Interview with Ben Furman, Author of Sam's Quest: The Royal Trident

Ben R. Furman, former FBI counterterrorism chief, has drawn on this experience to write about high-tech terrorism, chemical, biological, and nuclear threats, and transnational criminal cartels. During his career he investigated kidnappings, extortions, bank robberies, led SWAT teams and was the FBI counterterrorism chief assigned to address threats against the United States by terrorists of all stripes.

He also writes fantasy adventure novels with positive messages for the young adult, juvenile market and is the Rexus CEO, a corporation that conducts international corporate investigations involving industrial espionage, internal theft, business due diligence and background screening. You can visit his website at Black Hawk Press.

We interviewed Ben to find out more about his latest young adult release, Sam's Quest: The Royal Trident.

Thank you for this interview, Ben.  Can you tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

Sure. I’m happily married (my wife is looking over my shoulder right now) with two daughters, four grandchildren, and we all live in Charlotte, NC. After college and a stint in the Army, I was a FBI agent for twenty-two years. I specialized in investigating major case bank robberies, kidnappings, extortions, and worked a long-term undercover assignment against organized crime in Detroit.  I was also in charge of an international multi-agency task force that investigated chemical/nuclear terrorism threats against us. A very dicey job!

After retiring, I started the Rexus Corporation, an international private investigation and security consulting firm headquartered in Charlotte.

I’ve been writing at a steady pace for three years.

At what point in your life did you make up your mind you were going to become a published author?

The decision to write was made years ago, but making a living and paying bills came first, plus I had a great job that from my perspective enabled me to help make the world a bit better.

Was there anyone in your life that you can give credit to helping pave the way?

I’d pretty much positioned myself to give writing a try. My wife didn’t want me bugging her all day. She thought locking me inside an office during the day was a good thing. She’s right.

What was your favorite book to read as a child?

It’s not a child’s book. I was ten when I went on a fishing trip to Alaska with my father. I got hooked on Alaska. When we returned he gave me a copy of Jack London’s Burning Daylight that I’ve read a dozen times over the years.

Article Author: Dorothy Thompson

Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors.

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