Today we’re chatting with Tony Ruggiero, author of the Team of Darkness series which consists of the first of four novels: Operation Immortal Servitude. The remaining novels in the series to be published include: Operation Save the Innocent, Operation Face the Fear, and Operation Endgame.

His other work includes his short story collection called: Aliens and Satanic Creatures Wanted: Humans Need Not Apply, and his science fiction books, Alien Deception, and coming this September, Alien Revelation.

Tony is also the contributing author to: The Fantasy Writers’ Companion, Writers for Relief, Into the Breach, and No Longer Dreams.


Hi Mr. Ruggiero, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with Fallen Angel Reviews; we know how busy you are.

Thanks Donna—it’s great to have the opportunity to speak with you and your readers. Fallen Angel Reviews is a phenomenal place to visit, a wealth of good information and reviews, so I am honored to be there.

For any of the readers who haven’t heard of you, could you please tell them a bit about yourself and your books?

You mean there are some people out there who haven’t heard of me (grins)…I’m from New Jersey and well connected if you know what I mean (winks). No it’s okay, I haven’t been back to New Jersey for a while, that statute of limitations thing…(grin)

So about me and my work: well the short version is that I love science fiction, fantasy, and horror--but not just any or all of it. I like work in these genres that pushes the limit by going to new places or that it somehow ties together with current events. I see that some of the questions may get to it later but to give a quick example of what I mean, take the short story collection: each story can be traced back to something that happened or I read about in the paper or heard on the radio. For example, Lucky Lucifer’s Car Emporium, the story deals with the devil who runs a car lot. Now, who has not had the experience of shopping for a new car? Just about everyone so I thought that everyone could associate with the story, dealing with car salesmen…a.k.a. the devil and have some fun with it.

The same principle applies for my books: Alien Deception and Alien Revelation: the concept sprang from the confusion in the ballot counts during the 2000 Presidential election issues. The question of what if the ballot confusion had been caused by an alien race that wanted to get their own candidate elected.

The vampire series can be attributed to my time with the Navy SEALS and the peacekeeping operations in the Balkans. The concept of the perfect killing machine—special forces and the vampire just went together so well especially when everything was taking place in the birthplace of the vampire.

I guess you could say that I like to have my stories “grounded” to reality in some shape or form...kind of weird asking for something like that when dealing with these genres but that’s me.

When you first were published in 1998, how did you find the time to write and be in the Navy?

Well as with most things, you make time when you really want to do something and that’s pretty much the way it went for me. One thing about my experience in the Navy, things usually happened at a maddening pace or a snail’s pace so you took what you got and used it the best you could.

What made you think to use vampires in your Navy Seals books Team of Darkness?

The concept came to me when I was with the Navy SEAL’s. It could have been any of the Special Forces because their outlook is the same: to be the perfect killing machine. That was when the thought came to me about what would make an even more perfect killing machine and naturally the vampire came to mind. The more I played with the idea the more I liked it. The icing on the cake that really made this idea work was the peacekeeping operations the US and NATO did in the Balkans—the home of the myths and legends of the vampire. By the time I had the story done and sat back and looked at it, I said it looks like something Anne Rice and Tom Clancy would have wrote if they ever did collaboration. Of course I am not saying that I write like either one, but I think that there is a little of their styles—vampire lore and military intrigue that I think you might find from such a collaboration.

Have you used any of your experiences from being in the Navy in any of your books? If you have, which books are they?

Of course the vampire series is based upon many of my experiences in the Navy given the nature of the story. Not only was I able to bring in my experience with the Navy SEAL’s, but also other assignments on ships as well. Also, there are several short stories that have come from some other experiences in the Navy as well. Just My Job, which is a story about an alien invasion, was based upon one of the assignments I held at a remote location. There is also another story called, Pull! which deals with a security issue that I was aware of during my service.

Out of all your characters, who is the most memorable and why?

