Rob Holden: Robert Liparulo, welcome to ReadersRoom.com. It is a pleasure to have you with us here today.

Robert Liparulo: Glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

Rob Holden: I would like to start this chat off talking about your latest book, GERM. Could you tell our readers a bit about it?

Robert Liparulo: GERM is about a designer virus. Its creator encodes a virus with a bit of human DNA. The virus then travels from person to person until it finds the DNA that matches the code within it then it turns into Ebola and kills that person. It’s sort of like an assassin-germ. A few years ago, I read about someone who claimed that the government was trying to create a virus or chemical that attacked only specific races. I thought, well, why stop at a specific race, why not a specific person? With gene splicing and manipulating viruses to attack cancer cells the technology is there for a malicious, assassin-germ.

Rob Holden: The obvious first question that comes to mind is what kind of research did you have to do on "germs" – and where did you do it?

Robert Liparulo: I spoke to a lot of geneticists and biologists, primarily at universities; several by phone and several in person. I went to three blood labs--two state and one federal. For the non-virus related stuff, I spoke to physicians (there's a hospital scene) and Lawrence Livermore Labs (re a new weapon).

Rob Holden: GERM is a fairly substantial book -- almost 500 pages – and yet, with the exception of flashback scenes, takes place in just about a week of "real" time. Did you find it difficult to write in such a compressed fashion?

Robert Liparulo: I tend to like compressed timelines. My previous book, COMES A HORSEMAN, takes place in about a week's time, and the one I'm just finishing takes place in a few days. There's something about "real time" that I find appealing in fiction. Makes it feel more real, perhaps.

Rob Holden: As I know a good segue when I see one, let's talk a little about your previous book, COMES A HORSEMAN. Can you tell our readers a bit about that novel -- currently, I believe, out in paperback?

Robert Liparulo: Yes, it's out in mass market paperback now. COMES A HORSEMAN follows two FBI agents who are investigating a grisly series of murders. Before they realize it, the killer comes after them. That leads to their uncovering the man behind the murder, a powerful leader who thinks he-s the Antichrist. I had read an article about delusions of grandeur-people thinking their God or Napoleon. I thought, What about the Antichrist? If their delusions stem from wanting to be powerful, wouldn’t he fit the bill?

Rob Holden: Indeed he would. I am wondering where you got the vision of the Antichrist that you put into the novel's character?

Robert Liparulo: I did some research into what people think the Antichrist would be like, if he were to come, and consistently, he's supposed to be charming, charismatic, good-looking; after all, he charms the world into believe he would be a great world leader. Then I modeled the character on George Clooney. Of course, he'd be a liar and deceptive and generally a bad guy, as well. George Clooney with horns.

Rob Holden: Speaking of bad guys, I would like to return to GERM for a moment, and talk a bit about Karl Litt. Of all the characters in the novel, I found him to be both the most complex, and the most fascinating. Can you tell us a bit about how you created him, and where he came from?

Robert Liparulo: Now he's someone I made up out of whole cloth. At first, I pictured him sort of cartoony--a James Bond villain. Then I really started to think about his motivations and he became more human, less cartoony. To make him a little less evil, I gave his friend and "head of security," Gregor, some of his badness. Together, they make the one villain I had in mind at the start.

Rob Holden: That was one of the things that fascinated me about him – the fact that he was, looked at in a certain light, almost a sympathetic character -- and yet also a REAL son-of-a-bitch! How difficult was it for you to keep that balance with that character throughout the novel?

Robert Liparulo: Not too difficult, really. I just kept thinking about the family he lost. It's hard to be cold-minded about somebody when you understand their pain -- even if you don't agree with how he's handling it (revenge). Olaf from COMES A HORSEMAN is sort of like that as well: a lot of people said he was the meanest bad guy they ever liked. It all came down to seeing his motivations.

Rob Holden: Literally dozens of the authors we have interviewed have told us that it is both easier and more fun to write bad guys as opposed to good guys. Do you find this to be the case, and if so, why?

Robert Liparulo: I don't think evil characters are more fun to write or to read, but there is an element of exploring a mysterious part of the world. It is fascinating to wonder what is going on in someone's mind when they commit crimes. Most of us understand why laws are in place and we don't have any trouble abiding by those laws. When we see crime, especially violent crime, we think, "Was that person crazy? What drove him to do that? How does he justify it?" I don't know if it's a voyeuristic thing, simple curiosity or something else, but outlaws fascinate us, even if we have no desire to follow their lead. Then again, there is something about shucking off all rules and going wild. Writers get to do that when they're writing bad guys. But most writers I know relate to their characters deeply, so it's not always fun to put your protagonists through hell. It's a two-way
street.

