Interview with Jack Everett

Jack Everett is an author who writes in several genres including historical thrillers, medieval mysteries, WW2 stories and Fantasy and Sci-Fi. He lives in rural Yorkshire in England with his wife and pet cat, Meaow.

His newest work ‘1/1:Jihad-Britain’-a modern day thriller- is available from (AcclaimedBooks.com). www.JihadUK.info tells all about it.


What is the name of your latest book? And how did you come up with the title?

1/1:Jihad-Britain tells of a possible outcome to a happening several times larger than 9/11. Starting with bombs going off in St.Paul’s Cathedral and Trafalgar Square in London, large football stadiums in Scotland and Wales and aboard the world’s largest cruise liner just berthing in Southampton docks. All on or around midnight one New Years Eve. Thus the 1/1 is the 1st day of the new year, Jihad is what it is all about and Britain is where it mainly takes place.

What is (1/1:Jihad-Britain) about?

As the story progresses from its explosive start we find that most of the ruling socialist party died in the cathedral and a new government has to be formed. The man appointed to be the leader of the UK is Francis Raike an MP who was injured in the bombings. The book is written so that the reader follows the day to day happenings of the Prime Minister(the first divorcee ever to be elected) the bombers, members of the security forces, Muslim prisoners sent to a prison island off the coast of Scotland and ordinary members of the public who have been affected by the happenings.

What books have influenced your life most?

Probably the hardest question I will ever be asked because from an early age I was a vociferous reader and read anywhere and at any time. But in each of the genres I enjoyed I suppose I had favorites; in Sci Fi and Fantasy the works of Jack Vance affected me most. In crime fiction it had to be Peter Cheney and Raymond Chandler in my early days and latterly, William Diehl and John Sandford.

I could go on at length but the list is endless and I have to say I cannot choose a particular book rather my leanings have come as the result of many varieties.


If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I would have to say Jack Vance; I liked him that much that I wrote two novels currently available as e-books; ‘The Faces of Immortality’ and ‘To Rule the Universe’ as a homage to him.

What are your current projects?

A thriller set in the UK and Austria about a retired MI5 cryptologist whose wife and son have died in a car crash being approached by someone purporting to be his son. This is in final copy editing phase. A murder mystery set in York in the old snickelways and a werewolf story entitled ‘Silverlands.’

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Every book for me is a challenge because each so far has been in a different genre there is no time to grow accustomed to the same hero or heroine, therefore all research is totally fresh and can’t grow stale.

In other words I could never grow sick of my characters because they are as new to me as to you.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Only that if you want be a writer go for it but do not give up your day job. Only around one in a thousand authors make enough money to live on and most of them find it costs them money. I say this because there is a commonly held belief that writers earn a fortune. Oh if it were only true.



Excerpt:

‘You’re right to be concerned, Foreign Minister, absolutely. It is going to land in your back yard; you will have to deal with the home states of deportees. As far as the EU goes, we intend to repeal the Human Rights Act – I said that in several of the interviews I’ve given to news channels, there’s nothing secret about it.’

‘Not every country is going to take their citizens back.’

‘No,’ said Raike and then nodded. ‘We shall have to find other places to take them. Those countries, those states that don’t co-operate will find that we reciprocate their attitudes; their citizens will no longer be welcome here.’

Florence pursed her lips and let Thomas Eddington in.

‘What of the illegal immigrants?’ He asked.

‘They’re going to face a much harsher regime. There will be what I’ll call a Charter of Intent that will list what we require of future immigrants. Any who come from countries who will not agree to repatriation will be shipped back to the state from which they entered Britain, immediately.’ Raike grinned, as engagingly as he could manage. ‘Florence is going to spend many happy hours with her French counterpart.’

‘It’s going to take an army of guards or whatever to do that.’ Eddington said.

‘I don’t think so. There will be far fewer coming in, in the first place. Our borders are going to be far more secure than they have ever been and since one of our tenets is going to be “charity begins at home” there will be no more free accommodation, free hospital treatment, free education, no more cash and clothing handouts to anyone who hasn’t contributed to taxes and NI. You should see my mail sack every morning; it’s always filled with complaints from my constituents about this sort of thing. Is there any coffee left in that jug?’

Bill Winterbottom reached over and lifted it. ‘Sure. Pass your cup Francis – sorry, pass your cup Prime Minister.’ Most of the gathering laughed but Raike got his coffee.

‘Refill your cups, anybody who wants some,’ said Raike, ‘but call me Prime Minister first.’

‘There are a lot here already though.’ Venables said as they all sat down again. ‘Illegals.’

Raike pulled his chair forward and steepled his fingers together, elbows on the table. ‘Those who want to go home, can. We’ll pay their fare. Those who don’t can stay if they’re holding down a job, if they speak English and if they’ve no criminal record and no ties to terrorists or terrorism.’

‘Does that policy hold for Muslims?’ Malachi Owumbi asked, putting his coffee down with a slight chatter of cup against saucer.

‘Now that’s an interesting point, Malachi.’ Raike sat back and tapped the table lightly with the coaster his cup and saucer had been resting on. ‘What do the Muslims want? Does any of us know? There’s a lot of talk about turning Britain into a Sharia state, do they really want that and if so, why did they come here instead of staying where they already had one? Hmm? Do they want their children educated to be British or to be Asian, African, Middle Eastern?’

He threw the mat down in a gesture of disgust. ‘We don’t know, do we? We’re guessing. The only thing that I know,’ he tapped himself on the chest, ‘is that Britain is presently at war with various Muslim groups. There are British cities being ruled over by Ayatollahs, not the British Government, by tin-pot little upstarts who don’t even share a common heritage or viewpoint among themselves.’

‘It’s time we took control back.’ Said Keith Broadhead quietly. ‘It’s either that or start immediate wholesale enforced repatriation for the sake of the real British people.’

‘I am a real British person.’ Said Owumbi.

‘Of course you are.’ Broadhead replied immediately. ‘British is not a skin colour or an accent or a religious creed.’

‘Hear, hear.’ Added Raike followed by several of the others.

‘So, taking back our cities,’ said Robert Carey. ‘How?’

‘Putting it simply, we need our troops back here,’ Florence Levin answered. ‘We must start that process today, now.’

‘The Foreign Minister has it,’ said Raike. ‘Florence, one of your early tasks will be to inform NATO that we shall be cancelling our commitments to the Middle East with immediate effect. Our troops are required here, in fact…’ Raike frowned. ‘In fact, Florence, you are so right that you have my permission to leave this meeting and put that into immediate effect.’

Florence left to find an office with a computer link and a telephone.

Robert Carey put a tentative finger in the air.

‘Robert?’

‘These extra measures are going to cost, PM. Any ideas where it’s going to come from?

‘Now why do you think I appointed you Chancellor, Robert? It depends on the outcome of the referendum; I have to admit that – depends on the British Citizen himself. However, let us assume that the results are as we expect them to be. In that case, we shall have billions to play with – that’s flippant, I’m sorry. We shall have billions to work with. Or you can always put ten pence on the tax rate.’

Everyone laughed nervously at that one. Raike took the opportunity to lean behind Broadhead’s chair. ‘What would our payments to the EU be worth to you?’ He stage whispered.