James Rollins, Sigma Force, and The Demon Crown

DEBORAH CROMBIE: If you love an absolutely unputdownable read, you have cause to celebrate! There’s a new JAMES ROLLINS SIGMA FORCE  novel  out this week!

Nobody writes a combination of intriguing science, well-researched history, and breathtaking adventure like Rollins, and I can’t wait to curl up by the fire and dive into this one. I asked Jim to tell us a little about the book. I've got goosebumps just reading about it.

DEBS: THE DEMON CROWN is the 13th Sigma Force novel. What new menace is threatening the planet?

JAMES ROLLINS: To quote my editor: This book is Sigma’s most frightening adventure to date. And I don’t disagree. The novel starts when a group of scientists stumbles across an island off the coast of Brazil, where all life has been eradicated, consumed and possessed by a species beyond imagination. Before they can report their discovery, the scientists are attacked and killed. Save one, an entomologist, an expert on venomous creatures. This one event soon blows up into a global threat, when the same species is unleashed across the Hawaiian Islands. As people die by the hundreds, it appears the only way to halt the organism’s spread is to nuke those islands. To prevent that from happening, Sigma Force must discover the terrifying origin of the species—and find a way to destroy it. But already the organism is changing, growing, spreading—adapting and surviving every attempt to stop it. So, yes, it is indeed a frightening story—especially so because of how real this danger actually is. Even Homeland Security maintains the threat raised in this novel to be a top priority.

DEBS: Can you tell us a little about the heroes of your stories? Who are Sigma Force?

JIM: Sigma Force is a team of former special forces soldiers who have been drummed out of the service for various reasons. But because of special aptitudes and abilities, they’ve been recruited in secret by DARPA—the Defense Department’s research-and-development agency—and retrained in various scientific disciplines to act as field agents for DARPA. Their mission is to protect the globe against various emerging threats. Basically, they’re scientists with guns.

DEBS: What is the real-life scientific danger in THE DEMON CROWN that could keep Homeland Security up at night?

JIM: Specifically, the threat posed by invasive species, those foreign invaders to our shores.  We’ve already seen how the Everglades are being overrun by pythons that are wiping out our native bird populations. Then there are Asian carp in our lakes and rivers doing the same to native fish. And it’s not just here in the States. Other examples of invasive species are plentiful and global. Most of these cases are due to accidental contaminations. What worries Homeland Security is that some hostile power might weaponize such a species and use it as means of waging war. Especially as such a threat is nearly impossible to defend against. It’s just that kind of frightening scenario that I explore in THE DEMON CROWN.

DEBS: You love to include intriguing concepts in your books. What can readers expect to discover in your newest novel?

JIM:This novel serves as a cautionary reminder that we are not living in the Age of Man, but rather—as has been true for over 400 million years—we are living in the Age of Insects. In fact, it is now hypothesized that insects contributed—if not led—to the extinction of the dinosaurs. How? You’ll have to read the book for the shocking answer. But of course, this then begs the question concerning the insects’ latest competitors for the earth’s dwindling natural resources:  Could we be their next target?

DEBS: You also fold fascinating bits of history into your stories. In this case, you deal with the mysteries surrounding the founding of the Smithsonian Institution in D.C. What made you choose to include this bit of history?

JIM: Mostly because so little is truly known about the man who founded the Smithsonian. James Smithson was a British chemist who never set foot in America, yet left his fortune to our young nation in order to establish this institution that would carry his name. He did so without warning or explanation. Then shortly after the founding of the Smithsonian, its first building—the Smithsonian Castle—was nearly destroyed by a fire during the Civil War. Most of Smithson’s books and journals, along with his vast mineral collection, were destroyed, all but erasing his heritage. Then even more intriguingly, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, defied the regents of the Smithsonian to sail to Europe. On New Year’s Eve in 1903, under the cover of a snowstorm, he stole the bones of James Smithson from a graveyard in Italy and returned them to the States, where those bones reside today in the Smithsonian Castle. To me, Alexander Graham Bell could’ve been a member of Sigma Force. Here we have a scientist and inventor who was not above a little skullduggery…in this case, literally. In fact, many true-to-life mysteries surrounding those stolen bones are critical to the story.

DEBS: You are also active in your support of American veterans. Could you tell us a little bit about your efforts?

