One Rough Man by Brad Taylor

By Don Helin

In his debut novel, One Rough Man, Brad Taylor unleashes a plot so fiendish that New York Times bestselling Author John Lescroat says, “Brad Taylor’s One Rough Man is an auspicious, adrenaline-soaked rocket ship of a debut novel.  Taylor’s protagonist, Pike Logan, is one rough man who is one bad dude –  as a super hero, Pike ranks right up there with Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher, and Jack Bauer.”

Summary:  They call it the Taskforce.  Their existence is as essential as it is illegal.  Commissioned at the highest level of the U.S. Government.  Protected from the prying eyes of Congress and the media.  Built around the top operators from around the clandestine, intelligence, and special forces landscape.  Designed to operate outside the bounds of U.S. Law.  Trained to exist on the ragged edge of human capability.

Pike Logan was the most successful operator on the Taskforce, his instincts and talents unrivaled-until personal tragedy permanently altered his outlook on the world.  Pike knows what the rest of the country might not want to admit:  The real threat isn’t from any nation, any government, any terrorist group.  The real threat is one or two men, controlled by ideology, operating independently, in possession of a powerful weapon.

Author Bio:  Brad served for more than twenty-one years in the U.S. Army, retiring in 2010 as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel.  During that time, he held numerous Infantry and special operations positions, including eight years in 1^st Special Forces Operations Detachment – Delta, popularly known as the Delta Force, where he commanded multiple troops and a squadron.  He has conducted multiple operations in support of U.S. National interests in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other classified locations.  His final military post was as Assistant Professor of Military Science at the Citadel.  He holds a masters of science in defense analysis with a concentration in irregular warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.  When not writing, Brad serves as a security consultant on asymmetric threats to various agencies.  He currently lives in Charleston, SC, with his wife and two daughters.

I managed to catch up with Brad the other day to ask him a few questions.

Is there anything special you’d like to tell us about the plot?

While the book is a realistic look into the world of counter-terrorism, what I really wanted to write was a story of redemption.  In the end, there’s a lot of gun fighting, but the characters hold the biggest place in my heart.  You write what you know, and I know this world, but it’s Pike and Jennifer that hold the story together.  If I hadn’t been in the military, the book would have been distinctly different.  Maybe Pike would have been a coffee salesman at Starbucks, but his ethos would be the same.  I like hearing how much someone loves the action in the story, but I really love it when someone identifies with the characters.

Did any particular event inspire the plot?

Not any event per se.  Actually, it’s a non-event that inspired the plot.  I thought to myself, “What would al Qaeda really do if they had a weapon of mass destruction?”  The conventional wisdom is that they’d attack Manhattan or LA, but is that what they’d do?  They’re pretty smart, and would want to leverage every bit of effect the weapon possessed, so what would be the worst case?  From there, the plot was born.

What are you doing to promote your book?

I’m doing a five-city book tour starting in Charleston, SC on February 21^st and continuing to DC, San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, and Atlanta.  I’ll also be doing some national radio interviews.  My event schedule can be found on my website, http://www.bradtaylorbooks.com, or readers can see events on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bradtaylorbooks.

What’s next?

I’m in the middle of edits for Book II, and it’s going well.  I don’t want to give too much away, but Pike has decided not to return to the Taskforce as a member of the U.S. Government.  Instead, he convinces Jennifer to open a business with him that the Taskforce uses as a cover to conduct operations.  The reader gets to see Jennifer grow and come to grips with the reality of fighting terrorism, along with the evolution of the Taskforce as it battles a home-grown threat that’s very plausible.  Of course, Pike is in the thick of it, bending whatever rules that get in his way to get the job done.  In future books I want to juxtapose al Qaeda against more traditional terrorist groups, like Hezbollah.  As Americans, we tend to lump all terrorist organizations together, but I’d like to explore some of their differences.

When you’re not writing, what are you doing (hobbies, family, etc.)?

Well, I still have to make a living, so when I’m not writing, I’m doing consulting in the security world for various government agencies.  It keeps me on the road quite a bit.  In fact, the bulk of book II was written in hotel rooms or barracks after the work day.

A Jacket Blurb:

“One Rough Man is a fast and furious tale with boots-on-the-ground realism that could only have been evoked by someone who intimately knows combat.  Brad Taylor spent decades fighting America’s enemies in the dark corners where they live, and his experiences show.  Pike Logan is a tough, appealing hero you’re sure to root for.”

Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author.

Be sure to get your copy of One Rough Man. I know that I will.