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Moments of Vulnerability
A Dangerous Man follows a grief-driven vigilante known as Ghost who targets traffickers and organized crime syndicates while the FBI tries to track him down and stop him. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Wow… it’s been such a long journey. At the original time of writing ADM (2016/17), the concept was nearly 16 years in the making or consideration. The inspiration came about from seeing what seemed like constant news cycles of child abuse, abductions, saved children from debaucherous circumstances. I was a young father at the time, and even though I worked in law enforcement as a corrections deputy then, I felt completely ignorant and helpless to do anything about these tragedies. There was no outlet. So, I returned to developing stories so that real justice could be dealt out to the kind of monsters that would do such horrendous things. Up until the time I finally started putting words to the page – there is actually a short story version that I’d written first – I was doing research. It’s the kind of topic that kicks open a door that I couldn’t close, much of which predicted and showed signs of evidence to the timely information the public as a whole are learning today.
Ghost is both terrifying and oddly compelling—how did you approach that balance?
I think what balances Ghost being both terrifying and compelling is that, despite his next level attributes, he’s got an emotional grounding to him, humanizing him, and making him relatable. It is easy to say that A Dangerous Man is a hyper-masculine novel, which is fair and true and purposeful. Beyond that, I also knew women eat up these stories, too. I wanted Ghost to be multi-layered from a singular perspective. Yes, he’s a father, but I wanted him relatable as a parent overall. I am deeply protective of the ones I love, especially my child, and I think Ghost transcends just being a father. With a lot of female readership, I think that aspect makes him relatable. I’ve heard so many times from women that they sometimes don’t like Ghost, but they absolutely love how he handles the consequences he imparts. This is further coupled with moments of vulnerability or openness – the memories that reveal he’s so much more than vengeance incarnate. Or that he used to be.
What questions about justice did you want readers to wrestle with rather than answer?
To be honest, I had no questions about justice in mind for the reader to wrestle with rather than answer. At least, not that I remember. I reveled in the ambiguous morality at the forefront of who my anti-hero was. I simply wanted to put it on full display for entertainment’s sake. Simultaneously, I knew it would be an injustice not to present the dichotomy of the circumstances viewed by the public. I know first-hand having worked in law enforcement that what I’m calling justice is not shared by all. There’s discourse to be had there. There are many clips of families forgiving murderers when the latter is being sentenced to life in prison for their crimes. It adds to the tension and suspense of the story, and my only aim was to properly serve the story and build further intrigue. Ghost’s accolades would not be universally received were they true and so publicly well known. There would be plenty of condemnation for his vigilante acts by diverse outlets. Similarly, there would also be plenty of praise and encouragement. I think at the present time, however, the latter option would become a great majority today with what people are learning.
When will Book Two be available? Can you give us an idea of where that book will take readers?
I do not have a specific date for the coming sequel of A Dangerous Man, but it is coming, and it will be in 2027. The untimely delay is due to an assortment of other projects already in motion, and mostly not wanting to continue working with the vanity/hybrid press under which ADM’s first edition was published. So, I forced myself to hold off, but I’ve had an immediate trilogy planned for a decade at this point. And once again, the revelations coming out in the world surrounding the topic of trafficking are timely to events in Ghost’s next foray, A Violent Man.
As for where the sequel will take readers… Well, there’s only one way to go. Deeper into the abyss.
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His crusade of retribution has freed countless trafficking victims from captivity, sweeping across the United States like a storm, and leaving a bloody path of destruction in his wake.
Who is he?
He was a father, a husband, and a former government operative who lost everything he cared for to a merciless Russian crime syndicate. And he’s arrived in Boston to bring his odyssey of vengeance to a close.
Can he be stopped?
Pursuing him is a relentless FBI agent with more at stake than enforcing the law, a hard-boiled detective suspicious of every piece of the puzzle, and a pair of cunning twin assassins who might rival his skill.
At what cost?
They’ll risk everything being drawn into the chaos of one man’s war for justice. Motives will be questioned, loyalties will be tested, and no one will come out unscathed – if at all.
