Photo credit: Pete Duval
Books and Books @ The Studios is pleased to partner with the Key West Library as they present Mark Powell, author of literary thriller FIREBIRD, on Tuesday, January 7th at 6pm at the library (700 Fleming St.).
Spanning the U.S. and Eastern Europe, from New Haven and D.C. to Kiev and Bratislava, Mark Powell’s FIREBIRD takes you into the 2014 Ukraine-Russia conflict and reveals the corrupt relationship between war, money, and political power.
The plan was simple: foment a small-scale conflict in Eastern Ukraine that will prevent the vast Ukrainian shale gas field from being tapped. Should the project succeed, Leviathan Global’s billionaire founder stands to profit mightily from the sale of gas reserves in Slovakia. But when a disillusioned staffer named Hugh Eckhart uncovers a dossier containing bank accounts laying out the conspiracy, things begin to unravel.
Patricia Engel, author of The Veins of the Ocean writes FIREBIRD is “[a]n unrelenting thrill ride across the globe and deep into the political intrigue and machinations that drive our lives without our knowing; this is a thriller with a conscience that will change how you see the world. Mark Powell is a fearless and master storyteller and FIREBIRD is an absolute powerhouse of a novel.”
Prior to his event, we had the opportunity to ask Mark a few questions:
Q: In one or two lines, how would you describe the new novel?
A: FIREBIRD is a political thriller set between the U.S. (Washington, New Haven, Florida) and Eastern Europe (Ukraine and Slovakia) that addresses (speculatively) the U.S. involvement in the Ukraine war in the run-up to the 2014 election. Bob Shacochis once said he writes books that are “entertainment for people who pay attention.” I’d like to steal that line.
Q: The novel is very concerned with the spiritual and the political inclinations of its characters. Do you see these as being inherently linked? How does it drive the narrative?
A: The theologian John Caputo once wrote “The greatest fantasy of religious belief is the fantasy of political power.” I’m always interested in how fervently-held (if deeply-misguided) beliefs manifest themselves in the actual world. Think of George W. Bush’s “Crusade” into Iraq — we may well feel the violent repercussions for the rest of the 21st C.
Q: Did you read any great books this year?
A: I read a number of great books this year. Two that I think will really stick with me are FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE by Taffy Brodesser-Akner and OUR MAN by George Packer. FLEISHMAN, as one blurb notes, reads like John Updike updated for Tinder and the #MeToo movement. It’s also hilarious and poignant. OUR MAN is equal parts a biography of the diplomat Richard Holbrooke and an autopsy of those five or so decades we sometimes call the “American Century.” Both books capture perfectly our current political, moral, and emotional moment.
Q: What advice would you give to new writers?
A: My advice to beginning writers is embarrassingly basic, but, I think, remains true: read everything you can, particularly the writers you want to write like; don’t chase trends, they’ll be gone by the time you catch up; and, at least at first, develop a certain discipline about when and how often you write.
Special thanks to Key West Library Administrator Michael Nelson for the questions and facilitating this interview.