with Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
We are delighted to welcome author Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. to Omnimystery News.
Harry has written in several genres, with his second novel of suspense, A Man In Control (October 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats), being his most recently published. We asked him to tell us more about the backstory to the book, which is the subject of his guest post for us today.
— ♦ —
Photo provided courtesy of
Harry E. Gilleland, Jr.
Readers are usually curious how an author comes up with his main characters and plot details for his book. In my case with A Man in Control, I called upon experiences in my career as a microbiology professor for twenty-nine years (1975 to 2004) teaching and performing vaccine research with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Science Center's School of Medicine in Shreveport, Louisiana. My grant-supported research project involved investigating the use of selected immunological epitopes of outer membrane protein F of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a new protective vaccine against chronic lung infections caused by that bacterium. This research ultimately involved our using naked DNA vaccines, as well as chimeric carrier viruses to deliver these bacterial protein epitopes. I employed genetic engineering in my own research. I made the main character a professor of microbiology at an academic university and let his research project be the development of a vaccine for P.aeruginosa so that he would be knowledgeable about generic engineering in the story.
The idea of having a genetically engineered chimeric virus as a biological weapon came from my real life experiences. While a microbiology professor, my department hosted a visiting scientist who had first-hand experience with viral agents used in biological warfare at the time (1990s). He informed us of reliable reports that a foreign government was trying to develop a strain of influenza virus as a carrier to take advantage of its high rate of infectivity (spread like the flu) but with its genome engineered to carry toxic portions of several of the deadliest viral agents known to man. This idea impressed and worried all of us at its potential for deadly effectiveness. I remembered that conversation and incorporated such a deadly chimeric viral bio-weapon into my story in this new book. Since Ebola virus has been so prominent in the news lately, I chose Ebola to be one of the deadly viruses incorporated into the chimeric agent. Likewise, Muslim terrorists seemed to be the most logical and likely culprits in today's world to be the ones to want to possess such a deadly biological weapon for its potential as a terrorist tool.
Finally, as to making the personality of the main character be someone who must be in control of all aspects of his life, I melded the personality traits of several individuals I have known into this character. I have known husbands who tormented their wives by demanding his wishes be followed regardless of how she felt. After years of suffering, the wives finally got a divorce. I also knew several faculty members in positions of authority who made heartless and cruel decisions that hurt younger faculty members' careers and took pleasure at the power they wielded. I gave my main character this sense of arrogance and willingness to distress others (and even put their lives at risk) in order to be in control of the situation. From this came the title of A Man in Control. The front cover displays an influenza virus particle in keeping with the chimeric influenza viral bio-weapon that plays an important role in the story.
There you have it. I used my true life experiences to create the personality of the main character as well as the nature of the chimeric viral bio-weapon in my fictional story. I wrote about what I knew well.
— ♦ —
Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. is a poet and novelist who lives with his wife Linda in Shreveport, Louisiana. At age 70, Harry is retired from his career as a Professor of Microbiology and now engages in creative writing full-time. He has published four books of poetry, a fantasy novella, and five prose novels. A Man in Control is Harry's tenth published book and his second in the mystery-crime-suspense genre.
For more information about the author, please visit his website or find him on Facebook.
— ♦ —
A Man In Control
Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
A Novel of Suspense
David Wynthers, a microbiology professor who needs to control all aspects of his life, is thrown into turmoil by the death of his wife, which causes a cascade of events for Dave to cope with — murder, mystery, terrorists tracking him, sudden wealth, a female police detective, and the FBI.
Can Dave maintain control of the events swirling around him?
