Robert Fleisher Interview
Welcome to Ink & Magick. I'm your friendly neighborhood witch. What kind of spell can I get for you (or your character) today? Hi Ink & Magick. I would like a spell that allows my novel to communicate to the world the importance of being a good person. I have many corrupted and failed characters. Most experience a form of retribution, divine or self-inflicted. This is my message.
Well, I'd say that communicating your message is your job as the author; that's the magic of writing. Tell us about your #mystery The Divine Affliction.
The Divine Affliction is the story of an invisible terrorist attack on America by a treacherous host of enemies.
Department of Justice attorney, Derrick Daniels, investigates and prosecutes international drug cartels from the comfort of his desk. Reluctantly drawn into a field investigation, his life becomes a nightmare shrouded in mystery.
Derrick accompanies Savannah Ambrose, another Department of Justice attorney, on a mission abroad to meet with their counterparts in Pakistan. Together they investigate the possibility that rogue Arab states are using prions—the poorly understood cause of a multitude of deadly diseases including mad-cow disease and the incurable human form, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease—as a terrorist weapon against the United States. Derrick finds all control over his world is lost and replaced by a fate that may explain the ever-growing, international epidemic of violence and terror. The more he discovers, the less credible his tale becomes.
Upon their return to the States, assassins and inexplicable forces threaten Derrick and Savannah. Soon, the powers of ancient law collide with contemporary villainy to define the destiny of all humankind.
The Divine Affliction explores the use of stealth, violence, terror, and enslavement as a means to destroy the American people, whose most venerable enemy may be revealed when looking into a mirror. The cause of the rampant spread of vicious, irrational behavior that set its stain upon every echelon of society is postulated. Is anything in Derrick’s world real? Is America sleeping, unaware of the ultimate weapon of destruction?
Author, Robert Fleisher, created an interrogation scene that makes the one in Marathon Man look tame. Not for the faint of heart.
Excerpt:
A SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT 1995
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as Mad-Cow Disease, is an infectious and incurable disease that destroys the brain and nervous system of cattle. The destructive agent is neither bacteria nor a virus, and it breaks all the rules of biology, as we understand them.
The first confirmed case of BSE occurred in Hampshire, early 1985. By now, we have identified it in 150,000 cattle and more than half of all British herds. The disease has been epidemic in British cattle for ten years. It is now time that all herds must be destroyed. This shall wreak havoc on the cattle industry of our Great Britain.
Spongiform encephalopathies are not unique to cattle. We find forms of the disease in other species, including humans, where it goes by the name Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease.
The incubation period can be more than twenty-five years, which means that, once infected, the disease remains dormant and undetected during that time. The ailment bores holes into the brain and nervous system. When established, it causes dementia and death.
Prior to the terminal phase of the disease, behaviors tend to be erratic and unpredictable. The symptoms can be mistaken for other common mental illnesses such as psychosis, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. However, on autopsy, the brains of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease victims are sponge-like and full of tiny holes, thus the name spongiform.
There is no treatment.
The auditorium remained unnervingly silent.
Sounds pretty scientific. What kind of research did you do to write this book?
Research for my book took me to scientific articles and the bible. An obscure biblical plague… the plague of Tzaraas, plays a role in the eventual outcome of the protagonist. A modern, mysterious disease… prions, play a central role in the attack on America.
Interesting. Which one of your characters surprised you? None of my characters surprised me. As I created them, they came alive, each for a planned purpose.
Who is your favorite (or least favorite) character and why?
The protagonist, Derrick Daniels, is my favorite character because he has character. He is moral, principled, honorable and steadfast. He’s the antithesis of many modern-day protagonists. Writing classes tell us our characters need to be flawed. They need to reach an arch in their journey. Derrick Daniels does all those things, he has flaws, but he doesn’t have to be a jerk in the process.
What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful? To help make my book successful, readers can learn from the flawed characters and become better people. Make the world a better place.
Wouldn't that be nice? What can we expect from you next?
My next novel goes after the corrupted legal system as it has evolved in America. I am working on The American Strangler. This title has a dual meaning… literal and figurative. It's about how the legal system is strangling every aspect of our society. It's a thriller all about a vigilante who decided to do something about it.
I'm sure your readers will be looking forward to that. Thanks for stopping in today.
Robert holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and DMD with a specialty of endodontics. Engaged in writing for the past thirty-five years, he has written for professional journals as well as produced several non-fiction books. After three self-published books, he was fortunate to have made publishing deals for his most recent non-fiction titles: The Sexless Marriage Fix, Basic Health Publications and From Waiting Room to Courtroom—How Doctors Can Avoid Getting Sued with Jay Pee Brothers Medical Publishers. Both of these books were released in 2016.
Having left dentistry to write full time, he revisited his passion for fiction. He is now happy to present The Divine Affliction for publication with Black Rose Writing. Maintaining a social media presence, and having the time to promote my books, he looks forward to engaging in the active selling of his stories.
You can get your copy of The Divine Affliction on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or his publisher's website.