I got the chance to read his book "Murder on Safari" and "The Berlin Package". It was an adventure. I would suggest that you read my reviews for "Murder on Safari", and "The Berlin Package". You got a chance to win a - Win 1 of 5 sets of print copies of Murder on Safari and The Berlin Package and 1 of 2 $25 Amazon gift cards (open internationally). Enter his giveaway
Let read his Bio and then go to his interview. #Interviews,#Interviewsaroundtheglobe, #NRC, #Giveaways, #bookreview, #adventure, #adultfiction #thriller #crime and @iReadBookTours
@PeterRivaAuthor
Peter Riva has worked for more than thirty years with the leaders in aerospace and space exploration. His daytime job for more than forty years has been as a literary agent. He resides in New York City.
Describe your book in 20 words or less.
A desperate attempt to thwart a decades-old Nazi plot ropes a TV producer into reluctant hero mode once again.
Where or how did you come up with the idea for your story?
I learned that the nuclear fuel rods coming out of Russian reactors are so dangerous that they are never really measured/treated before they are stored (safely) away. They are no good for making efficient bombs… but could be used from really dirty bombs. If one could swap something in their place… frightening thought. I learned that the same day I heard that the Swiss are still trying to clean up the hundred years of using radium for watch faces’ illumination.
How important are names to you in your book(s)? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you use any resources in assisting you to choose the names?
I am afraid that I know too many people whose names I liberally swipe, modify or borrow. Choosing a name seems, to me, to be less about what sounds right as to what reads right (to the reader’s mind’s eye).
Which of your characters (in this book) is your favorite and Why? Two of them – one from by previous book, Mbuno who is based on a man known to East Africa as perhaps the last great hunting guide and the tales he told me of his father (a famous Waliangulu hunter). The other is Silke – a woman scientist and inventor. She is based on two people in real life, one the daughter of a murdered journalist and a woman scientist at MIT. Coupling the talent with a vulnerability, allowed me to show compassion and perfection in one person vital to the success of the outcome.
Was there a certain scene in this book that was harder for you to write than others?
Yes, the super glue repairs after the stabbing. I had to do that to myself twice – not from a stabbing but accidents when I was far away from a hospital. Memories are not always fun.
If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
Well, Brad Pitt was the actor hero. Pero would probably be someone like a Glenn Ford, always a little angry and self-doubting. Maximillian Schell would have to be coerced to play the Stasi leader (he would not have wanted to – against his real nature). Giraffe would be Jeff Daniels. Emily Mortimer could be Silke (she has the languages down pat). Lion? Jean Reno.
What was your favorite part to write and why?
I think, if I am honest, the “grand tour” of a part of Europe I am very familiar with was like a mini vacation, seeing old friends and places. I love Paris, Geneva, Berlin, the Alps (especially Gstaad and Saanen) and the trains… god yes, the trains. European trains are the single technological thing we Americans are not even in the same league with – and that is really wrong.
Just as your book(s) inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write? (Alternate Q: If you didn't like writing books, what would you do for a living?)
This book especially owes thanks to John le Carre, Gavin Lyall, Douglas Reeman and Alistair MacLean. If you even begin to like this book, you will love anything those gentlemen write, Anything!
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
Hemingway said it best, “Writing is rewriting.” Yes, you need to ask qualified friends and colleagues to read and critique your work, yes you need to read your work out loud (it always changes everything) but more than anything you need to be prepared to scrap whole passages and rewrite until it works (at least for you).
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
Analysis of what is bad as a review can actually help. Either the reviewer never read the book but prejudged it (example? The NY Times first review of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - said the author was a misogynist! Hahahahhaha…) OR the reviewer has constructive criticism which you can use later (but not necessarily respond to) OR the review is a puff piece for the reviewer (in which case you should simply avoid any contact).
What are you working on now? What is your next project?
I am constructing a sequel to The Berlin Package – back in Africa when Mbuno needs help – Burundi and ethnic cleansing.
Bonus Question: Characters often find themselves in situations they aren't sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?
As any businessman or woman will tell you, business often presents situations where you need to either give in and be miserable or simply refuse to go forward. Life is short. You are doing no one a favor by doing something or being trapped in a situation where your contribution will be worth little.
Thank you for stopping by Nighttime Reading Center, Peter Riva. I hope to see you around here. I hope you stop by once in awhile. I love your books.
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