I have more than one…

In the vampire saga one of the major characters, Commander John Reese, is basically modeled after myself--you know, good looking, always gets the woman…etc-(just kidding.) But I did model him after myself: he is a Commander in the logistics field just as I was and his assignment to the Navy SEAL’s was as mine was. He is close to retirement like I was when I had my tour there…etc. So a lot of what happens to him actually happened to me.

In the science fiction series, Alien Deception and Alien Revelation, Greg is also a favorite character because he is modeled after myself from a much younger period of my life. He, unlike Commander Reese, does what I imagine I would have done if I had not stayed in the Navy for twenty-three years. I guess that’s my personal fantasy element.

Back to the vampire sage, the lead vampire, Dimitri, is also very cool. If I had to describe him, I would say that he is a mixture of Sean Connery, Antonio Banderas and a dash of Brad Pit. Need I say more?

When you’re first starting the writing process, do you write an outline or do you write the story as it unfolds in your mind?

Both or neither. When it comes to writing I like to approach it from the standpoint of no rules so I do whichever way I feel like. The only hard and fast rule I try to maintain is my daily writing limit of about a 1000 words (which I have been bad about lately).

I see that you’re also now teaching at Old Dominion University, Saint Leo University, and Tidewater Community College. With your teaching schedule, have you found that you have less time to spend on your writing? And what classes are you teaching?

I have found that teaching is a double edged sword. I teach college level English classes which include basic writing, argument and literature. The number of classes varies anywhere from 3-6 per semester. On the positive side, I think the interaction with the students helps me in that it drives my writing in new directions sometimes. Young minds can be so creative at times that they can shove us old guys in new directions we might not have thought about. On the bad side grading all those papers can take time from writing. So I try and incorporate my writing time into my day in between classes somewhere—of course that changes every semester so at times it seems as soon as I have settled into a routine, it’s time to change again.

How has your writing changed from 1998 until now, or has it?

This is an interesting question to which I would answer yes and no. From one perspective I would say yes; that deals with the mechanical parts of writing such as word choice and things of that nature which hopefully I have gotten better with because of working with editors and such. From another side in terms of what I write, I think I have stayed consistent in that I like controversy in my stories. To me there is always an underlying issue there lurking in my stories that needs to be fed like the animal in the cage. Feed it and it is happy and content. Don’t feed it and well…things don’t go as well.

Has being published changed you in any way?

Well fame and fortune has not changed me in the least (big grin), probably because I don’t have either one (grin). Writing for me has been more about the fulfillment of a personal goal more than anything else. How many times have you read a book and said…well I could do that, or I could have written this better. We all have probably said something like that so I decided to do something about it and give it a shot. There have been and still are quite a few bumps in the road, but as long as I am happy with what I am writing and as long as there are those out there who like to read it—life is good!

On a side note, one of the biggest changes is the traveling and going to the conventions and meeting people—all of which has been fantastic. I hate to think that I had not been aware of all these people out there that love these genres so much and just like me. Fans of these genres are very special because they are willing to take the fantastical leap with me and company is always a big plus.

I read your short story Cat With A Past that is in the anthology Aliens and Satanic Creatures Wanted: Humans Need Not Apply. The ending really surprised me, where did you come up with the idea for this story?

This story has several reasons for the creation of this story:

1. I have a difficult time with cats (childhood issue) but I am getting better. We have two cats.

2. The major characters, Milt and Rene, are actually relatives who have had cat issues. I abuse them in several stories.

3. I am an avid Sherlock Holmes fan. Jeremy Brent Rules!

4. At the time I had read an article about cats and dogs and what the future holds for them with issues such as cloning…etc.

5. Cats are evil villains and dogs are good guys (thinking at the time I wrote the story).

So the story started out probably based upon the article I had read and then I “grounded,” it with some of my own reality: people I knew that had cats, my own experience with cats and my loves for the good guys and bad guys of Arthur Conan Doyle. Of course there was a challenge to the readers to try and figure out who the cat was and therefore lead them to the key that the only capable person or dog that could possibly capture the cat was Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson.

