Chris Allen: Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof

Chris Allen is one of the authors I had the pleasure of meeting at Book Expo Australia back in August this year. In fact, we faced off in an “action thriller versus crime writer smackdown”, along with Greg Barron, Scott Baker, Geoff McGeachin and Michael Robotham (with Lindy Cameron as the independent chair). It was a hilarious, fast-paced and action-packed experience. Speaking of fast-paced and action-packed, Chris enjoys writing action thrillers and is about to branch into crime. He grew up on Cold War spy thrillers and loved them, so it was probably inevitable that he would head that way when he began writing.

Sandi: Tell us about your first published book.

Chris: My first published book had a really interesting journey from first words to publication. It is an action thriller, went through many transformations and ended up being published in two different versions. The first version was titled Defender of the Faith and my wife Sarah and I self published it under our own banner, Bright Sea Publishing. We had great success with that exercise, gained a lot of very loyal followers and I was subsequently signed by Pan MacMillan’s digital imprint, Momentum. With Momentum, we re-edited Defender of the Faith and then re-released it as Defender.

The story introduces the hero of my series, Alex Morgan. Morgan is an agent of Intrepid, a secret black ops division of Interpol. In his first mission, he’s taking on arms dealers and corrupt officials. The story takes the reader all over the world – Africa, the UK and Australia.

Sandi: How many books and years ago was that?

Chris: Defender was three books ago. I’ve since published Hunter and I’m about to release Avenger.

Sandi: Was it the first novel you’d written?

Chris: Yes, it was my first. It took about ten years to get it to its final version!

Sandi: What are you currently reading?

Chris: I’m reading Michael Robotham’s Life or Death. It’s crime. I’m absolutely loving it. He’s a very gifted writer.

Sandi: Do you write in the same genre as your first book today? And what is your latest project?

Chris: I’m continuing my Alex Morgan series, so remaining in the action thriller space for a bit longer. Morgan’s third mission, Avenger, will be released early next year. It’s all about human trafficking and takes Morgan back to Africa, then Hong Kong, the UK and Central America. I’m really excited about it and can’t wait for everyone to read it.

At the moment, I’m beginning work on Morgan’s fourth mission and in the new year I’ll be kicking off a completely new series in the crime genre.

Bonus Q&A

Sandi: Who is your writing hero/heroine? Why?

Chris: I have two absolute favourites – Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Both of these authors were ex-servicemen and used that experience to bolster their stories and principal characters. I’m a former Army officer, so that really resonates with me. They also both created iconic characters who are now an integral part of contemporary culture. They’ve left an enduring legacy and I’m very grateful that they did.

Thanks for sharing some of your ride, Chris. I’m looking forward to your new crime series.

Sandi x

To connect with Chris Allen, or for more information on his books, please visit his website http://intrepidallen.com/ or hook up on Facebook or Twitter @IntrepidAllen.