JIM: Sure. My support for veterans first came about after I participated in a USO tour of authors to Iraq and Kuwait in the winter of 2010. Upon coming home, I knew I wanted to do more. First, I worked with USA Cares, which raises emergency funds for vets in need, then most recently I joined US 4 Warriors as an advisory board member. The new charity started as a grassroots effort in San Diego and has since expanded nationwide. Besides helping to promote the social welfare of vets in a wide spectrum of activities, the latest endeavor also involves helping veterans tell their stories…and get published! So as a writer, I’m especially exciting as US 4 Warriors expands into this adventure.

DEBS: Here's more about THE DEMON CROWN.

Off the coast of Brazil, a team of scientists discovers a horror like no other, an island where all life has been eradicated, consumed and possessed by a species beyond imagination. Before they can report their discovery, a mysterious agency attacks the group, killing them all, save one, an entomologist, an expert on venomous creatures, Professor Ken Matsui from Cornell University.
Strangest of all, this inexplicable threat traces back to a terrifying secret buried a century ago beneath the National Mall: a cache of bones preserved in amber. The artifact was hidden away by a cabal of scientists—led by Alexander Graham Bell—to protect humankind. But they dared not destroy it, for the object also holds an astonishing promise for the future: the very secret of life after death.
Yet, nothing stays buried forever. An ancient horror—dormant in the marrow of those preserved bones—is free once more, nursed and developed into a weapon of incalculable strength and malignancy, ready to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.
To stop its spread, Commander Grayson Pierce of Sigma Force must survive a direct attack on the island of Maui. To be there first has always been the core mission of Sigma Force, a covert team forged to be America’s front line against emerging threats. But this time, even Sigma may not be able to decipher this deadly mystery, one that traces back to the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.
With each new discovery, the menace they hunt is changing, growing, spreading—adapting and surviving every attempt to stop it from reconquering a world it once ruled. And each transformation makes it stronger . . . and smarter.
Running out of time and options, Commander Grayson Pierce will be forced to make an impossible choice. To eradicate this extinction-level threat and expose those involved, he will have to join forces with Sigma’s greatest enemy—the newly resurrected Guild—even it if means sacrificing one of his own.

AND MORE ABOUT JAMES ROLLINS

James Rollins is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers, translated into more than forty languages. His Sigma series has been lauded as one of the "top crowd pleasers" (New York Times) and one of the "hottest summer reads" (People Magazine). In each novel, acclaimed for its originality, Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets--and he does it all at breakneck speed and with stunning insight.
As a boy immersed in the scientific adventures of Doc Savage, the wonders of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and pulps such as The Shadow, The Spider, and The Avenger, James Rollins decided he wanted to be a writer. He honed his storytelling skills early, spinning elaborate tales that were often at the heart of pranks played on his brothers and sisters.
Before he would set heroes and villains on harrowing adventures, Rollins embarked on a career in veterinary medicine, graduating from the University of Missouri and establishing a successful veterinary practice. He continues to volunteer his time and veterinary skills in support of the local SPCA. His hands-on knowledge of medicine and science helps shape the research and scientific speculation that set James Rollins books apart.

DEBS: Like Jim, I grew up loving adventures stories. And like Jim, I loved science, and animals. (Did I mention that one of Jim's characters is a military working dog?) Readers, do you love adventure stories? What are some of your favorites?

Phoning It In

"Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."

**attributed to Alexander Graham Bell as the first phone call in 1876.

"There's an app for that."

**attributed in some circles to Alexander Graham Bell (the twentieth) as the first call on the iphone.

HANK: Love-hate. Approach-avoidance. That's my relationship with my cell phone. It's--complicated. (I have a regular flip-phone. Usually the batteries are charged.) Jonathan wanted to get me an iphone for Christmas. "Yes! Wonderful!" I said. All enthusiastic about access and connections and all the general cool stuff I could do.

Then three minutes later, I changed my mind.

As much as I want a cool phone, I don't want one. I was on the elevator the other day, and the other person in the 'vator with me was on her iphone. Completely, totally focused on her phone. She didn't even flicker a look at me. The doors opened, and in walked another person, focused on HER little screen. The phone-people didn't look at each other, didn't acknowledge me. They were in phone world.

At booksignings recently, I've seen people walk into stores, oblivious. Focused
on their phones. They're not even where they are--they're in phone world. Their only reality is on the small screen.

I vote: no. Probably because I know my own weaknesses. I'd easily be right there in total phone world. And I don't wanna go. You?

