Rollins, David 1958- (David A. Rollins)

PERSONAL:

Born July 13, 1958; married; children: three. Education: Attended Barker College, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hobbies and other interests: Fitness, motorbikes, airplanes, reading.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Agent—Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Literary Management, 12 W. 19th St., New York, NY 10011. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, journalist. Worked in advertising.

WRITINGS:

"TOM WILKES" SERIES

Rogue Element, Macmillan (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2002.

Sword of Allah, Macmillan (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

"VIN COOPER" SERIES

The Death Trust, Macmillan (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2007.

(As David A. Rollins) A Knife Edge, Macmillan (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2006.

Hard Rain, Macmillan (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2008.

ADAPTATIONS:

The Death Trust was adapted for audiobook, Brilliance Corporation, 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Australian writer David Rollins came to his profession as a writer through rejection. As a child, his dream was to become a pilot, flying fighter planes or helicopters for the Australian military. Unfortunately, he did not qualify for a pilot position. "Looking back on it, and knowing now that I don't take well to authority, I think the defence forces made the right decision for the both of us," Rollins wrote in his home page biography. Instead, Rollins went into journalism for a while, and then advertising. Then, in "the grip of a healthy mid-life crisis," as Rollins described it, he decided to learn how to fly aerobatics, or stunt flying, and also attempt to write a novel. He was successful in both endeavors.

Rollins's 2002 debut novel and the first book in the "Tom Wilkes" series, Rogue Element, introduces the protagonist Sergeant Tom Wilkes of the Australian Special Air Service (SAS), who hopes to foil a plot that could lead to war between Australia and Indonesia. When a passenger airliner is downed en route from Sydney, Australia, to London, England, it appears at first to be an accident. But soon, U.S. intelligence services piece together another scenario from secret sources that suggests that the plane was sabotaged. Such circumstances would explain Indonesia's reluctance to allow outside help in any rescue operations. Meanwhile, the survivors of the crash are fighting for survival against the individuals who brought the plane down. Tom and his Australian SAS team must save the passengers and somehow avoid an international incident leading to war. Aussiereviews.com contributor Sally Murphy stated that "lovers of espionage and covert operations, and those who like to predict possible futures for world politics will be intrigued" by Rogue Element.

In the second book in the "Tom Wilkes" series, Sword of Allah, terrorists manage to buy chemical weapons and threaten Australia with them. Tom accidentally uncovers the plot while tracking drug traffickers. This discovery leads him to Indonesia where Babu Islam, a terrorist organization, uses drug money to buy weapons with which they intend to attack infidels. Tom must ultimately enlist help from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in order to stop the terrorists' plans. Murphy found the novel to be "frighteningly real," and further observed: "It is a scenario which will have readers squirming, even as they keep turning pages, unable to put the book down."

The Death Trust, the first book in the "Vin Cooper" series, is Rollins's first American publication. The book introduces U.S. Air Force Special Agent Vincent "Vin" Cooper and follows a high-level plot leading from Iraq to the White House in Washington, DC. The trail to this plot begins with the death of U.S. Marine Sergeant Peyton Scott, killed in an ambush in Iraq. A year later, Peyton's father, General Abraham Scott, is mysteriously killed in a glider crash in Germany—these incidents appear to be intentional, rather than coincidental. Abraham is not only the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commander, but also the U.S. vice president's son-in-law. Due to his role in the U.S. Air Force's Office of Special Investigations, Vin is dispatched to investigate the situation with Special Agent Anna Masters. Soon after, Vin discovers that Abraham's glider was tampered with, and finds a connection between his death and that of his son in Iraq. More discoveries follow; all but one of the Marines in Peyton's unit died after returning to the United States from Iraq. Eventually, the investigations leads from Iraq to Latvia and Chechnya in this thriller that "rolls into action with impressive speed and precision," stated Ann Hellmuth in a review for the Orlando Sentinel. Similarly, Library Journal reviewer Ken St. Andre found The Death Trust to be "a real page-turner," with "insights into what drives world politics … [that are] so plausible and well thought out that the reader may come away with a feeling that it's all real." Further praise came from a Kirkus Reviews critic who termed the novel a "slick military thriller," and concluded: "The conspiracy is way over the top, but everything moves so fast and frighteningly, and Cooper is so likable, that it doesn't much matter." Likewise, Bookreporter.com reviewer Joe Hartlaub stated that Rollins's first U.S. publication is "exquisitely paced and well-balanced between military and mystery." A Publishers Weekly reviewer called Cooper "a tough, wisecracking hero," and speculated that "readers will look forward to more of Vin's exploits."

The second book in the "Vin Cooper" series, A Knife Edge, is described by Crime Down Under reviewer Damien Gay as "completely engrossing." In the book, Vin, now an investigator with the U.S. Department of Defense, investigates the strange death of a scientist who has been conducting top-level research for his department. Apparently, the scientist fell overboard and into the jaws of a great white shark. With the case seemingly wrapped up, Vin finds an eerie connection between the scientist's death and a suspected terrorist attack in San Francisco, California, but he is not given time to investigate further and is shuttled off to Florida to investigate a parachuting death. Eventually all these incidents dovetail, and Vin sets off on a covert mission to Pakistan. Rollins's 2008 book, Hard Rain, continues the "Vin Cooper" series. In this installment, Vin and Anna travel to Istanbul, Turkey, to investigate the murder of Colonel Emmet Portman, U.S. Air Attaché to Turkey, where they meet resistance along the way.

Rollins told CA: "I've been a writer of one kind of another for the whole of my working life, first as a cadet journalist and then as an advertising copywriter.

"I love a good story. In my genre, Nelson Demille reigns supreme. Robert Graves, Joseph Heller, Julius Caesar, and Livy are favorite authors."

When asked to describe his writing process, Rollins responded: "All I need is a laptop and a power source. I just sit down and do it. When I'm writing full-time, I write 2,000 words a day, six days a week. When I'm at it part-time, I write 6,000 words a week.

"The most surprising thing I have learned as a writer is that my characters do unexpected things.

"My favorite of my books is probably The Death Trust because that's where I met Vin Cooper for the first time. We're going to be lifelong buddies.

"First and foremost, I want my books to entertain. Second, I hope they gently inform."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2007, David Pitt, review of The Death Trust, p. 61.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2007, review of The Death Trust.

Library Journal, October 1, 2007, Ken St. Andre, review of The Death Trust, p. 65.

Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL), October 24, 2007, Ann Hellmuth, review of The Death Trust.

Publishers Weekly, August 13, 2007, review of The Death Trust, p. 41.

ONLINE

Aussiereviews.com,http://www.aussiereviews.com/ (June 30, 2008), Sally Murphy, review of Rogue Element, Sword of Allah, and The Death Trust.

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (June 30, 3008), Joe Hartlaub, review of The Death Trust.

Crime Down Under Web log,http://afterdarkmysweet.blogspot.com/ (November 28, 2006), Damien Gay, review of The Death Trust; (December 11, 2006), Damien Gay, review of A Knife Edge.

David Rollins Home Page,http://www.davidrollins.net (June 30, 2008).

Fresh Fiction,http://www.freshfiction.com/ (June 30, 2008) review of The Death Trust.

MBR Bookwatch,http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (June 30, 2008), review of The Death Trust.

Mystery Reader,http://www.themysteryreader.com/ (June 30, 2008), Andy Plonka, review of The Death Trust.