Rob Holden: Bob, I know that GERM was bid on by the New York houses, and yet you chose to go with a smaller independent publisher, WestBow Press. Can you tell us why you made this decision?

Robert Liparulo: WestBow was very passionate about me. I spoke to David Morrell about it and he suggested going with the smallest house that still had enough money to promote me. He said I'd get lost at one of the big houses.No matter how big I was, there would always be someone bigger. WestBow is part of the seventh largest publishing house in the world, so they have the money to promote me and do right by my books. They are always very receptive to ideas I throw at them--marketing, tours, etc. I don't think I'd get that kind of attention at a bigger house.

Rob Holden: So it sounds as though you feel that you have made the right decision as far as your career is concerned.

Robert Liparulo: Oh, yeah. I've been very pleased with everything in the process--the editors, the publisher, the packaging, the promotion. WestBow is very much like published used to be decades ago, when people like Maxwell Perkins were doing their thing. They are book lovers, fiction lovers, and their enthusiasm and excitement is evident and contagious.

Rob Holden: You recently contributed a short story to the excellent anthology THRILLER called Kill Zone. Did you find it difficult take a break from novels and work in the short format?

Robert Liparulo: I wrote a lot of short fiction years and years ago. I love the form. As a magazine writer (my job before switching to novels), I learned how to write tightly. I love short stories. I'd like to do more of them.

Rob Holden: Bob, you mentioned earlier that you are already at work on your next novel. Can you give our readers a sneak peek at what that is all about, or would you prefer not to?

Robert Liparulo: There's already a production house in Hollywood looking at it, and they asked that I don't go too far into it, but I can say that it involves a group of guys who head up into the Canadian wilderness to get away from it all for a while, and they run into some very bad dudes. It becomes a battle between very low-tech and extremely high-tech weapons; between decent guys and amoral thugs. It'll be a lot of fun. All the suspense and action of GERM and COMES A HORSEMAN, but all set in one very remote locale. By not going "too far into it" I meant that they didn't want me spilling all the story yet.

Rob Holden: And do you have a home on the web where readers can keep up with what's going on with both you and the new book?

Robert Liparulo: www.Robert Liparulo.com ... I try to update it about once a month. I'm also doing regular drawings for IPod Nanos. Anyone on my e-mailing list is eligible.

Rob Holden: Our readers who are also writers like to know about how our guests actually do their writing. Do you have a set schedule? Goals you set for yourself -- that kind of thing?

Robert Liparulo: I usually schedule my work way ahead of time: a week for outlining, a month for research, four months for writing. I divvy up the expected word count over the time I have allotted and see how many words I have to average per week. Day by day, I either go way over or way under, but usually hit the per-week count. I usually get up really early--4AM and work all morning. If I'm behind, I'll work as late as 4:00 PM, when my kids get home from school.

Rob Holden: And you make your deadlines RIGHT on time, every time, right?

Robert Liparulo: HA, no, but I'm working on it. There's a big learning curve, figuring out how to balance writing with all the other things authors have to do (PR stuff, etc.). It's like building a house. It's hard to get such a huge project finished exactly when you thought you would. I'm getting better.

Rob Holden: If you had answered yes to that question, you would have been the only author we've ever interviewed to do so, and I doubt I would have believed you anyway! Bob, before we wrap this up, is there anything you would like to say to your fans who might read this chat at ReadersRoom.com?

Robert Liparulo: Is it too quaint to simply say thank you to my readers? I know that there are so many books vying for their attention and I'm truly appreciative when they pick up one of my books.Many have written and I always respond in person. As a reader, I've always appreciated attentive authors--Lee Child, David Morrell. I want to follow their lead. To the writers who read this, let me just say KEEP WRITING. I think success has more to do with persistence than talent. I started my first novel when I was thirteen. It took almost 25 years to get one published (but a lot of that had to do with distractions). Once I buckled down and FINISHED something, things started happening.

Rob Holden: Robert Liparulo, thanks for joining us today -- it was something of a scheduling struggle, but well worth the effort! Best of luck with all your current and future projects!

Robert Liparulo: Thank you, Rob. I really appreciate your support! Bye.