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Posted on Aug 21, 2008 - 03:57 PM by Admin |
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Long known as the master of the monster shark novel, author Steve Alten is currently shaking up the world with his controversial latest work, The Shell Game. Alten has returned to talk with The Comic Fanatic.Com about the book that will have you questioning EVERYTHING! Plus, Alten chats about his dead-on predictions, his upcoming movies and novels, TWO new Meg novels and a whole lot more! Read on for a brand new interview with New York Times best-selling author Steve Alten!
The Comic Fanatic.Com: Steve, thanks for stopping by to talk with me again.
Steve Alten: Heath...you always have carte blanche.
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TCF: The internet is buzzing and folks are talking all over the world about your controversial latest novel. Tell us all about The Shell Game.
Steve Alten: The SHELL GAME is far more than a thriller, it is a MUST-READ cautionary tale that exposes the next "9/11 event" - a deception that will lead to a retaliatory chemical weapons strike on Iran and the terrorist elements the regime supports. Though the novel is written as fiction, it is filled with all-too-real details provided by insiders in the oil industry, military, and Middle Eastern affairs that extrapolates real events from the past and present that could lead us down a path of self-destruction...unless we stop the insanity now!
The story opens in 2007 when two CIA spooks meet with an American Colonel in military intelligence. The war is going badly, and President Bush, who steadfastly refuses to back down, remains unchallenged at home as Democrats and Republicans continue to toss verbal grenades - positioning themselves for the 2008 elections. Meanwhile, Iran's pursuit of nuclear energy will yield enriched uranium within five years - uranium that can be used to manufacture suitcase nukes.
The United States' military is too drained to invade Iran, and a preemptive strike is out of the question...unless a nuclear detonation (suitcase bomb) were to occur on in American city - the enriched uranium traced back to Iran. A U.S. reprisal would strike a death-blow against radical Islam, quell the insurgent violence in Iraq...and yield more oil. Yes, the cost is unthinkable - but if we sit back and do nothing then one day a dozen suitcase bombs could go off in a dozen American cities - bringing with it anarchy and the collapse of Western civilization.
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TCF: Who are the heroes and villains in The Shell Game?
Steve Alten: Ashley "Ace" Futrell is an oil expert working for PetroConsultants, married to Kelli Doyle, a former National Security Advisor and one of the CIA spooks from the opening scene. When Kelli threatens to expose the plot, Ace finds his existence hurtling down a rabbit's hole of deceit where the orchestrated lies of the powerful few could lead to the darkest days of human existence... and the death knell for billions.
The enemies are named in the book.
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TCF: Much of this book smacks of all-too-real life. Where exactly do you separate the fiction from the fact in The Shell Game?
Steve Alten: Heath, I am NOT a liberal democrat, nor am I an activist or conspiracy theorist. I am a proud American who loves his country and I even have a flag displayed in my office, sent to me by fans in the military. In other words, I was the last person ever to believe our own government was involved in September 11th...and yet they were. Here are a few documented facts, provable in a court of law, that run through the story and are extrapolated in regards to the NEXT 911 event, already in the planning stages:
At least 15 foreign intelligence agencies sent warnings to the FBI, CIA, and White House months in advance of 9/11 that the US would be attacked. Germany specified the week of September 9th. Russian President Vladimir Putin even dispatched a delegation to Washington DC which included information that the WTC would be struck by hijacked aircraft! Not only were these warnings ignored, no one would acknowledge having received them...even after Putin appeared on MS-NBC on September 15th detailing his warnings.
Five FBI investigations targeted the hijackers taking flight lessons, including investigations in Phoenix and Minneapolis. These investigations would have prevented 9/11...only Dave Frasca, head of the FBI's Radical Fundamentalist Unit, purposely shut down the investigations, despite numerous protests and attempts to go over his head. Dave Frasca was later PROMOTED!
WARGAMES: How did Bin Laden prevent the four hijacked air craft from being intercepted?
In May of 2001, Dick Cheney was placed in charge of the seamless integration of all wargame exercises by Presidential Directive. As such, on the morning of September 11th, the US Government was running FIVE separate wargame exercises, all under the direction of Dick Cheney, including Vigilante Guardian - a hijack exercise that actually inserted 22 false radar blips onto FAA radar screens that PREVENTED air traffic controllers from knowing which planes were hijacked and which were false blips. As part of these wargames, jet fighters were moved out of the Northeast Air Defense Sector to Alaska, Iceland, and Canada. As a result, there were no jet fighters to send to intercept the hijacked airplanes.
