Goodreads Interview: Chuck Waldron, author of LION'S HEAD DECEPTION

1. Can you tell us what your book is about?

Lion’s Head Deception is a dystopian novel that touches on some current themes. In the United States our individual right to privacy is held to be sacrosanct, free from searches without a warrant and free from arrest without cause. Since the event of 9/11 there has been a sharp increase in the fear that our expectation of privacy has been eroded. That fear is both imagined and, judging by some of today’s news, real.

The theme of Lion’s Head Deception taps into our contemporary conversation as we try to balance our post 9/11 desire for safety with excessive surveillance and social regulation.

A whistleblower sounds the alarm about a conspiracy to undermine the country by instigating widespread social unrest, causing a demand for safety at any price. When blogger, Matt Tremain, hears the story he asks himself a question. Will he have the courage to publish the truth about their deception?

When a shadowy group of men step forward to offer a solution and promising security, are people willing to pay the cost? Can the plot be stopped? That is the important question facing Matt and his friends.

2. How did you choose the title?

My antagonist had a hidden agenda, a deception. Lion’s Head is an actual location on the Bruce Peninsula, located northwest of Toronto. When I imagined a location for the secret meeting of the men behind the stealthy plot the isolation of the area seemed a good fit for a title Lion’s Head Deception.

3. Can you tell us about the main characters?

Matt Tremain doesn’t have characteristics often used to describe the leading role as protagonist in the thriller. Matt has to draw on his strength of character to find out if he has what it takes to expose the truth.

His opposite is Charles Claussen, a man who hides his evil behind a mask of normal. In fact, he is so well respected no one would imagine he could back a conspiracy like this.

4. What is it about your book that tells the reader it's a dystopian thriller and why did you choose that genre?

The reader will recognize the dystopian nature of Lion’s Head Deception, a fictional story set in a speculative future. It’s a story with elements of dehumanization, political tyranny and the decline of society. It’s a story in the tradition of stories such as

Fahrenheit 451 and Hunger Games.


5. Where does the book take place and why that location?

The location for Lion’s Head Deception is the metropolitan area of Rockland-Hedgemill. You won’t find it on any map. You might be surprised, however, when you Google Rockland-Hedgemill. I chose to set the story in a fictional city, but a savvy reader just might recognize the city behind the scrim.

6. How is this book different from your other books?

I was breaking new ground with my challenge to write a dystopian story. My first novel is a history-based thriller, the second a contemporary fantasy, and the third a crime thriller. Each has their own unique voice, a voice necessary to tell their story.
7. What genre have you not written but would love to one day?

My pick would be a mystery with lots of characters, clues, misdirection and a quirky detective.

8. What's next for you?

Right now I’m juggling two sequels. I envision Lion’s Head Deception and my third novel, Served Cold, as trilogies.

Visit Chuck Waldron’s website at www.writebymebooks.com.