Congratulations on having your book Alien Deception nominated for best science fiction novel by Foreword Magazine. How did you and your family celebrate?

I was ecstatic about getting the nomination from Foreword Magazine! Even better yet was to be in such great company with the other Dragon Moon Press authors. We kept it low key as we do most events related to publishing, but there is a reason for that. That reason involves a previous book launch celebration, a bottle of champagne, a broken ankle and an ostrich. So the moral of that story is that alcohol and ostriches don’t mix…if you want to know more about that story—well you’ll have to have me back again (tease).

What does your family and friends think of your writing and stories?

They think I’m strange, but that’s nothing new (grin). Their biggest concern is that I might use them as some kind of psychotic alien or killer in one of my stories or—
wait a minute…oh yeah, that’s right, I already have used most of them so I guess their fear is warranted!

What are the biggest differences you’ve found between the big house publishers (i.e. St. Martin’s) and the electronic publishers?

Distribution and advances are the fundamental differences. You can write the next best seller but if the book doesn’t get out there and into the stores, it can be quite difficult. There is also a lot to say about self promotion but that’s another story. What makes or break a small press is its distribution network. The main reason why I went to Dragon Moon Press is because of their better distribution network and that their books are returnable. Very few small presses can offer advances; the capital just is not there to be able to do it. Also don’t forget that many of the electronic publishers are also producing trade paperbacks as well.

And the electronic publishing industry has given me something that I could have never achieved on my own. A few years ago when my vampire series began with the first book which was called Team of Darkness, now referred to as Operation Immortal Servitude, the book was being distributed by Palm for the Palm Pilots. Anyway, the book made the top TWO position of their best seller list sandwiched in between Stephen King and another prominent author. The chance of this ever happening without the electronic industry was non-existent so in that regard I am very happy. How many people do you know can say that they shared the best seller list with King?

With all the traveling you did in the Navy, what is the most fascinating place you’ve ever been? The one that didn’t live up to your expectations?

Well the neatest place was Monte Carlo---talk about the life of the rich and famous it certainly lives up to that reputation. We actually were invited to a castle for a reception by one of the ‘Dupont’ relatives that resided there. Also cruising around the Arctic, Norway, and fiords was also very cool!

The worse was a city in the Honduras which I cannot recall the name and that is because it was one of the most decrepit places I have ever been to.

Now for a fun question (grin). You’re told you can take your laptop, pencil, paper, and just one other thing with you to 1760. What are you taking and why?

The one other thing would be…a clean pair of underwear because after I arrive—I will probably need it (I hate to fly). See short story: Have A Nice Flight.

Please tell us what you’re working on now and when can we expect to be able to read it?

Well a couple things really: getting ready for the release of Alien Revelation. in September. In November I have a short story called Perspective appearing in an anthology called Into the Breach. The next vampire book, Operation Save the Innocent is due out in February 2008. I am marketing two new books to publishers: Coven, which is a story about a murder in a small CT town that involves witches. Evil from Above, which is a story about a gargoyle and its pull on humans to the darker side of humanity. And last but not least I am working on a new story, still untitled, that involves the unlikely combination of werewolves and vampires and the human search for utopia…on Mars.

Where can readers find out more about you, your books, and how to get a hold of you?

I maintain a webpage at tonyruggiero.com. There you can find more information about my books and even listen to some samples as well. Also, my short story collection can be downloaded from itunes or podiobooks.com for free. I love to get email so please write to me at aruggs@aol.com.

Once again Mr. Ruggiero, thank you again for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today. I’m really looking forward to reading Alien Deception.

Thank you Donna-it has been my pleasure, thanks for having me.

P.S. Aren’t you even curious about the ostrich?

Interviewed by: Donna