ROBERTA: I did go for the iphone and I love it when I travel--no need to lug the heavy computer unless of course, I'm planning to do some writing:). My hub and I are addicted to the maps application--after that first doozy of a fight when I didn't get how to use it and we drove past our turn-off at least three times. John uses his like an ipod too, listening to podcasts and Spanish lessons while he exercises.

But I'm not a phone addict. I don't have it with me half the time and I don't feel obligated to answer every time it rings. I think that phone world thing can happen no matter what kind of instrument you use. Don't you think?

HALLIE: Is it the people or the phones? Especially I see the rudeness at the checkout counter, where the customer is doing the phone thing and not even bothering to thank or make eye contact with the clerk.

HANK: Hmm, you may have a great point there...

HALLIE: Still, if someone GAVE me one I wouldn't return it. I love being able to search for a great restaurant NEAR the street corner I'm standing on. But the value of most of the apps would escape me.

RO: I'm not a phone person so my having an Iphone would be a little like someone who hated to drive having a Maserati. I rarely call anyone and when my phone rings it's usually because my husband's phone has accidentally gone off in his backpack. I did need to replace my phone this year and it took me months to it because I don't enjoy buying new electronics.

I did own an Iphone for about 7 hours. It never left the Apple store though because it took 7 hours for the "geniuses" to erase all the mail on my minicomputer and then try to retrieve it from the "cloud" or wherever they'd sent it. (They never did, so if anyone emailed me last April and I didn't respond, it wasn't my fault.)I was there so long I saw the employee shift change. They saw a change in me too. I started out nice enough but by the time I left I'd turned into Cruella DeVil. I have a feeling some of the employees are still undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eventually I bought a Blackberry which I love...as long as I remember to charge it and take it with me.

JAN: Well, I almost got an I-Phone for Christmas, but the AT&T store in Manhattan screwed up so badly, changing the price at the last minute, Bill walked out. ATT shut off my service, by mistake, and it took four days to get my service AND internet access on my L-G phone back The moral of this story:

Cell phones don't always make life easier. They actually take quite a bit of work in the buying and maintaining (of course I maintain FOUR of them for the family. )

Bottom line?? I got a MAC instead. And I'm totally psyched!! But I agree with Hallie, it's not the phone its the phone USER. I really hate getting calls on my cell. I always find it startling and inconvenient, so I don't encourage people to call. And its also really rude when people are texting someone else when they are with you. But sometimes texting is the most well behaved way to communicate. (ie. I tell my kids if they AREN'T coming home, to text me instead of calling. This way, IF I WAKE up to worry, I can see they are all right, but they don't wake me to let me know they are all right.)

And Hank, from one email addict to another -- I was worried I'd be checking email all the time on my cell phone -- but on the LG at least, it's okay to read, but a pain to reply, so I tend not to get into it It's strictly as NEEDED.

RHYS: I have the most basic cell phone and only use it to call John and tell him my flight just landed or I'm in hotel room number 309. He only uses his to ask if we're out of Brussels sprouts and did I pick up a newspaper.
There is one great benefit of cellphones. I have always driven around in my car to work through a scene I'm writing. I like to talk my way through it, dialog and all. In the past people would look at me as if I was crazy, driving along, talking, animated. Not any longer. They just assume I'm on the Bluetooth.
But don't you find it worrying when people walk toward you talking to themselves? I never know whether they are crazy or just on their cell phone.

HANK: Or, you try to talk to them and they can't hear you because their ears are plugged up.

RHYS: But I must confess--I have an ipod touch.

(HANK: Oops.)

RHYS: It does all the cool things that the iphone does (without the ATT involvement) I can check email, Google Maps, weather, stocks, find restaurants. The only problem is that I need the wifi hotstop. I only wanted it to play my music so I haven't yet invested in any apps, games or cool stuff. But I may download Scrabble and even virtual tennis.

HANK: Virtual tennis. Sigh.

BREAKING NEWS: Hallie's smashing best-seller NEVER TELL A LIE is now out in paperback! Cue the marching bands and majorettes...! And it's an INDIEBOUND feature.

HANK: And now--how about you all? Are you going to order Hallie's book on your iphone? Or where do you stand in the communication wars?

(Coming up this week: Toni LP Kelner! (And free books) Brad Parks! (And free books.) Thursday, something special. And Friday--looking ahead to--gulp--2010.)