Meanwhile in NY's west side, Cheney had set-up another wargame drill called TRIPOD TWO, which was a bio-terror drill. As such, FEMA was in already place in NY, setting up a command post...again all on the morning of September 11th. As if this were not coincidence enough, F-16 fighter jets assigned to Andrews Air Force Base, 10 miles from Washington, were involved in another training mission over 200 miles away in North Carolina. They only arrived back at Andrews some time after the Pentagon was hit. Furthermore, another wargame drill was planned for 9 a.m. based around a corporate jet plane crashing into a building. The exercise was to be conducted by the National Reconnaissance Office, just outside Washington, which draws its staff from the CIA and military.
Meanwhile, Cheney was in the White House bunker immediately after the first WTC was hit. Secretary of Transportation Norm Minetta witnessed and later testified that a scared civilian aide kept running in to the command post, warning, the plane is 50 miles out from hitting the Pentagon...the plane is 30 miles out. Finally he said, sir, the plane is 10 miles out, do the orders still stand. And Cheney whipped his neck around and said, " Of course the orders still stand, have you heard anything different?!"
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TCF: I read somewhere that when it comes to The Shell Game, Bush supporters will be opposed to it and Bush-bashers will be against it. Who does that leave, or does this book make you question everything?
Steve Alten: This isn't a question of politics, it is a question of truth. And I bash the Dems who deserve it as well.
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TCF: Has this controversial book made you a target in anyway?
Steve Alten: I have had a few threats.
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TCF: The Shell Game has all the makings of a high-octane big screen political thriller. Any chance of seeing The Shell Game at a theater near me someday?
Steve Alten: I hope so. CAA gave the novel incredible coverage.
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TCF: How long ago did it take you to complete The Shell Game?
Steve Alten: An exhausting thirty months.
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TCF: With your - for lack of better words - dead-on prophecies in books like The Shell Game and Goliath, can I get you to pick some lottery numbers for me?
Steve Alten: Sure. But odds are you'll lose.
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TCF: Story of my life…Honestly, how have you been able to predict such real world events ahead of time in your novels?
Steve Alten: The scary thing about The Shell Game was that I would write a chapter and it would happen weeks later. I was editing up to the last day the manuscript was finalized for print. After the book was published, Bush came out and stated (in defense of water boarding) that "the next 9/11 will make the last one pale in comparison." That is straight out of the book!
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TCF: Can you tell us some of the Alten predictions from your novels that have come true.
Steve Alten: Ahh, too many. I'm not a psychic, just a writer that does his research.
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TCF: Does The Shell Game contain any other possible surprises that we should be aware of that might happen as we close in on the election?
Steve Alten: Yes…an October surprise designed to push McCain ahead of Obama!
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TCF: Should these predictions come true cause me to worry about the prophesized end of the world you have written about in Domain and Resurrection?
Steve Alten: Yes. But instead of worrying, speak out!
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TCF: Just so we are clear, how long do we have left on this planet now?
Steve Alten: Let's pray it is a long time.
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TCF: Speaking of Domain and Resurrection, do you have plans for anymore books in that series?
Steve Alten: I will begin the last part of the trilogy, PHOBOS, this winter.
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TCF: In my opinion, no other writer researches a novel as much as you do. All of this research has made you an authority on certain subjects like the Mayan prophecies and prehistoric sharks. In addition to being a New York Times best-selling author, you’ve now become something of a TV star.
Steve Alten: I've never claimed to be an expert, but I have become knowledgeable on certain topics. I've been on The HISTORY CHANNEL'S Decoding the Past : Mayan Doomsday and I'll be on JURASSIC FIGHT CLUB in the Meg vs Sperm Whale episode.
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TCF: It wouldn’t be a Steve Alten chat unless we talked about the one who brought you to the big dance. You have a new Meg novel in the works?
Steve Alten: MEG: Hell's Aquarium, the BEST in the series!
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TCF: Tell us about Hell’s Aquarium.
Steve Alten: The Philippine Sea Plate: The most unexplored realm on the planet. Surrounded by subduction zones and no less than six abyssal trenches - including the seven-mile-deep, 1550 mile long Mariana Trench - the sea is also home to an incredible anomaly. Hidden beneath its ancient crust lies the remains of the Panthalassa, an ocean that dates back 220 million years. Vast and isolated, the Panthalassa is a purgatory of existence, inhabited by nightmarish species of sea creatures long believed extinct!
Tanaka Institute, Monterey, CA.: Four years have passed since Angel, the 76 foot, 100,000 pound Megalodon returned from the Mariana Trench to birth its liter of pups - five females - far too numerous and aggressive to keep in one pen. As accidents mount, one solution presents itself: A Dubai royal prince is building the largest aquarium in the world and seeks to purchase two of the "runts." The deal hinges on hiring Jonas Taylor's twenty-one year old son, David, to be their trainer. Jonas reluctantly agrees, and David is off to Dubai for the summer of his life - not realizing he is being set-up to lead an expedition that will hunt down and capture the most dangerous creatures ever to inhabit the planet!
