Frequently Asked Questions

The events in your envisioned Third World War, parallel many events from World War II. Did you base Geiseric exclusively on Hitler or does he differ in some way?

Describe some of the other characters. What is your process when coming up with characters?

In what genre do you categorize The Keepers trilogy?

The technology in your book, especially the Animalian Project battlemachines, is seemingly far out and yet you have been noted to say that this is the future of warfare. To those who haven't read your book, this might seem like a stretch of the imagination. Can you expand upon this?

Can you tell us a little about Tribulation? Give us a sneak preview?

1. What is The Keepers about?

The first book in The Keepers trilogy revolves around Geiseric, dictator of the Apex Empire, and his pursuit to implement a global Utopian vision, ultimately leading to World War III.

2. What is the Apex Empire?

The Apex is a collective of nations, including the technological powerhouse of Japan, the billion-plus population of India, and the small but strategically important nation of Israel, all under the overlordship of Germania, a Greater Germany that encompasses Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria. Germania and the Apex were united through the careful manipulations of the new silver-tongued tyrant.

3. The events in your envisioned Third World War, parallel many events from World War II. Did you base Geiseric exclusively on Hitler or does he differ in some way?

One might say that World War II paralleled World War I. After all, there were the same basic players on either side—Germany versus France, Britain, Russia and America. One of the main points of this book is that history tends to repeat itself. However, the differences are just as great. As I said, Germany is allied with Israel, showing that Geiseric is far from being a racist.
One of the reasons for this alliance is due to the fact that Geiseric is the leader of the religio-ideological Isaianic movement, which is based off the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, who preached that in the end times there would be an end to all violence, all suffering, "lion laying down next to the lamb."

4. Describe some of the other characters. What is your process when coming up with characters?

There's Prime Minister Charles Dandau of Britain, who, like Churchill was to Hitler, is Geiseric's most staunch and vocal opponent. There's President John Hollier of the United States, who blends aspects of George W. Bush with successful presidents, such as Franklin Roosevelt. Kassian Van Der Klute is Geiseric's former bandmate and best friend, but he turns against Geiseric and, in the first book, becomes an important member of Allied High Command. And yes, like Hitler and Reagan, these two world-changing leaders started out as artists. However, Geiseric and Kassian's band rockets them to super-stardom. This is discussed in detail in Part Two: Tribulation.
Overall, I gravitate toward complex characters, because at least in my experience, it seems that people are three-dimensional and characters should for the most part be an extension of this reality. The story is character-driven at its core, taking the reader through the actions, thoughts and feelings of the world leaders, the commanders in the field and the average citizen.

5. In what genre do you categorize The Keepers trilogy?

The Keepers belongs in the genre of Speculative Fiction, in that it is science fiction that does not drift as far into the realm of fantasy. The Keepers is somewhat like a pentagon strategic analysis. The pentagon will release theses of future scenarios, such as outbreaks of plagues, war, etc. The Keepers is similar to this in that reality forms the anchor. As it says on the back cover, if the world continues on its current path, the story is not only possible, but probable.

6. The technology in your book, especially the Animalian Project battlemachines, is seemingly far out and yet you have been noted to say that this is the future of warfare. To those who haven't read your book, this might seem like a stretch of the imagination. Can you expand upon this?

I think find that truth is often stranger than fiction. The Animalian Projects are an example of how the seemingly unbelievable can be real. One of the themes I frequently return to in The Keepers is that the seeds for this potential future are being sown right now in the present.
For instance, the military engineering firm Boston Dynamics has released the most advanced quadrupedal robot ever created, dubbing it BigDog, for it is about the size of a large dog. Its purpose is to be a supply-carrier for the U.S. military in rocky and mountainous terrain. Normally, on less extreme terrain, supplies would be carried by a wheeled automobile. But, even the most rugged vehicles, such as Hummers, can not reach the places where the U.S. is battling Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. And so, the U.S. military resorted to using one of the most ancient supply-carriers, the camel. But, the camel was not strong enough to carry the necessary loads and thus was born BigDog, which moves like a four-legged animal, but has the strength of a machine.
Boston Dynamics is presently working on creating larger and faster quadruped robots that could even take the place of tanks one day. When I created the concept of the Panzer quadrupedal battlemachine, this was before Boston Dynamics released their designs and concepts to the public. Many companies had before released quadruped robots for a variety of reasons, and it wasn’t too hard to see how they could be applied to the military.

7. Can you tell us a little about Tribulation? Give us a sneak preview?

Tribulation ties up two plot points that most readers have been left wanting more of from the first. Mainly, the development of Geiseric and how he came to be this cunning mastermind who would ruthlessly pursue his goals to such ends. He is shown from a youth, focusing on key points in his life, such as high school and, of course, his most formative years in the band Set Ablaze.
The readers are also shown how the Allies managed to win the Lunar and Martian colonial wars. A lot of this action is set on Mars where the readers will be treated to a new battlemachine (and one of my personal favorites) to add to The Keepers repertoire—The Raptor.
The title of Part Two: Tribulation, is indicative of a running motif throughout the book, which is the beginning of The Tribulation. Geiseric is essentially playing God and determining which citizens have the right to live. Like the Nuremburg Trials, except for on a far greater scale, Geiseric’s regime has charged hundreds of thousands of conquered Allies as guilty of "crimes against life." The Crimes Against Life Trials are horrific in that the punishments meted out are poetically gruesome, a sort of "eye for an eye."