About the book: When Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Brian Mullaney received his new assignment to protect the newly appointed US ambassador to Israel and what he thought was an insignificant box, he ended up with more responsibility than he could ever imagine. Inside the box was a messianic prophecy about the fate of the world that a dark enemy and the forces of evil at his command were determined to destroy. Not only that, agents of three ancient empires have launched covert operations to secure nuclear weapons, in direct defiance of the startling peace treaty Israel and its Arab neighbors have signed—the Ishmael Covenant. Mullaney and the ambassador have been targeted, and it’s up to him to thwart an arms race.
Mullaney has survived an explosion, being shot, and
losing his best friend. He’s had enough and wants out. In Terry Brennan’s Ottoman
Dominion (Kregel Publications), the last installment of the Empires
of Armageddon trilogy, Mullaney has been
drawn against his will into a dangerous international mission with world-ending
implications—and his final assignment is going to pit him directly against the
terrifying, evil entity known only as the Turk.
Welcome back, Terry. Tell us about the entire Empires of Armageddon series, including the previous releases, Ishmael Covenant and Persian Betrayal. The three-book series, the Empires of Armageddon is a fast-paced, modern-day international thriller, constructed around historical fact and fiction based on fact. The story envelopes the lives of nearly a dozen key characters, but is driven by three primary characters: Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Brian Mullaney; Joseph Atticus Cleveland, the newly appointed US ambassador to Israel; and their enemy, The Turk, an immortal agent of evil who serves The One.
Out of the chaos and conflict of today’s
The plot of the series, and the first book, Ishmael
Covenant, is kick-started when the first of two Messianic prophecies,
written in 1794 by the Vilna Gaon, is revealed in
That theme, ultimate evil trying to
overthrow the plans of God, fuels the story of the entire series. The series utilizes this supernatural cauldron of
spiritual warfare, and its Biblical ramifications, as the backdrop for an epic
testing of one man’s character when faced with multiple adversaries who
threaten his family, his faith and his country. How Brian Mullaney responds to
his calling could dictate the fate of this world—and the onset of the next.
Q: What is Brian Mullaney’s
final mission? Brian Mullaney is a highly regarded veteran of the
Diplomatic Security Service, which protects American foreign service personnel.
Mullaney is banished to
Through the influence of the angel, Bayard, and the insistence of aged rabbi Mordechai Herzog, Mullaney finds himself responsible for a lethal metal box that has gruesomely killed anyone who touches it. Once the protector of the Vilna Gaon’s second prophecy, the “‘box of power’” now has a mission of its own, a mission that will put Mullaney’s life at risk and transport him into the darkest depths of hell on earth.
Bayard informs Mullaney that his assignment, and his destiny, is to be the “final guardian” of the box of power, and to personally carry that box of power on its final mission, to withstand and vanquish the malevolent agents of evil, The Turk and The One. In order to accomplish this mission, Mullaney must not only take the box of power into the midst of the Turk’s lair in Ankara, but he must also hand over the box—and its power—to those enemies who most want to destroy Mullaney, those close to him, and the plans and purposes of God in this earth.
Q: What was the Ishmael
Covenant that was a part of the first book? What similarities did this
fictional treaty from your book have with the Abraham Accord, an actual peace
accord signed in 2020? One of the foundational plot elements of the series
was a fictional peace treaty and mutual-defense pact between
Ishmael Covenant was
released in February of 2020. Six months later, in August,
Q: What aspects of your
story are based on historical fact? The Vilna Gaon, whose prophecies are
one of the catalysts of the plot, was a real person. The foremost Talmudic
scholar of his time, the Vilna Gaon (or Genius of Vilnius, Lithuania) was
renowned not only for his knowledge of Jewish scripture, but also as a
scientist and mathematician with intelligence far beyond his age and his time.
His disciples still operate a synagogue in
Many of the agencies and circumstances in the series are based on actual fact: the Diplomatic Security Service are armed law-enforcement officers tasked with, among other things, protecting American Foreign Service personnel overseas; the military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is America’s most elite and effective quick-strike force; the history of the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem is accurate as written.
