Under the guise of investigating money
laundering via high-end art purchases in Europe, Royce finds himself in
Switzerland with only sketchy information, no backup, and without a single
weapon other than his wits.
His appointment with a gallery owner in
Geneva is a dead end--the man is on the floor with a bullet through his chest.
But it turns out Royce does have backup. The Mossad has sent someone to keep an
eye on this undercover op, which is of more than casual interest to the
Israelis. And it's someone Royce knows...
Q
& A with Davis Bunn
Q:
The first two books in the Marc Royce series have been bestsellers and also won
praise from the critics. Lion of Babylon
won the Library Journal’s Best Book of 2011 award, and Rare Earth won the 2013 Christy Award for Suspense Fiction. What do
you see is behind this success?
Davis
Bunn: The stories have certainly
resonated with readers. I have tried to develop a strong sense of unfolding
drama, combined with a unique spiritual theme. This moral structure plays out
both in the story and the characters. My aim is to create an inspirational
challenge that remains with the reader long after the book has been set down.
Q: This story includes two special components from
your early life. Tell us about them.
DB: My mother worked as an antiques dealer. In truth,
‘work’ was not really the correct term, because this was a passion she
inherited from her mother. They bonded while my mom was still a child, going to
small eastern Carolina towns and hunting around junk stores for the sort of
bargains that don’t exist anymore.
Their first
love was early Americana, a type of colonial furniture known as Jacobean that predated
America’s nationhood. I never really shared this passion, but in two previous
books I came to respect and admire those who do.
And so I knew
a great delight in re-entering this world in Strait of Hormuz, only this time at the very highest end. Strait takes place in the rarified world
of multi-million dollar art, where the richest of collectors vie with museums
and galleries for items that are no longer classed as antiques, but rather as
treasures
The second
special component was the location. I lived in Switzerland for almost five
years, and many of the venues were places where I worked, and walked, and came
to discover myself as an author.
Q:
In what way is the setting important to this book?
DB: The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most
critical waterways. Stretching between Iran and the Gulf States, the strait is home
to two US fleets. More than a third of all the oil consumed worldwide pass
through these waters. But the story actually begins in Switzerland, before
traveling to the Sinai and then into the hotly-contested Strait of Hormuz.
Q:
What spiritual theme is the focus of this story?
DB: One growing area of the missionary church movement is
with displaced persons. More than five million Iranians have been expelled from
their homeland, or been forced to flee the current regime. This includes
virtually the entire Christian population. The missionary church movement has
made enormous strides in bringing peace to these families and introducing
Christ into the world of Muslims fleeing a Muslim government.
Q:
What drew you to the missionary church movement as a theme?
DB: I came to faith in a missionary church. I was working
as a consultant based in Germany. The year I accepted Christ, the Southern
Baptist Mission Board founded a missionary church in Dusseldorf. I attended the
church, I grew in the church, I studied under two amazing pastors, and one of
them returned to Europe to marry us.
It was also where I learned to write.
Two weeks after coming to faith, I felt called to writing. I wrote for nine
years and completed seven books before my first was accepted for publication.
The church, its members, and the elders all played a critical role in bringing
me to where I am now. I am living testimony to the vital role played by the
missionary church.
Q:
All three of the books in this series have given significant insight into the
Muslim world, something critics have picked up on. What experience do you have
with this region?
DB: For the four years prior to moving to Germany, I
lived and worked in the Middle East. I was the only non-Muslim in the
management structure of a family-owned company. They had three major arms: construction
equipment, shipping, and pharmaceuticals. I rose to become Marketing Manager of
the pharmaceutical division.
One of the requirements of this job was
to take instruction in the Koran and Islamic history from an imam who taught at
the local university. I think this experience played a major role in my coming
to Christ.
Q: How can readers find you on the Internet?
My website and blog are
at www.davisbunn.com
Subscribe to my blog’s
feed (to get my latest posts via e-mail or through your feed reader) at http://feeds.feedburner.com/DavisBunn
Sign up for my
e-newsletter (for subscriber-only giveaways and advance notice of my upcoming
novels): http://www.davisbunn.com/news.htm
Facebook Author Page: facebook.com/davisbunnauthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/davisbunn/ -- check out my “Strait
of Hormuz” board at http://www.pinterest.com/davisbunn/strait-of-hormuz/
Twitter: @davisbunn - http://twitter.com/davisbunn
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