Insidious Deception by Alan L Moss 

By Don Helin

In his novel, INSIDIOUS DECEPTION, Alan Moss unleashes a plot so fiendish and exciting that one review states, “From Jordan to Croatia, Israel, Italy, France, Yemen and the US, this thriller brings its readers on an electrifying journey that is vivid and real.”

Pre-med student Rob Taylor risks it all to unravel the conspiracy that claimed his lover’s life. To avenge her death, he becomes an apprentice to Rex Raymond, the CEO who will stop at nothing to corner the market for rare earth minerals, seventeen elements vital to the technologies of the 21st Century. Complications abound when Rob gets transferred to work for Alana Raymond, the Chief Executive’s daughter.

While Rob works to uncover those behind the conspiracy, a brilliant university professor and a U.S. Senator seek Middle East peace and democracy at a Paris conference. Success of the Middle East initiative is to advance the Senator, a conspirator, into the White House.  An assassination attempt on the U.S. President and an al Qaeda plot to disrupt the Paris deliberations by blowing-up the Eiffel Tower accelerate the action.

I had the chance to catch up with Alan and ask him a few questions.

Is there anything special you’d like to tell us about Insidious Deception?

Perhaps the most unusual development concerning the novel has taken place outside its 422 pages.  In a rare leap from fiction to fact, a Middle East peace proposal introduced in the book was a subject of discussion at a recent Middle East Dialogue conducted in Washington, D.C. by the Policy Studies Organization of the American Political Science Association.  A dramatic vehicle in the world of fiction has been transported into the hard realities of international relations.

Did any particular event inspire the plot?

My longtime interest in the Middle East and emergence of the Arab Spring gave rise to that story line.  Awareness that the Chinese currently control over 90 percent of the market for rare earth minerals and the key role that these elements will play in the technologies of the future led me to devise the conspiracy to corner the market for rare earth minerals.  These are seventeen metals required for such products as electric cars, laser-guided bombs, computers, flat screen TVs, modern wind mills, energy efficient light bulbs, and more.

What are you doing to promote your book?

The book is being promoted through radio interviews, participation in the Princeton Author Fair, a Facebook Insidious Deception page, a book launch, and my website. Also, the thriller has received two 5-star reviews, from ForeWord Reviews and Readers Favorite Reviews.

What’s next?

I’m 200 – plus pages into the sequel, SURVIVING THE ENDGAME.  The first chapter previews the new novel at the close of INSIDIOUS DECEPTION.  Also included at the back of the novel are a number of questions to be explored by book clubs.  Finally, I’ve developed an INSIDIOUS DECEPTION screenplay which I will be marketing over the next several weeks.

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

We’re lucky enough to live just 20 minutes from the Jersey Shore beaches.  We’re also in an area with many fine golf courses.  When the weather is agreeable, there’s a lot to do.  When it’s not, I focus on reading thrillers and nonfiction.

A couple of favorite jacket blurbs:

“The author sets the stage for an outbreak and after that you can almost feel the debris falling around you.” (Maria Beltran, Readers Favorite Book Review).

“Moss is to be commended for creating simple, honest, and most of all, believable characters. He (Moss) sells his tale of terror, political intrigue, and corporate mayhem. He makes the reader believe that his story could, and even, might happen…no small accomplishment in any genre, let alone a thriller.” (Mark McLaughlin, ForeWord Review).

“Many authors attempt to fictitiously resolve the Middle East. Moss is unique among them, however, because his plan is not far-fetched, nor does it depend upon some apocryphal event or magic technological breakthrough.” (Mark McLaughlin, ForeWord Review).

*****

Alan L Moss is a unique and emerging voice in the thriller genre. His writing draws upon PhD research capabilities and many years in Washington D.C. as a federal Chief Economist, Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Senate, and Adjunct Instructor at the University of Virginia’s Northern Virginia Center.  In 2002, he put his government career aside and moved to the Jersey Shore to pursue his writing. His published novels spin sophisticated tales of conspiracy, love, sex, and subterfuge.  After years of politics and bureaucracy, Alan has found the freedom of writing fiction an intoxicating and satisfying calling.

To learn more about Alan, please visit his website.