Savage Games by Peter Boland - Q&A with John Savage

On Monday, author Peter Boland shared the inspiration for his protagonist, John Savage, who features in Savage Lies (review here) and Savage Games which is published tomorrow. Both books are fantastic. Today, I'm absolutely thrilled that John Savage himself has stopped by the blog to answer a few questions! But before we move on to that, let me remind you about Savage Games.

The Blurb:

A body concealed high up in a tree.
A dark forest that holds many secrets.
One man determined to discover the truth.

"Basically, I loved everything about this book!" Suze Reviews

Deep in the New Forest, a body is hidden in the branches of a towering fir tree in an area known as Dead Maids Wood. When John Savage learns that the body belonged to an old school friend, he sets out to discover who was responsible.

Together with brilliant computer hacker Tannaz, he discovers his friend was down on his luck, living among those who society would rather forget - the dregs, the desperate and the homeless. Entering this dark and hidden world, Savage soon discovers that the death of his friend was just the tip of the iceberg...

Savage Games is a fast-paced action thriller for fans of Lee Child and David Baldacci.

It will be published by Adrenalin Books on 4th April 2019 and is available to pre order here.

Right, moving on:

John, thank you so much for being here! I 'm delighted you've found the time to stop by, and I'd like to ask you a few questions if that's OK?
- Thank you, it's great to be here! Fire away! 

First, the serious stuff!

Please can you tell us a bit about your background.
- I was born in 1960. Grew up in London on the notorious Elmington Estate in Camberwell, where I learned how to fight. You had to, otherwise you wouldn’t last very long. Wasn’t much good at anything else, never bothered with school so I joined the army. Served in Northern Island. I always thought of myself as stupid until I applied to join the SAS. You need to think on your feet. Be smart, resourceful and improvise. Never knew I had it in me until the SAS brought it out.   

And your family?
- None, sad to say. My wife Dawn and my daughter Kelly passed away. Dawn from cancer and Kelly from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. She was in the Royal Engineers. I miss them every day. 

Are you working just now? Do you have a job?
- I’m retired. Thankfully my wife Dawn was very good with money. Invested it well so I’m pretty comfortable, unlike a lot of ex-soldiers who have been let down by the system. If it wasn’t for my wife’s financial nous, I’d be in the same boat.

Tell us about your relationship with Tannaz. How did that come about?
- I met Tannaz when I needed someone with I.T. skills to help me find a missing girl. She’s the smartest person in the room. Smartest person in the postcode. We’ve become really close. It’s a father/daughter thing we have going. She’s got no family either having fled Iran years ago. They didn’t like her lifestyle choices so she made the brave decision to come over here on her own when she was still a teenager. She keeps me sane. I have PTSD due to all the action I’ve seen and hear a voice in head, usually persuading me to kill myself. She doesn’t know this, but her presence keeps the voice away. I call her my kryptonite. Don’t know what I’d do without her. 

You seem drawn to people in need, to help them - why do you think that is?
- I’ve always liked helping people. And I’ve seen what human beings can do to each other. I don’t like bullies, and feel I need to step in. But recently, my desire to help people has definitely been fuelled by guilt for all the people I’ve killed for Queen and country. I guess I’m trying to atone for my sins. 

Do you think you attract trouble?
- I don’t mean to, but I don’t suffer fools lightly and I think my sarcastic sense of humour doesn’t help. It definitely rubs people up the wrong way. 

Your 'investigations' lead you to some pretty dark places - how do you deal with that?
- I’ve seen some pretty awful things in my time. War is as bad as it gets. So I guess it’s another day at the office. If I’m honest, I’m not dealing with it very well at all. I still have a voice in my head, Jeff Perkins as I call him. It doesn’t look like he’s going away any time soon.

Let's lighten things up a bit: -

What music do you listen to?
- The Jam. Best band in the world. But also anything from that era. Post punk, new wave. The Clash. Killing Joke. More recently I like Kasabian, Sleaford Mods and Slaves.

Are you currently reading anything? What?
- SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard. I find history fascinating and this explains the empire’s rise to power.

And who is your favourite author?
- Last book I read that really blew me away was All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It’s about a blind girl in World War Two. Amazing how a book can be both harrowing and incredibly beautiful at the same time.

What three things would you take to a desert island?
- An industrial-sized sack of teabags. An Ipod loaded up with my favourite music and a waterproof solar charger to power it. 

And finally, where can we read more about your adventures?
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peter-Boland/e/B00J6P8O08

Thank you so much, John. It's been great to do find out more about you!

I will be finishing my wee focus on John Savage tomorrow when I'll be sharing my review of his latest outing, the fantastic Savage Games. Join me then!