Zander Hatch is the author of the new novel Rose Island. He is a U.S. Marine veteran.
Q: What inspired you to write Rose Island, and how did you create your character Jake Harper?
A: A lot of the inspiration I got for Rose Island came from my love of the action movies of the ‘80s and ‘90s. My fondness for reading Matthew Reilly and Clive Cussler books when I was a teenager inspired me to put my want for storytelling into book form. The idea of the island setting came from watching Jurassic Park and the TV show Lost.
On creating Jake Harper, to put it simply, I wanted to create someone cool. A highly trained and highly experienced military operator who doesn’t always follow protocol and likes to play it fast and loose sometimes.
I wanted him to be unrelenting in his drive to accomplish the mission, however, someone who would put themselves in front of others in the face of danger; a leader who cares.
His background as a Marine is inspired by my own time as a Marine, although our experiences differ greatly. His green eyes are borrowed from the lead character of Clive Cussler’s books and his tattoos are based on my own.
Q: Can you say more about how your own military background affected the writing of the novel?
A: In short, it affected almost every aspect of the novel. Many characters in the book are Marines or from another branch of the military. Many scenes with military aircraft and ships are featured in the book.
I think my military background brought a tone of realism to the story, from the simple naming of military equipment to how the characters conduct themselves in a tactical situation.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I had a rough idea of the ending, but ultimately, I made many changes along the way. Some of this was due to my lack of planning the novel out in detail beforehand and some of this happened during the extensive editing process.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?
A: I hope readers just have fun with it and enjoy it. I write to create something exciting and thrilling, hoping it takes the reader on a wild ride of shootouts and explosions.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m currently working on the sequel to Rose Island and I’m planning out another novel, a standalone story that I plan to tackle after the sequel.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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