Interview with William F. Brown and Giveway of Amongst My Enemies!

Thanks so much Bill for visiting today!

1. In twenty words or less, please describe your newest book.


Inside an old U-Boat on the bottom of the Baltic are millions in gold and a secret that could tear NATO apart.

2. There is a lot of historical facts in Amongst My Enemies. How much research went into it?

A lot. However, I had a double major in history, and I had considerable background and research material before I honed in on those specific situations. That period has always been fascinating for me. War, whether WW II or Vietnam, is inherently dramatic and emotional, so it makes good settings for stories. While I say I have written six novels, that means I finished six. Amongst My Enemies is actually my 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and probably 10th novel, because I re-wrote and restructured it that many times. I had all this great material, but my characters didn’t work and story line just didn’t work, so I stayed at it until it did. The problem was I fell in love with the subject and that can be fatal. It took me years to get it in proper balance. We are supposed to be story tellers, not historians. The good news is that several of the intervening novels are also set in the same period, so I did put the extra research to good use.

3. Have you ever been on a U-boat? If so, how was your experience?

Actually, as everyone who grew up in Chicago knows, the U-505 WW II German submarine has been on display in the side yard of the Museum of Science and Industry since the 1950’s. It was captured in the North Atlantic by the Navy and brought to Chicago and is now one of the very few in existence. Every year in elementary school, we would take a day trip there, and go through the coal mine, the railroad exhibits, and climb through that old U-Boat at the museum. It is very tiny inside, and very impressive, as is the movie, “Das Boot.”

4. What book are you currently reading?

Twisted Key, by Gary Showalter, a writing friend. It is a contemporary mystery set in Florida, ala the John D. MacDonald Travis McGee books. But it is hard to focus on reading a book when I’m in a writing cycle.

5. You've went in opposite direction in your last two books. What can we expect in your next work? Can you share anything about it?

They are very different, and probably the two extremes of my writing styles. The Undertaker is a snarky, contemporary, ‘chase book’ told in the 1st person with humor, romance, and a touch of terror. Amongst My Enemies, on the other hand is a much meatier and epic story of one man’s journey through hell to redemption. The common thread is lots of action and good characters, especially the really evil ones. What’s nice is to see both books well received. That gives me some confidence. The next one I’m letting out of the barn is Thursday at Noon.  It is set in Egypt in 1962 and deals with an outcast CIA agent, Islamic terrorists, rogue German scientists, a planned coup, and rockets aimed at Israel. I began it immediately after Amongst.

Amongst My Enemies is available now on Kindle!!

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