons for Nate’s disappearance are more atrocious than they anticipated.


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The Destroyed - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 5
Mila Voss is dead.

That’s what the team hired to terminate her had reported, and that’s how her file had been marked.

Dead. Six years now.

So why did she suddenly show up on a hotel’s security camera in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania? Those who’d paid for her elimination are more than a little curious.

One person should know what happened—Jonathan Quinn, one of the best cleaners in the business, the man who’d been tasked with the disposal of her body.

Only Quinn isn’t exactly easy to get ahold of these days, and he may not be willing to share the answer.


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The Silenced - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 4
Professional “cleaner” Jonathan Quinn has a new client and an odd job: find and remove the remains of a body hidden twenty years ago inside the walls of a London building, before the building is demolished.

But Quinn and his team are being watched. Suddenly caught in the cross fire between two dangerous rivals, Quinn must unravel the identity of the body and why it still poses so great a threat even in death. Because a plot stretching from the former Soviet Union to Hong Kong, from Paris to London, from Los Angeles to Maine, is rapidly falling apart. And Quinn hasn’t been hired just to tie up loose ends—he is one.


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Shadow of Betrayal - A Thriller - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 3
The meeting place was carefully chosen: an abandoned church in rural Ireland just after dark. For Jonathan Quinn--a freelance operative and professional “cleaner”--the job was only to observe. If his cleanup skills were needed, it would mean things had gone horribly wrong. But an assassin hidden in a tree assured just that. And suddenly Quinn had four dead bodies to dispose of and one astounding clue--to a mystery that is about to spin wildly out of control.

Three jobs, no questions. That was the deal Quinn had struck with his client at the Office. Unfortunately for him, Ireland was just the first. Now Quinn, along with his colleague and girlfriend--the lethal Orlando--has a new assignment touched off by the killings in Ireland. Their quarry is a U.N. aide worker named Marion Dupuis who has suddenly disappeared from her assignment in war-torn Africa. When Quinn finally catches a glimpse of her, she quickly flees, frantic and scared. And not alone.

For Quinn the assignment has now changed. Find Marion Dupuis, and the child she is protecting, and keep them from harm. If it were only that easy.

Soon Quinn and Orlando find themselves in a bunker in the California hills, where Quinn will unearth a horrifying plot that is about to reach stage critical for a gathering of world leaders--and an act of terror more cunning, and more insidious, than anyone can guess.


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The Deceived - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 2
Anonymity. Trust. Professionalism. In his world, Jonathan Quinn has a few rules. He’ll get rid of bodies that have to disappear; nothing ever gets traced back to him. But when Quinn is called to a busy Los Angeles port where a shipping container has just come in from the sea, it’s clear his rules have been violated. Inside the crate is a dead man—a man who once saved Quinn’s life. And while no one knows how CIA agent Steven Markoff died, Quinn has to do more than clean. He has to find Markoff’s girlfriend, Jenny. To tell her that Markoff is dead. To find out why—and why someone sent Markoff’s body to him.

Until a week ago, Jenny Fuentes was an assistant to an ambitious congressman. Now Jenny is missing, too, and a lot of man power is making sure she isn’t found. But Quinn has his own man power. He has tools that can pry into secrets held anywhere in the world. He has the skill to trade blows with killers and spies. And he has covert weapons: his eager and smart apprentice, Nate, and brilliant Orlando, his closest friend, who’s saved his life more than once.

Racing from the corridors of power in Washington to the bustling streets of Singapore, Quinn won’t stop until he uncovers the truth behind his friend’s violent death, the astounding reason Jenny has vanished—and what she knows about the most explosive deception of all.


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The Cleaner - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 1
Meet Jonathan Quinn: a freelance operative with a take-no-prisoners style and the heart of a loner. His job? Professional “cleaner.” Nothing too violent, just disposing of bodies, doing a little cleanup if necessary. But in Brett Battles’s electrifying debut novel, Quinn’s latest assignment will change everything, igniting a harrowing journey of violence, betrayal, and revenge.

The job seemed simple enough: investigating a suspicious case of arson. But when a dead body turns up where it doesn’t belong–and Quinn’s handlers at “the Office” turn strangely silent–he knows he’s in over his head. With only a handful of clues, Quinn scrambles for cover, struggling to find out why someone wants him dead . . . And if it’s linked to a larger attempt to wipe out the Office. The Cleaner Quinn’s only hope may be Orlando, a woman from his past who’s reluctant to help but who may hold the key to solving the case. Suddenly the two are prying into old crimes, crisscrossing continents, struggling to stay alive long enough to unbury the truth. But as the hunt intensifies, Quinn is stunned by what he uncovers: a chilling secret . . . And a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy–with an almost unimaginable goal. Furiously paced, filled with superbly drawn characters and pitch-perfect dialogue, The Cleaner puts a powerful twist on all our expectations as it confirms Brett Battles’s place as one of the most exciting new talents in suspense fiction today.


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Becoming Quinn - A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 0
Most careers begin with an interview and a handshake. Others require a little ... something more.

Meet Jake Oliver. The day will come when he's one of the best cleaners in the business, a man skilled at making bodies disappear.

At the moment, however, he's a twenty-two year old rookie cop, unaware his life is about to change.

In a burning barn a body is found--and the fire isn't the cause of death. The detectives working the case have a pretty good idea about what went down.

But Officer Oliver thinks it's something else entirely, and pursues a truth others would prefer remain hidden--others who will go to extreme lengths to keep him quiet.

Every identity has an origin. This is Quinn's.


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Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.