He is known as a respected expert in the media on security-related topics. He volunteers as an emergency counselor and is a member of the Crisis Intervention Team (KIT Bonn) of the German Foreign Office. He is a private pilot, married, with two sons and three grandchildren.
In 2002, Trauboth wrote the now out of print standard work “Crisis Management for Company Threats”.
In 2016 the follow-up work was published with Jörg H. Trauboth as editor in collaboration with five authors: “Crisis Management in Companies and Public Institutions”.
Terror expert J. H. Trauboth presented his debut novel in 2015 with the Germany thriller “Three Brothers”. (Available in English). In 2019 “Operation Jerusalem” followed and in 2020 “Omega”. The trilogy is about the former elite soldier Marc Anderson and his team. With these three self-contained thrillers, Trauboth is rated by many readers as the “German Tom Clancy.” The trilogy is available as a printed edition, eBook and audio book.
His first detective novel, “Jakobs Weg” (German), followed in 2021. The highly explosive topic of “sexual abuse of children” is processed sensitively in a scenario on the Way of Saint James and at the end offers contact options for those seeking help.
In 2022, the novella “Bonjour Saint-Ex” was published (German) in which the passionate pilot Jörg H. Trauboth turns the last flight of the legend Antoine de Saint Exupéry into an exciting literary event.
Readers wanted a sequel to the Marc Anderson series. In 2023, ZarenTod – Das Ende der Präsidenten was published, a highly topical political thriller. The Russian president and new tsar, Ivan Pavlenko, suddenly shows his true face during the war in Ukraine. He wants the old Soviet Union back. The world is on the brink. The influential oligarch, Alexei Sokolov, wants to prevent Ivan’s megalomaniac plans and is planning a fundamental new beginning for Russia. To achieve this, the Russian president must be removed. But the plan goes awry. Ex-elite soldier Marc Anderson intervenes. Will Czar Ivan die? What will become of Europe? The book 8/ 2024 in English „The Death of the Kremlin Czar” is the fourth political thriller in the Marc Anderson series.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ https://trauboth-autor.de/english/
Twitter ➜ https://twitter.com/JorgTrauboth
Interview:
Tell us about your book! What inspired you to write it?
I had a dream. Russian troops were standing outside Berlin and declaring that Germany should now be Russian, we should surrender and look forward to a life under communism and with roubles. I woke up
and realized that I wasn't living in 1945, but 80 years later.
That's exactly what happened to Ukraine. For almost three years, the country has been desperately fighting for survival. It wants the lost territories back and peace. Like all of us.
As someone who knows Putin's biography and a former general staff officer in NATO, I am convinced that there can be no negotiation with the Russian president. And if Ukraine leaves the territories to him because it has run out of weapons and ammunition, we in Central Europe will be next. Then my bad dream could come true.
“If no solution can be found on the battlefield, there must be another way to find a solution,” I thought.
So I started to develop a plot for my fourth Marc Anderson thriller: A group of oligarchs around Alexei Sokolov want to overthrow Russian President Ivan in Moscow. Just like Brutus and the senators did to Julius Caesar in Rome on the Ides of March. The plan is clever, but Alexei has a problem. He has a love affair with Yulia, the Russian president's partner. Both are under pressure that Ivan knows something. On the flight to Vilnius in Belarus, the plane with Alexei and Yulia on board is hijacked. The Ukrainian hijacker demands that his brother be released from Russian captivity. When the Russian president fails to respond, the plane begins an odyssey over Europe. The hijacker shoots the crew. The plane is pilotless and programmed to crash into the Reichstag in Berlin. My protagonist Marc Anderson and his family are also on board. They are invited to a wedding party in Vilnius. He and Alexei go into the cockpit and try to take over the Boeing 737-300 as amateur pilots. Will they manage to land the plane? And how does the plan to bring Ivan down work out?
At this point I have to stop. But you can be sure. The ending is spectacular. You'll want to know by page 180 at the latest. Otherwise your rest will be over. That's what the readers of the German novel say.
How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?
The title corresponds to the title of the original German edition ‘Zarentod- Das Ende des Präsidenten.’ The title was quickly finalised, especially as I had decided not to write ‘Putin’ but to choose fictional names.
For the English title, I added the word ‘Kremlin’ and ‘Death’. The result: ‘The Death of the Kremlin Czar’. Hopefully that makes things pretty clear when you read the title.
I chose the term Tsar because I am not the only one who is deeply convinced that the current Russian president acts like a Tsar, even though he says he is not one. Anyone who has any doubts should take a look at his residences. They say he is the richest man in the world, but nobody can prove it. His role model is Tsar Peter the Great, who not only took back the Slavic countries of Sweden, Finland, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, but also imprisoned his son and had him killed there. I don't think the current tsar would do that. Why? As a narcissist, he has typical characteristics. He is extremely brutal to his enemies, but he protects his own flesh and blood.
There was also a discussion about whether we should use the term ‘Tsar’ or ‘Czar’. My consultant in Texas recommended ‘Tsar’, the one in Boston ‘Czar’. I decided in favour of this name. I'm interested in your opinion on this.
Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?
Thank you for the question. There was indeed an interesting development. At first, my graphic designer suggested putting a target in front of Putin's head. I decided against it and chose onion domes of an Orthodox church to make the reader curious to read the back of the cover. With the black background and the title, it should work as well in English-speaking countries as it does in German-speaking ones, I hope.
In general, I don't like it when the reader's imagination is taken away by the choice of title anyway. My readers have known and appreciated me for many years as an author who places great value on seriousness and combines suspense with expertise in a pagerturner. So the cover should also be based on this.
Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?
I am not a graphic designer but I am creative as a videographer in my private life and on YouTube where I have more than a hundred videos. My publisher has used his expertise to realize my cover ideas perfectly every time. He always laughed when the cover was finished before the text. But that's me. When I have a picture in front of me, the text flows better. I very rarely deviate from the first draft.
There's now a whole AI industry that generates beautiful covers. So if you don't have a publisher with a graphic designer or no money for a cover, you should take a look at AI. Example: Enter your title on Chatgpd and ask them to design a cover. You will be surprised.
What has been the readers’ response to your cover?
I have no negative reactions from the German cover, which is exactly the same as the English one. It's not opinions that matter, but sales figures. If a book is not perceived on the market, the bad cover can be the main reason for this. So it's worth putting a lot of energy into the “right” cover. By the way, before I decide on the cover, I make several drafts and have them evaluated in my personal environment without anyone knowing the content of the book.
What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?
see above
Also in Europe it might be different from the resources in your country
Anything else you’d like to say about your book?
I fear that the war in Ukraine will go on for a long time. But even when it is over, this book will remain topical, because it is primarily intended to be a page turner.
In fact, my role model here is Tom Clancy, whose novels are still worth reading today, even though the political environment has changed. It makes me a little proud that readers call me the “German Tom Clancy” and compare my protagonist Marc Anderson to Jack Ryan.
I hope that this thriller will be accepted worldwide, regardless of personal political orientation. I can promise one thing: My Marc Anderson brings peace, just like in the first break “Three Brothers”. I want my readers to sleep well.
The Death of the Kremlin Czar is available at Amazon (U.S. edition) and Amazon (German edition).
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