Adam Blumer Interview

Q: How long have you been writing and what other careers or jobs have you had?
A. I started writing when I was a child, but it wasn’t until high school that I realized I wanted to be a published author. Writing still isn’t my main career; I edit books for a living and write fiction on the side. God opens and closes doors as He wills, but I’ll always be writing. Over the years, I’ve done a variety of jobs, everything from working at a strawberry farm to waiting on tables. Of all those jobs, I definitely prefer writing.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, Termination Zone?
A: In the Justice Club, you’re either all in, or you’re dead.

Pianist Landon Jeffers has been hiding in Georgia’s woods to keep his loved ones safe from the Justice Club, the cybercrime network seeking to control him through his brain implant. But when his means of blocking their controlling signals is compromised and he receives word that a family member may be in danger, he is forced out of hiding.

Now Landon covertly works with unexpected allies including the FBI to help shut the Justice Club down from the inside. But when he is prepped during his concert tour for a high-profile hit targeting the highest levels of the US government, the stakes have never been higher. Can he and his allies thwart the Justice Club’s mission of violence in time? Even if that means placing the woman he loves in danger?

The deadline is coming. And death is certain if he fails.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this story?
A: Much of the inspiration for this series (this is book 2) came from my father’s brain cancer journey (he passed away in 2011). I remember him describing a medical procedure in which the surgeon removed his brain tumor and placed medicinal wafers in its place to fight the cancer. I remember thinking, What if someone with evil intentions put something else in someone’s brain? Maybe a GPS or an implant of some kind? I researched brain implants, and my what-if grew into a full story premise about mind control through brain implants and how someone with such an implant could escape. The series concept took off from there.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: After being entertained with this technological what-if, I hope readers remember the spiritual parallel in the series—that believers in Jesus Christ can say no to evil. This is the spiritual lesson my main character, Landon Jeffers, learns as he struggles against the controlling influence of his brain implant and explores ways to be free. He finds a few man-made gadgets for a temporary escape but ultimately learns that true freedom comes only from a relationship with God. Like Landon, we also can say no and live in victory in spite of the evil influences of this world.

Q: How do you choose your settings for your books?
A. They primarily depend on where the story goes and where characters travel or live. In this particular novel, Landon is on a piano concert tour and therefore has concerts in a number of big cities, including New Orleans, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Those locations came about organically as the plot emerged. For other places in the story—for example, the abandoned Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans—I strove to find unique, memorable locations to reinforce the mood I was creating. One concept in the novel is the “termination zone,” the condition of being alone and seemingly without help or resources. I used the abandoned Six Flags amusement park to reinforce this mood of being forsaken.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?
A: I think all fiction authors would agree that their characters are both fictitious and similar to people they’ve bumped into throughout life. So my answer is “both.” Of course, nobody in my stories is exactly like anyone I know, but there are similarities. For example, my father-in-law is a train nut. So is Landon’s dad, Jacob. Landon’s mother, Sandra, loves doing genealogical research; so does my mom. We write about what we know, and often the interests or hobbies of the people in our lives naturally influence the characters in our stories.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m currently doing as much marketing and legwork for this release as I feasibly can, but I’ve also begun book 3 in this series, tentatively titled “Shadow Agenda.” I’m only in the ideas stage at this point, but some plot points have solidified in my brain. I’m excited about creating this story for readers.

Q: If money were no object, what vacation would you like to take and why?
A. I’d enjoy a tour of Israel. I was fortunate to enjoy such a trip in 1995, and that’s when I met my wife. But I’d love to take her back and explore those sites again, now that we’ve been married twenty-four years.

Q: What is the silliest thing you have ever done?
A. In high school, I had a role in a play called The Clumsy Custard Horror Show. I can’t recall much about the play, but I have a photo of what I looked like. Being in such a goofy play with so much makeup on my face, including bright-red lipstick, is probably the silliest thing I’ve ever done.

Q: What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
A. After a layoff in May 2006, I began working from home as a book editor, and I found a part-time job as an early-morning package handler at FedEx. Leaving my rather cushy desk job after a decade to wake before dawn and get sweaty with some pretty rough-edged coworkers was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. In the winter, the large bay doors of the processing plant opened, and I froze as I raced to put the right package in the right location in the right truck. I developed a terrible cough that lingered for months. Thankfully, editing jobs increased, and the added income enabled me after eight months to say farewell to the worst job I’ve ever had. I’m most at home sitting at my desk in front of my computer with a good cup of coffee and lots of simmering ideas.