Seeley James - An Action-packed Ride Featuring Conspirators and an Evil Drug Company

Author Seeley James' resume ranges from washing dishes to global technology management. His personal life stretches from homeless at 17, adopting a 3-year-old at 19, getting married at 37, fathering his last child at 43, hiking the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim several times a year, and taking the occasional nap. Seeley's writing career ranges from humble beginnings with short stories in The Battered Suitcase, to being awarded a Medallion from the Book Readers Appreciation Group. Seeley is best known for his Sabel Security series of thrillers featuring athlete and heiress Pia Sabel and her bodyguard, veteran Jacob Stearne. One of them kicks ass and the other talks to the wrong god.

Please give us a short introduction to what Element 42 is about.

Element 42 is about Pia Sabel’s attempt to save innocent victims from a drug company’s evil plans.

What inspired you to write about a pharmaceutical company that has engineered a disease that only its proprietary drug can cure?

Long before the opioid crisis, pharmaceutical companies were doing terrible things. This bookexamines just how far they might go.

One reader compared Pia Sabel to a young Eve Dallas or a tragic Daenerys. Do you agree? Why did you create her this way?

Pia Sabel is closer to Eve Dallas than Daenerys. Pia and Eve are both wealthy and independent, giving Pia the independence she needs to accomplish her goals.

Tell us more about Jacob. What makes him tick?

Jacob has a primal need to save the underdog.

This is the first book in the Sabel Security series. Can it be read as a standalone? How do the other books in the series tie in with this one?

Element 42 and all of the later books in the Sabel Security Series can be read as stand alones. In the first 5 books, the overarching story is the murder of Pia’s parents. As she gets closer to finding the truth, the results become more shocking. After the murder of Pia’s parents is resolved, Jacob takes the center stage.

Please give us three good-to-know-things about you

I love a good pun, hiking the Grand Canyon, and writing.

Do your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you have planned for them.

No, as the writer of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov, said, my characters are puppets “waiting – as we’re waiting – to be played.”

Any amusing story that happened to you as an author?

I can’t think of anything, but my family and friends tell me I am funny.

When did you decide to become a writer?

When I was 10 and had just finished reading Treasure island, I thought to myself, “wow, you can earn a living writing stories about pirates,” but life got in the way and I didn’t tart my career as an author until I was in my 50’s.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received?

Lee Child told me: “Writing is a solitary vision, take no advice.”

Where do you get your best ideas?

By sitting down and thinking hard about if this is where we are today, what cliff could we drive off.

When working on a new book, what’s the first thing you do?

I create a 15 point “Story Grid”, a framework for the book. For each of the 3 acts, I figure out the the inciting incident, the complications, the turning point, the climax, and the resolution.

What are you working on right now?

I am putting the finishing touches on Death and Conspiracy, which I am releasing on September 24, 2019. At the same time, I am fleshing out the Story Grid for Death and Betrayal which is due out in February, 2020.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

Fans can find me at https://www.seeleyjames.com or on Facebook at seeleyjamesauthor.

Where can readers get a copy of Element 42?

Element 42 and the rest of the Sabel Security Series books are available on Amazon, in print or ebook, and on Kobo, Nook and Itunes.