Author Interview: Charlie Cole on "Headhunters"

Ana: Today we have Charlie Cole introducing their novel, Headhunters. I haven't read this book myself, but Charlie was kind enough to agree to guest blog about their book to any readers who might be interested in the subject. Charlie, how would you describe your novel to your prospective readers? In broad terms, what is your novel about?

Charlie: Thanks, Ana! Headhunters is a spy thriller about a man who recruits people into a privatized intelligence agency. He discovers a threat to homeland security that threatens his family and the country as a whole.

Ana: What themes does your novel explore and what do you hope the reader will take away from the experience? Is there a particular feeling or experience that you hope to evoke in the reader? Essentially, do you hope your novel will mean to a reader?

Charlie: I wanted to explore the lengths that people will go to protect what's dear to them. In the case of our hero, Simon Parks, he makes choices to protect his family when he realizes they're in danger. With our villain, it's the things he will do in a post-9/11 world.

Ana: What prompted you to write this novel and did you have a specific inspiration in mind? Were you influenced by a certain author or work that inspired you to add your voice to this genre? Besides the boatloads of money and rockstar fame, what motivated you to write this book? 

Charlie: You can make money writing?? I had no idea. That's good to know! I've worked as a professional headhunter, recruiting talent for companies or government contractors for 15 years. It always interested me how closely that business was to the work done by intelligence agencies to recruit assets. In addition, I worked as a licensed private investigator, so that lends some interest to the genre.

Ana: If you could compare your novel to any other existing works, which ones would it be and why? If the one thing you could say to a prospective reader was, "If  you like X, you'll love my book!", which work would be invoked so that a reader could judge whether or not your novel is their cup of tea?

Charlie: I've been told by some readers that if Headhunters were made into a movie, they could see Bruce Willis cast as Simon Parks. That's not a bad choice. Some portions of the book read like Barry Eisler's thrillers. I do also have some adult scenes between my two leads and I've received favorable comments on those.

Ana: Is this your first or only published work, or have you published other novels? If you have published other novels, how do they compare to this one? Do you have any more novels planned, either as a follow-up to this one, or as a completely different novel or genre?

Charlie: I've written a second novel called Damascus Road that was also a thriller and it still sits in rewrites. More importantly, I'm working on a book called Suicide Doors. It's a horror novel about three ghosts entangled in an ongoing string of murders.

Ana: Where can readers obtain a copy of your novel for them to enjoy? How can they contact you with any thoughts or questions? And do you have a means by which they can "sign up" to be notified when your next novel comes available?

Charlie: Readers can find Headhunters for sale on Amazon's Kindle here, as well as a reading sample. They can contact me anytime on Twitter @CharlieCole or check out my author site and follow my blog.

Ana: Thank you. Is there anything else you wish to add for our readers?

Charlie: Well, thank you for the opportunity, Ana! I definitely would encourage readers to check out Headhunters now and keep an eye out for Suicide Doors coming in April 2012.