One of the reasons I wrote Killer of Killers is because I have always been a big fan of action heroes. In movies, the hero who comes to mind is James Bond. No one could have been a better fit to play Bond than Sean Connery. I don't mind Daniel Craig, but everyone in between fell short of the standard Connery set. Other movie heroes I appreciate include Jason Statham as Frank Martin in the Transporter movies, and Matt Damon as Bourne. These are guys who can kick ass, and the actors who play the roles actually look like they can kick ass.
TV had many great heroes, too, but my all time favorite would be the great Captain James T. Kirk from the original Star Trek series. Honorable mentions include Robert Conrad's James West from The Wild, Wild West, and Vic Morrow's Sergeant Saunders from Combat.
When it comes to books, there is one hero that stands above the others - even above Ian Fleming's James Bond. No one touches Conan, as created and written by Robert E. Howard. Please do not entertain images of Arnold in those two horrible Conan movies. Instead of furthering the Conan mythos, those movies all but destroyed it.
No. Conan, as written by Robert E. Howard, was the ultimate hero, and he takes the top spot of all time. Nevertheless, these were all great heroes whose stories will endure in their respective format.
I wanted to write a story about a hero who worked for no throne, for no government, and for no fleet. A man who worked for himself but toward a greater goal. And this is the difference that I have instilled in my story of Trent Smith. Conan was a mercenary who became a king in prehistory. Bond, as we all know, was a secret agent. Kirk, of course, was a starship captain.
Trent Smith is a martial arts champion, who went on to champion a cause for justice in a society that no longer cared about it. But as long as one man did, and to the point that Trent Smith did, one man can make a difference. In my debut novel, KILLER OF KILLERS, represented by Ange Tysdal of AKA Literary, LLC, Trent Smith is that man.
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