Sniper Elite novelist Scott McEwen: from Chris Kyle to Ghosts! INTERVIEW

Today's Guest: Scott McEwen, co-author, American Sniper (with Chris Kyle); novelist, Ghost Sniper (with Thomas Koloniar), lawyer  

There is a rogue, American-trained sniper tearing up the Mexican countryside – and, more importantly, the country’s political landscape – in Scott McEwen and Thomas Koloniar’s latest Sniper Elite novel, Ghost Sniper.

On the surface – hell, the cover illustration is a close-up of an enhanced sniper rifle – you might expect this will be a story that glorifies horrific gun violence. And while the violence is brutal, it isn’t celebrated at all. The fast-moving story is one of good vs. evil and many shades of dirty grey, all of them leading back to the CIA.

If you like tales of international espionage and psychological warfare, it’s hard to beat the power of Ghost Sniper. As for Scott McEwen, who is joining me today, he is a San Diego trial attorney who made his name in books as the late Chris Kyle’s co-author on the #1 New York Times bestseller American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. (You may have seen the film version of American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper as Kyle, and directed by Clint Eastwood.) Incidentally, a feature film based on Sniper Elite is currently in the works. 

Key interview moments:

• 14:17 Ghost Sniper novelist Scott McEwen talks about the future of his anti-hero, Gil Shannon;

• 26:00 A progress report on the first 'Sniper Elite' film, coming from Sony;

• 33:00 McEwen remembers his friend, Chris Kyle, with whom he co-authored the bestselling memoir, American Sniper.