Vengeance for All Things by Anthony Flacco

The year is 1916 in San Francisco, and the city is about to suffer the only terrorist attack to remain unsolved to this day. Anarchist forces are desperate to prevent America from coming to the aid of Europe in the great war raging overseas by bombing the upcoming Preparedness Day Parade, the biggest in the city’s history. Haters of democracy have decided: AMERICA MUST FALL. Our heroes, Blackburn and Nightingale, are charged with stopping the terrorist bombers’ intricate plot, with countless lives in the balance.

Anthony Flacco recently spent some time with The Big Thrill discussing his latest thriller, VENGEANCE FOR ALL THINGS:

Which took shape first: plot, character, or setting?

Since this book is a continuation of a series, I selected the setting first because I already had the characters. The setting of San Francisco’s only unsolved terrorist attack was attractive and unique. The fact that guilty parties are unproven to this day left room for fictionalization around the known facts.

Anthony Flacco

What attracts you to this book’s genre?

I love to write in historical periods because the vastly different backgrounds reinforce the idea that human nature is unchanging.

What was the biggest challenge this book presented? What about the biggest opportunity?

The biggest challenge in writing this book was to keep female protagonist Vignette Nightingale active as a mover of true force in a social environment that once hamstrung women’s social power at every turn.

Was there anything new you discovered, or that surprised you, as you wrote this book?

I learned how to break into the San Francisco Mint by blowing through the foundation bed with a shaped charge to extract gold bars and escape through a tunnel leading to a nearby stable.

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about your book that we won’t find in the jacket copy or the PR material?

How to blow through the floor of the San Francisco Mint by tunneling in from a nearby stable.

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why?

John Steinbeck’s duo Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat opened my eyes to the magic a book can create. I love Steinbeck’s view of humanity. I am also a huge fan of Dean Koontz for his gorgeous prose and of Camille Paglia for her brilliance and humor.

Is there a question that you feel is important to you and/or your novel? Write it in below but be sure to answer it too!

Q: Can a family formed of random broken people cleave together to protect and nurture its members?

A: Yes, that’s what the story shows.

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Anthony Flacco is a New York Times Bestselling author and International Bestselling author of books of nonfiction and novels. He wrote the screenplay adaptation of his first book, A Checklist for Murder, and sold it to NBC studios.

To learn more about the author and his work, please visit his website.