Brett Battles, the author of twenty-two novels, says that the idea for Quinn, his protagonist in his upcoming novel “The Discarded,” came to him while he was in Berlin more than ten years ago. Find out how Battles “met” Quinn and learn about his new release in this behind the story interview.
“The first time Quinn came to me was while riding the train in Berlin,” said Battles. “I just suddenly had this image of a man quietly sitting in the car, surrounded by those living their normal lives. No one looking at him, no one realizing his life was nothing like theirs. That he had just come from a job. And his job? That of a cleaner, the guy you call when you know you’re going to have a body that needs to disappear. The train was clacking away, and there he was, just across the aisle from me.”
That incident was more than a decade ago, but today Battles is still writing about that man. He said, “For ‘The Discarded,’I wondered what would be the ramifications if a retired operative was being haunted by the last job he did and his desire to find out what happened.” In the book, that operative is the former mentor to Quinn’s partner and girlfriend. Battles says that was his starting point for the novel, which triggers an investigation into events of the past. Battles added, “With that, I had the basis for an exciting adventure.”
Battles sees himself as a storyteller, not one who writes about issues. However, he does wonder if readers pick up on an underlying theme in his books. He said, “No matter what the situation or the danger or the current sentiment of society, doing the right thing as opposed to turning your back is the only real choice. Whether the readers pick up on that or not, I have no idea.”
While he writes about the theme of doing the right thing, Battles said, “Whether it’s stopping and helping a stalled motorist out of the road, opening the door to a building you weren’t even going into for someone whose arms are full, or giving words of encouragement to someone you don’t know when you see that they need it, I see those kinds of situations all the time.”
The reason the theme resonates with Battles may well stem from an incident that occurred when he was young. “Those don’t seem like difficult decisions, but many people talk themselves out of helping in seconds, saying someone else will take care of it. One situation that has always stayed in my mind happened when I was a kid, probably around 12 or so. I was at boy scout camp with my troop, and my dad happened to be one of the adults who’d come along. We were in our hut, kind of a large tent with bunk beds, when we heard someone scream out. My dad immediately ran out to see what was happening. There was a swimming hole in the middle of camp, like a small pond dug out for the specific purpose. One of the kids was in the middle, obviously in distress. While everyone else stood at the edge of the pond trying to figure out what to do, my dad immediately jumped in, swam out, and helped the kid back to shore. There was no hesitation. He just went, despite the fact that the kid could have panicked and pulled my father under. Again, you wouldn’t think diving in to help someone would be a difficult choice, but there were several other adults around who didn’t.”
Battles has carried the theme into his latest novel. When Quinn is asked to find answers about a package a friend once delivered, he faces a dilemma Battles describes as: “Some jobs are easy to forget. Some take more time. And some will haunt you forever.”
More information
Learn more about Brett Battles on his website at www.brettbattles.com. “The Discarded” is scheduled for release on March 28, 2014.
