Brad Thor, number one New York Times bestselling author of eighteen thrillers, joined Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson to discuss his novels and more.
On the main character in his books: Scott Harvarth is a U.S. Navy Seal who catches the attention of the Secret Service while protecting a president and they say, ‘Would you come to the White House and help bolster our counter-terrorism expertise?’ While at the White House, the president realizes putting a guy like this on defense is a bad idea. We really need this guy out there taking the fight to the bad guys. I’ve long held that if terrorist organizations are not going to be signers to the Geneva Hague Conventions that they shouldn’t be afforded the protections of the Geneva Hague Conventions. In my fictional world, Scott Harvath gets sent out on behalf of the United States to even the playing field by not using a rule book either. (2:00)
On how detailed his writing is: I think that details are the bedrock of a good thriller. I think people will suspend disbelief, but you need to get the smallest details correct because those are little bumps if you’re reading. If somebody makes a mistake, like puts a safety on a Glock or anything like that, that throws a reader who knows that’s not right. They trust you to get everything right. So, I pride myself on doing a lot of research. If I can’t go to a particular country I will talk to somebody who has operated in that country. (4:14)
On how he stays ahead of the curve: I got asked to be part of a program at DHS after the wake of 9/11 to help brainstorm what the next attacks might look like here and abroad. They said take the way you do your books and let’s look at things that are happening around the world. I look at everything and say, ‘What if?’ I call what I do “faction,” where you don’t know where the facts end and the fiction begins. (7:42)
On what it’s like to be a full-time writer: I find that my job gets harder. You would think that writing my nineteenth book would get easier. It gets harder every single time because I’m trying to top myself. (10:55)
On if Hollywood is too far left to embrace his books: I think it’s not red or blue. It’s green when it comes to Hollywood. You have to get with the right people with the right vision who want to make that money with you. It is frustrating, but when the time is right it will happen. (12:06)