The Next Eden Book? Not what you might expect...

“Treasure of Eden” was an absolutely fabulous book! I read it in less than two days, and was getting sad near the end, because it was almost over. When’s the next one going to be written?” –Chaplain (Col.)(Ret) Donna Weddle, Virginia

Thanks very much for asking!

The next Eden book will be a departure for us. It's tentatively called THE SERPENT OF EDEN, and it's the story of what happened to Jaime inside Eden between the book CHASING EDEN and her reappearance in BEYOND EDEN. There have been oblique references to her time in Eden in both BEYOND and TREASURE. Now, finally, the whole story will be told!

Pre-order your SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION
of the “Inside Eden” book

If you’d like to be on the list for more information, and to reserve your copy before they’re all spoken for, email: response@edenthrillers.com with your name and email address.

Simply put SERPENT OF EDEN in the subject line!

Money and Sustainability

The discussion that Jaime and Andrea (and Shepard) have about money touched on a number of issues I've been thinking about. Where can I find more of this kind of discussion? (And did you guys know the market was going to crash?) --Thriller Maven

It's kind of hard for any of us to say we saw it coming when Alan Greenspan claims to be completely shocked, but can you say "house of cards"? ;)

Seriously, though, there are several very important conversations going on right now about money, the economy, the world, and sustainability. One good starting place is Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibbon.

For a richer understanding of the ideas, check out Radical Abundance: A Theology of Sustainability, a conference hosted by Trinity Institute in New York in January 2009 that brings together some noted theological and economic leaders to discuss the topic in depth. Many churches of all denominations across the country (and the world) will be taking part as local partners.

Is the Bedouin tribe in the book a real tribe?

We purposely placed our tribe of Bedouin in between where well-known tribes now live in Israel, although the other tribes that they talk about are real. We wanted the freedom to create fictitious characters without making statements about specific people.

But we would encourage readers to do research on their own about current day Bedouin--a very rich and interesting race of people. Because of modern considerations, the lives of Bedouin living in different countries, or even in different locales in Israel, are very different. (For example, the Bedouin in Northern Israel tend to get along better with the Israeli government and have more autonomy than those living in the Negev.)

Little has been written for public consumption about the women of the Israeli Bedouin tribes, and much of our research came from digging deep and talking to scholars and teachers who work with the tribes, many of which are currently in crisis. However, several interesting books about Bedouin in other countries are available, including WRITING WOMEN'S WORLDS and VEILED SENTIMENTS by Lila Abug-Lughod and MARRIED TO A BEDOUIN by Marguerite van Geldermalsen. These books are based on experiences that took place over 20 years ago, but they do give very fascinating first-hand insights to a normally "closed" culture.

There is also a movie called YELLOW ASPHALT which is available on Netflix that tells three Bedouin stories. It uses a cast of Jahalin Bedouin (as well as a couple of well-known Israeli actors).

Has Sharon ever been cool in any way, at all?

I know it's the question you've all been dying to ask. "Here's B.K. at Ur." "Here's B.K. in Satis' palace in Baghdad." "Here's B.K. getting ready for her 3rd deployment to Iraq."

Okay, so we've got it. How about that other chick writer? Hasn't she ever done anything cool?

So let me tell you: I was cool once. I stood next to a soldier with an official beret at an international airport. I would tell you I was an international spy, except international spies seldom a) stand around holding their passports by soldiers with berets, and they very, very rarely wear bright yellow pants. It's a pity you can't see the two parrots on the shirt.

So the answer is, I could be cool, if I wanted to. It's simply a matter of a few decades, a new wardrobe, and blending in just a little bit more.

You know what? This photo was actually taken on a trip to Egypt, Israel and Jordan, during which my father was given a serious offer of 30 camels for me. I'm not sure if the guy was interested in me or the outfit. Luckily, our neighborhood didn't allow livestock. Or, come to think of it, the research for TREASURE OF EDEN would have been easier and much more first-hand.

Hello from Bouchercon

Hi All,

I'm writing from Baltimore, where I'm attending Bouchercon 2008, the writer/reader gigantic party/conference for mystery writers and readers. Today, I'm a guest blogger on my friend Laura Benedict's Notes from the Handbasket, where I talk about the evolution of my secret identity.

If you'd like a little more of a view into my warped mind, stop over and take a look.

xo Sharon

B.K.'s next deployment to Iraq

B.K., when do you deploy to Iraq again? How will this time be different than the first two times?

One of the first things we try to instill in all of our Soldiers who return to Iraq multiple times is that they should never assume their next deployment will be just like the last. That can be a dangerous assumption and make you complacent. And, I can certainly vouch for the fact that my second deployment was very different from my first.

