Did the horrible tragedy of 9/11 play any role in Night Hawk? The answer is yes. Specific plot points and events within the story are not written around the real-life terrorist attack, but the emotions I felt on that day helped shape the feelings the characters experience within the sudden attack of their world. I was actually in the midst of writing an earlier version of the invasion of Telamier when the events of 9/11 took place. I made a point to keep going that day, writing through my shock and grief. With the event so well documented and playing nonstop on every channel, it was easy to get a clear view of the very real reactions from witnesses. Of course the events on Telamier are quite different with different outcomes, but Human emotion is fairly universal. I can see how a lot of what I felt that day made its way into David’s thoughts and feelings.

9/11 also gave me a new perspective on how incredibly evil otherwise intelligent beings can be. Those involved in the orchestration of 9/11 showed a complete lack of humanity. Those attacks were pure evil. If Humans can do such monstrous things to each other, what would another species be capable of? One thing that actually ended up being removed because of 9/11 was a scene I had written involving Mike flying through a building. Using the Predator’s heavy armor, he blasts a path through a sky rise, going fast enough to stay just ahead of its collapse. Obviously unlike 9/11, he survives, but after the event I just couldn’t bring myself to leave the scene in.

So in closing, yes, 9/11 did affect Night Hawk, but, no, it is not where the story originated. Nor is Night Hawk in any way a commentary about the real war that followed. My book is about unique events on a distant world whose connection with real Earth events is nothing more than how my feelings from that day brought a sense of raw realism to the scenes.

– Jolene Loraine