More than four million new books are published each year but fewer than one million become popular. One such author who has managed to grab the reader’s attention is Sean O’Leary with his new book Dan Tesson: A Thriller.

Sean O’Leary is one of those writers who knows what the reader wants from the book. He knows how to bring the reader into the story to make them feel a party of it, and his new book is no exception.

The author grew up in NYC and moved to Utah to go to the University of Utah and study Electrical Engineering. While he planned to return to the east coast one day, life has a way of redirecting our plans. He never moved back but have visited several times.

With his book becoming one of the newest science fiction books available, I wanted to learn more about Dan Tesson: A Thriller, and the author, this is what Sean O’Leary had to say.

You have written a new book called Dan Tesson: A Thriller, can you tell me more about the book?

Dan Tesson is a play on words that started as DanTe’s son.  I think of the book as a modern retelling of Dante’s Inferno but where punishments for sins/crimes happen in this life rather than in the one to come. Dan works for a defence contractor by day and writes political blogs by night. He is very critical of the politicians of his time (2040’s). He is frustrated by the way they treat his fellow Americans and many other countries in the world. He desperately wants to make a difference in making the world a better place. Unfortunately, he is like most of us, powerless to affect meaningful change.  That is until one day something happens that might give him the ability to change the world the way he wants. The question is, will he abuse his power or use it to make the world into a better place? Will he succeed? Can anyone fix the world’s problems?

I believe the book took you 20 years to write why was that?

I have been writing as long as I can remember but have only shared those stories with my closest friends and family in the last few years.  I started writing Dan Tesson when I myself was working for a defense contractor in the early 2000’s.

I think there are a few reasons it took so long. First, writing a novel, especially your first one, is a daunting task.  Second, my style of writing involved telling myself the story over and over again adding more parts and answering questions in my mind until the story was mostly done. Then I wrote it down. That turned out to be the long way of writing.  Once I sat down and started to put pen to paper, it took about 6 months. It was a learning experience. As I sit down to write my next novel, I am trying to leverage the lessons I learned writing the first book so that it does not take as long.

How did you come up with the storyline for the book?

I started thinking about the story in the early 2000’s shortly after 9-11.  I saw a lot of political corruption in our government. I and some of my coworkers went to anti-war protests while working for a defense contractor and laughed about the dichotomy of our day job verses our personal values.  Much like Dan Tesson, we were unhappy with the way our government acted and wished there was a way to make a difference. I envisioned someone who had the power to make those changes.  Over the next few years, I worked out what he would need to succeed and had endless discussions with my teenage son about what Dan would do in our world if he really existed.

What research did you do for Dan Tesson?

A lot of the stories told in the book started out as experiences that I had. I was not doing research as much as creating a character that had experiences that I could relate to. Dan and I are very different people, but many of the experiences that make us who we are, are familiar. For example, when my son was about 13, we got involved in blacksmithing. It was a wonderful adventure, and we met some the greatest people I know during that time.  It was only natural that Dan and Jon would also have an affinity for the hobby but also be somewhat outsiders to the group of people who have made the craft their life. 

I have visited about 80 percent of the states in our country so as Dan and Jon travel across the country, many of the places they visit are familiar to me. For the rest, I used Google maps and other searches to visit those areas as though I was there.

The book is set in 2040, why did you choose the time-period?

I wanted the story set in the near future so that it was not current events, but not so far away as to be unfamiliar.  I thought 40 years was about right, but since it took me so long to write that time looks more like 20 years now.  In the early 2000’s experts were talking about the possibility of a world-wide pandemic but nothing like that had really happened in my lifetime.  I had no idea that life would imitate art so closely by the time I had the story completed.

Who would you say the book is aimed at?

They say you should never talk about politics or religion in polite conversation. While the book covers both of those topics, the main focus of the books is to decide what it means to be human.  In that sense, I think it is for everyone. I most certainly have my personal opinions about all the topics in the book, but I wanted to write it in such a way as not to push my opinions as the correct answer but rather have a discussion in which everyone sitting at the table would feel comfortable expressing their perspectives.  The book is not meant to be a guide to solving what ails society but rather a mirror that allows us to look at who we are and how we have chosen to construct ourselves.

A lot of authors have different ways of writing, some dress up as their character while others go to a place where the story is based on, how do you write your books?

I tend to live the story in my head. I imagine that I am a proverbial fly on the wall and observe the characters living their lives. I replay the story again and again, changing it, adding to it, fixing problems I see, until it feels right. Then it is just a matter of writing it down as I saw it happen.  I also try and imagine myself as whatever character I am writing about and think about what it would be like to be them.  I spent a lot of time being Dan and Jon, but I was also Becca and Yabi.  I don’t know how I could write a convincing character if I could not imagine being that person.

Are you the type of author who likes to write in the peace and quiet or can you write anywhere?

It depends on what you mean by writing. If it is the actual putting words down, then yes, I need it to be quiet, without distractions so I can focus on the storyline.  But a good deal of writing involves daydreaming or having a discussion with someone about a topic you intend to address in the story. In that case, it could be around a roaring fire, sitting in a car on a long drive, or talking in a crowded pub surrounded by a hundred people on a Friday night.

There are millions of people out there who would love to write a book but are worried about not being able to get it published, what advice would you give to them?

Writing and publishing are different animals. I would not let one interfere with the other. Write the story that nags at your inner being and won’t let you sleep at night.  When I have a story that I am working on, I keep reimagining it in my head until it is as I think it should be. Then I have to write it down, just so I can get some peace. If I don’t, it will haunt me day and night. Write like that.  When you have a story that you are proud of, then worry about publishing.

As far as publishing, there are so many more way of getting your book out there then when I was growing up.  There are still traditional publishers and there is no reason not to pursue those avenues, but it is easier than ever to self-publish or go a hybrid route where you work with a company that essentially helps you self-publish.  Look at that as a secondary adventure to go on after the story has been written.

What is next for you, when can we expect you to release another book?

I have been asked if there will be a second Dan Tesson book and I think the answer is going to be yes. There are so many questions that are left to answer and parts of the story that still need to be told.  I am excited about writing that next book. 

Right now, I am working on a story about General Daniel Florence O’Leary, born in Ireland in the early 1800’s, and how he saved the world from Mayan disaster in 2012. While we are not related, as far as I know, I became fascinated about how a young man from County Cork Ireland wound up fighting alongside Simon Bolivar in South America liberating counties form Spanish Colonialism.  As I read about his amazing life, I wondered what the world would be like if he lived in our time.  As I was thinking about him and his life, I had a crazy dream about the Mayan Calendar ending in 2012 and what they would mean for all of us.  I am very excited to finish the story and look forward to sharing it with others in 2025.

Dan Tesson: A Thriller, has become a smash hit on Amazon (www.amazon.com/Dan-Tesson-Thriller-Sean-OLeary/dp/B0D78ZNDKT/).

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