The ancient Biblical conflict between the nation of
Q: The author’s notes in the
back of Ottoman Dominion are proof of how much detail from actual events
and locales are written into the story. What did your research for the series
involve? Have you always been interested in history and the politics of the
More mundane, but necessary, research took place at the New York City Library system’s main research library and, of course, online. You might be surprised at how much a writer can glean from Google Maps and its ability to go “street-level” in so many places around the world.
Q: The entire series has been released this year—that’s quite the quick turnaround, which is sure to please readers. The story took place in a short span too, but did the writing process itself flow that quickly and smoothly? It was a quick turnaround that had my head spinning. I wrote the first draft of Ishmael Covenant in May 2015 and submitted the final manuscript two years later. We finished editing the third book, Ottoman Dominion, in August 2020. So, it took five years for me to complete the series from start to finish. Sounds like a long time. But the reality is that during a three-year span from submission in May 2017 to this past August, I had all three books of the series at some stage of the editing process at the same time.
So, when I submitted the final manuscript for book three, my editors at Kregel and I were still working on the editing for the first two. Now that was a challenge, keeping everything straight. There were times I asked myself what book am I working on now?
The primary action of the entire three-book series took place during a two-week period, from July 9 to July 23, 2014. There were some preliminary “set-up” chapters and a few “wrap-up” chapters at the beginning and end, but most of the story takes place during that two-week stretch. A very compressed time frame for the development of three complete novels.
For me, the writing never flows quickly and smoothly. As a writer, I’m a gardener, not an architect. A seed gets planted, watered, the sun shines on it, and we see how it grows and what directions it will take. The same with the characters. While some authors have everything mapped out before they begin, I have an idea of where we’ll start and where we’ll end up, but the rest is the adventure of seeing where the story goes. But, because of the tight timing of the books, and the compressed editing schedule, I was forced to develop an Excel spreadsheet that helped me to keep track of the date, time and location for each of the scenes throughout the entire series and for each book.
Q: What can readers expect in the conclusion to this series, Ottoman Dominion? The closer Brian Mullaney gets to hunting down the murderous thugs who have engaged in a reign of terror; the closer Ambassador Joseph Cleveland gets to unmasking a traitor in the highest echelons of the State Department; the closer the two of them get to thwarting an act of nuclear terrorism in the Middle East—the closer they both come to falling under the dark power of the evil incarnate who lurks in their path and lusts after their souls.
Q: In the middle of trying to keep peace in the Middle East and halting the end of the world, Mullaney is fighting his own spiritual battle. Can you tell us about his spiritual journey? Brian Mullaney’s faith is steadfast and determined, just like Brian. He is not a “go-to-church-on-Christmas” kind of Christian believer. His close, personal connection to God, which took years of nurturing from his youth to develop, is evident throughout the series as he prays urgently and fervently on several occasions.
And, often, Brian needs those prayers to be answered. His two-decade marriage is in danger. Abby and their daughters remained in
But Mullaney’s greatest
spiritual challenge falls on him unexpectedly. In addition to chasing a band of
murderous thugs around Tel Aviv and trying to thwart an act of nuclear
terrorism in
Q: Do you think readers will be surprised by the ending? I hope so. There are cliff-hanger situations at the end of the first two novels of the series, and I wanted to be faithful to the first two in completing the third. So, while I believe the ending of Ottoman Dominion will bring about a satisfactory conclusion to both the novel and the series, I would be very surprised if any of the readers are able to predict the ending. In fact, I didn’t figure it out myself until halfway through writing the third book.
Q: What message do you hope readers walk away with? Spiritual warfare is real. Evil is real. And they are both present on this earth today. But, in order for there to be a tangible and ongoing spiritual conflict, good must also be real. The result of this battle between good and evil, evidence of which we can often see around us, is far more than “good wins.” The result that matters is where did we stand? What did I do in my life to hold back the forces of evil? Because we are not ordained to be observers—we are enlisted to be warriors.