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TCF: When can we expect to see Hell’s Aquarium on book shelves?
Steve Alten: May 2009.
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TCF: I honestly don’t want a good thing to end, so I know the answer I want to hear, but will this be the last Meg novel?
Steve Alten: No. I plan on writing a MEG 5: Night Predators.
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TCF: There’re actually two versions of the original Meg novel out there now. I like to call them Meg Classic and Meg: The Director’s Cut. Why go back and revisit the original?
Steve Alten: I expanded a few chapters, corrected and updated some science, and cleaned up the language for the Adopt An Author program.
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TCF: How is work going on the Meg movie?
Steve Alten: We have the package at a new studio now, hoping they have interest.
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TCF: Please, tell me your Meg movie will bring a respectable shark movie back to the theaters and it won’t end up like one of those horrible straight-to-the-Sci-Fi-Channel stinkers with horrific CGI.
Steve Alten: If they use my new script, it will be amazing.
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TCF: Is there a time frame for the release of the Meg movie?
Steve Alten: Not yet. We have to get a new option first, then a green light.
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TCF: Not to get too far ahead, but have the other Meg novels been optioned for movie sequels? I only ask because the wife - for some reason - is dying to see me become chum on the big screen like I ended up as in the pages of Primal Waters.
Steve Alten: Ha! First comes MEG, then its success will lead to Mr. Shelby's 15 minutes of screen fame.
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TCF: I understand that you have another movie in the works based on the amazing novel The Loch?
Steve Alten: The LOCH may be on a faster track than MEG. The lead producer is completing a movie fund as we speak.
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TCF: Speaking of The Loch, this was one of my favorite Steve Alten novels. Any chance of a follow up?
Steve Alten: It is possible. The mass market paperback debuts in May.
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TCF: While I am on the topic of favorites, one of your most underrated novels and one of my personal favorites has always been Goliath. Any chance of a sequel?
Steve Alten: The sequel, SORCERESS, is already plotted out. I may write it after PHOBOS.
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TCF: Goliath would make for a fantastic summer popcorn muncher. Any chance of Goliath on the big screen?
Steve Alten: I agree, and yes. GOLIATH is one of the dominoes lined up after MEG.
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TCF: You are also working on a new novel called Grim Reaper. Give us the lowdown.
Steve Alten: An emergency session at the United Nations is interrupted by the spread of a lethal plague that quarantines Manhattan - forcing one man to embark on his own psychotic journey through the nine circles of Hell.
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TCF: When will Grim Reaper be released?
Steve Alten: If I finish in time, Halloween 2009.
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TCF: Anything else in the works?
Steve Alten: A few movie ideas/scripts.
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TCF: Are you still working on screenplays?
Steve Alten: Yes. I wrote two comedies and a thriller called STRANGLEHOLD, which was a finalist in the Philadelphia Screenwriter contest.
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TCF: Since it is back to school time, will you once again be doing the Adopt-An-Author program?
Steve Alten: I've never stopped. We now have over 9,300 registered teachers.
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TCF: For teachers or schools who would be interested in taking part in the Adopt-An-Author program, what do they need to do?
Steve Alten: Simply go to AdoptAnAuthor.Com.
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TCF: I have to ask - with folks like Brad Meltzer, Charlie Huston, Duane Swierczynski and other
best-selling authors bringing their skills to comic books, will we ever see a Steve Alten written comic book?
Steve Alten: I have a project in the works called SHARKMAN.
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TCF: Speaking of Brad Meltzer, you guys kind of burst onto the scene at the same time.
Steve Alten: Brad's first book debuted the same month as MEG. We met when we spoke at the JCC in Boca and have seen each other at a few events since. He's a good guy and a great author.
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TCF: Getting back to your current novel…Hardcover first editions are always collectors’ items. Can first editions of The Shell Game still be found?
Steve Alten: Yes. There are about 5,000 of the 40,000 printing still available.
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TCF: So, if someone grabs a copy of The Shell Game now, will they know ahead of time how things are going to turn out come November?
Steve Alten: It may forewarn them.
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TCF: Steve, last word is all yours. Any plugs or parting shots?
Steve Alten: For more info or excerpts from any of my books, go to Steve Alten.Com and I personally respond to each and every e-mail.
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TCF: Steve, it is always a pleasure and an honor speaking with you. Best of luck with The Shell Game, Grim Reaper, the movies and everything else. And thanks for taking the time to talk to The Comic
Fanatic.Com!
Steve Alten: Thanks again, Heath!
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Big thanks go out once again to the always generous Steve Alten, THE friendliest and most approachable author in the industry. To find out more about Steve’s amazing work and to keep track of all of his future projects, log on to Steve Alten.Com. And for teachers or students who would like to take part in Steve’s Adopt An Author program, simply visit AdoptAnAuthor.Com.
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