But what about the next one? Specifically how will it be different?

First, I will have had longer to prepare myself for this tour than any previous time. I had 9 days notice before boarding a plane the first time. The second I arrived to my new unit less than 3 months before they deployed. This time I will have been with my unit and in my job for almost 8 months by the time we head to SW Asia.

Second, I will be responsible for a whole lot more people than ever before. That makes it scary in a different kind of way, but also a great challenge.

Third, I specifically requested this assignment, even though I knew there was a high likelihood it would mean trip number 3 to OIF. Some people have kidded me that I am going back so I can collect ideas for another book. But seriously, I requested this job because I felt deep down that this is where I need to be right now. In some faith traditions, to include my own, we might say I felt called to be here right now. Well, whatever you call it, it feels good, and I am glad to be right where I am.

How come the name "S.L. Linnea" is on the book?

Thanks for asking, Katie Gal. The answer is simple. "S.L. Linnea" is the author's name on the book because B.K. and I lost not one, but two battles with our (wonderful) friends at St. Martin's Press.

In the not-quite-so-good old days, B.K. and I had trouble getting anyone to read our first book, including our own agent, because no one wanted to read a novel about Iraq. Too depressing, we were told. So B.K. and I, never ones to wait for permission to get on with our lives and careers, started a publishing company and set about publishing it ourselves. The original title was THE SWORD OF EDEN, A Jaime Richards Thriller, and both our names were on the cover.

Then, just before it launched, our agent read the book, said "I can sell this," and promptly did so. (That's the truncated version of a very entertaining story.)

St. Martin's, who bought the first book and two sequels, set about branding and marketing the fledgling series. First, they renamed the book CHASING EDEN--short, snappy, action-oriented, EDEN prominent. Fine.

Then the marketing guys announced that nobody buys thrillers by two people. We sent them a list of successful co-authored thrillers. Didn't matter. THEN they said, "Men will like this book, and men don't buy thrillers with women's names on the cover." Again, we argued hard. Again, we lost. "Initials," they said. "Even Jo Rowling went along with it."

At this point, B.K. was kind enough to say, "Writing is Sharon's primary career and my secondary career. If there's only one name on the cover, it should be closer to hers." Which was very kind. Unfortunately, B.S. didn't really work as the initials, and S.B. sounded a little too much like a studio head from the early days of film. So we made up a phantom middle initial that sounded okay.

So "S.L. Linnea" (no accent over the "e"), wherever you see it, is Sharon Linnea and B.K. Sherer writing together.

Is Jaime really B.K.?

This is a question we've been asked since the publication of CHASING EDEN. The real answer--Jaime is part B.K., part Sharon, mostly herself--seems to be a hard sell. Even people who work with B.K. ask the question, which kind of makes me (Sharon) nuts. For one thing, I would NEVER write B.K. the way I write Jaime. B.K. is a much more...okay, hmm. Let's use some graphics.

←This is B.K. She has dark hair. She is shorter than Jaime. She isn't in any way driven by a tragic event in her childhood. She was a nut in her childhood--I should know, I was there. She is a terrific staff officer. She is in no way as introverted as Jaime. She is not blonde. She is not tall. She is Type A, definitely. (B.K. also thinks Jaime has a Type A personality, but I'd give Jaime a B +.) She doesn't know any rock stars (of whom I'm aware!) . She takes good care of soldiers working below her, as well as those working above her. You'd want her on your team. She's not sure if she would have gone to Eden. (Although we both agree that, until you're alone in a room with Yani, you can't really tell what you'd do!) I could write a REALLY REALLY interesting book about B.K. --but I haven't.


← ON THE OTHER HAND, this is kind of what Jaime would look like, if she ever got to sleep, which she doesn't. She is a fun, feisty person who is driven by the early death of her parents, and the murder of her husband. She is a also a good staff officer. It's probably more dangerous to be her chaplain assistant than it is to be B.K.'s.

So, yes, those of you who have read TREASURE might realize that to settle this issue once and for all, we "pulled a Cussler." (If you've ever read Clive Cussler's books, you know that from time to time he inserts himself as a character in the narrative--floating down the Amazon, handing his adrift hero a paddle, for example.) So B.K. appears as a character in TREASURE OF EDEN--Jaime's boss, CH Sherer. This was inspired by the fact that if Jaime was at Anaconda at the time she's there, B.K. would likely have been her supervising officer.

So, once and for all--B.K. is not Jaime. B.K. is Chaplain Sherer--who is apparently not only a Power Point Ranger, but can apparently swing a mean cell phone as well.