Author Interview: Timothy O'Brien (The Lincoln Conspiracy)

Today I welcome Tim O'Brien, author of The Lincoln Conspiracy, a historical novel that takes a look at Lincoln's murder and a detective that will stop at nothing to bring the truth to light.  So grab your favorite cuppa and join me this morning (mine's a Peppermint Mocha from McDonald's, my first, and it's yummy) welcoming Tim to My Reading Room.

What three things do you need in order to write?

Imagination, inspiration, and words.

What's your favorite season?

Summer

If you could write in any other genre besides historical fiction what would it be?

Literary fiction

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

Tahiti

What's the first sentence of The Lincoln Conspiracy?

“The rain kept the dust down.”

Where did the idea for The Lincoln Conspiracy come from?

A lifelong fascination with Abraham Lincoln and Sherlock Holmes

Tell us what is The Lincoln Conspiracy about.

It’s about a husband and wife trying to avenge the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by relying on their wits and their odd mix of extraordinary talents.

How did you do the majority of your research for The Lincoln Conspiracy?

Through books, original documents and the web resources.

How did you feel when you finished The Lincoln Conspiracy?

Very satisfied and very tired!

For all of us impatient readers, what is up next for you?

The sequel to The Lincoln Conspiracy, which is the next installment in the Temple McFadden mystery series.

Thanks Timothy!

About The Lincoln Conspiracy:

A nation shattered by its president’s murder. Two diaries that reveal the true scope of an American conspiracy. A detective determined to bring the truth to light, no matter what it costs him

From award-winning journalist Timothy L. O’Brien comes a gripping historical thriller that poses a provocative question: What if the plot to assassinate President Lincoln was wider and more sinister than we ever imagined?

In late spring of 1865, as America mourns the death of its leader, Washington, D.C., police detective Temple McFadden makes a startling discovery. Strapped to the body of a dead man at the B&O Railroad station are two diaries, two documents that together reveal the true depth of the Lincoln conspiracy. Securing the diaries will put Temple’s life in jeopardy—and will endanger the fragile peace of a nation still torn by war.

Temple’s quest to bring the conspirators to justice takes him on a perilous journey through the gaslit streets of the Civil War–era capital, into bawdy houses and back alleys where ruthless enemies await him in every shadowed corner. Aided by an underground network of friends—and by his wife, Fiona, a nurse who possesses a formidable arsenal of medicinal potions—Temple must stay one step ahead of Lafayette Baker, head of the Union Army’s spy service. Along the way, he’ll run from or rely on Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s fearsome secretary of war; the legendary Scottish spymaster Allan Pinkerton; abolitionist Sojourner Truth; the photographer Alexander Gardner; and many others.

Bristling with twists and building to a climax that will leave readers gasping, The Lincoln Conspiracy offers a riveting new account of what truly motivated the assassination of one of America’s most beloved presidents—and who participated in the plot to derail the train of liberty that Lincoln set in motion.

Author Bio
Timothy L. O’Brien is the Executive Editor of The Huffington Post, where he edited the 2012 Pulitzer Prize–winning series about wounded war veterans, “Beyond the Battlefield.” Previously, he was an editor and reporter at The New York Times. There, he helped to lead a team of Times reporters that was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Public Service in 2009 for coverage of the financial crisis. O’Brien, a graduate of Georgetown University, holds three master's degrees -- in US History,Business and Journalism -- all from Columbia University. He lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife and two children.

www.timothylobrien.com