Q: Obviously, we aren’t
battling the forces of evil on the same level as Mullaney, but how do we as
Christians face spiritual warfare on a daily basis? Early in Paul’s letter to the
church at
The Bible I love and cherish most is an NIV Study Bible my wife gave me. Worn, beaten, re-bound, and marked from beginning to end, it has study notes, sometimes extensive, on nearly every page. The study note to Ephesians 1:3 states. “At stake are God’s eternal purpose and the titanic conflict between God and the powerful spiritual forces arrayed against him … the spiritual struggle of the saints here and now is not so much against ‘flesh and blood’ as against the great spiritual forces that war against God in heaven.”
Think about that for a moment. There is a war against God in heaven with spiritual forces arrayed against him. And MY life here, today, is having some kind of impact on that battle. Because the same rulers, powers, authority and dominion that God is fighting in heaven, we are also fighting here on earth today. Different, sure. But real none-the-less. That’s stunning, awesome and, to a degree, frightening.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Paul here is reminding us that we wage war here, in our world, but not as the world does. We are talking about weapons of divine power to demolish strongholds.” How do we face spiritual warfare? We demolish every ungodly mental image and take captive every thought and bring it to Jesus.
Q: For those who aren’t
quite ready to say goodbye to the series yet, what bonuses do you have
available for readers who sign up for your newsletter? There is a host of
unique, free material I supply to readers who subscribe to my website. First
off, there are two unique and exclusive short stories that I’ve written for
subscribers and those who request the special offer in the Author’s Notes from
the back of each book in the series. The first short story is titled The
Gaon’s Revenge. And I’ve just written a new one, Under the Radar,
which looks into the early history of the character who is only identified as “the
man in the Panama hat.” In addition, I send out a monthly
newsletter that offers an in depth look into one of the items listed in the
Author’s Notes. Subscribers also receive invitations to special events (such as
virtual launch parties) and book giveaways.
Q: Now that this series has come to a close, what’s next for you? Do you have another book in the works? This year, with three books released over just nine months, my life has been dominated by the marketing side of being an author. I’ve launched a blog, been writing the short stories, and sending regular newsletters.
It’s been hard to find time to write, but, I’ve written a non-fiction book titled Rescuing the Hidden Hearts of Men. It’s a very different book for me. It’s still a work in progress, so there’s no set plans for release yet.
In addition, I have a few projects “in the works.” There is a book I wrote ten years ago that needed a lot of work then and still needs a lot of work now. I’m trying to get that one in better shape. And I’ve started outlining an Irish mystery/thriller that is set over three generations and plays out extensively in late 19th century Manhattan. And I’ve just started thinking through a contemporary thriller, also set in NYC. Those projects may take some time.
Learn more
about Terry Brennan and his books at www.terrybrennanauthor.com. He is also on Facebook (Terry Brennan) and Twitter (@terrbrennan1).
Thank you,
Terry, for sharing all three books in this series with my blog readers and me. I
know many are eager to read this final novel.
Readers,
here are links to the book.
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book.
You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us
where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the
number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of
eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any
pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on
this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You
will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
8 comments:
The stories certainly sound relevant to the current happenings in the Middle East. I'd love to win the book.
This novel interests me greatly. Being Jewish and reading about the Ottoman Dominion would be memorable and unforgettable. Thanks. Anne - NM.
Intriguing and captivating since the Middle East is a major influence upon our lives. Pearl from NM.
This is so true intriguing! Thanks for sharing.
Blessings!
Connie from Kentucky
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
I love this genre!
Caryl K in TX
Sounds very interesting. Blessings from WV
Enter me!!
Conway SC.
Thanks to you all for your kind comments and interest in Ottoman Dominion and the Empires of Armageddon series.
Particularly to those of you who have commented from "so far away" ... New Mexico, Texas, West Virginia and South Carolina! Lena, your blog has great reach.
If you want to get some of the free stuff I send out regularly, subscribe to my website or send me an email at terrbrennan@gmail.com. I've written two short stories as extensions of the series - "The Gaon's Revenge" and "Under the Radar" - and I also send out a monthly newsletter with extra material just for website subscribers.
Post a Comment