HONORING THE DEPARTED
– Part One
VINCE FLYNN 1966 - 2013
Over the past year or so, as I approach the
age of forty, it seems that I receive news of friends, loved ones, business
associates, and public figures I admire passing away more frequently than I’m
quite ready to absorb. This being the case, I’ve decided to begin a bit of a
series here in this blog dedicated to those folks who have gone to the other
side that left an impact on me before their departure. Below is part one of
what I hope will be a series that I soon run out of material for.
I really
can’t at all recall when it was that I first began reading Vince Flynn. I do
recall that once I sunk my teeth into Term
Limits, I instantly had to get my hands on all of Flynn’s back catalogue.
The Mitch Rapp novels were at the top of the list of novels that helped to
light the fire in me to try my hand at writing my own spy thriller.
As much as
Vince’s writing, and the visceral aesthetics of his characters, inspired me,
Vince’s personal story equally impressed me. Vince’s writing was born out of a
career trajectory that looked as typical as many people I know. He was a
salesman for Kraft—I don’t know if he was pushing Mac and Cheese or lesser-known
products. Then, he was on the verge of becoming a Marine as an aviation
candidate when adversity struck him down and he was disqualified due to medical
issues he had growing up. After dealing with the disappointment of being barred
from entering the Marine Corps, he was launched back into the nine to five
world as a commercial real estate rep. Not content with resigning to what may
have seemed like a fate that would confine him, he harvested the idea for
writing a book in his spare time. He let that ambition persist and ultimately
he made the bold move to quit his job, move to Colorado, and pursue writing
full time during the day while bartending at night.
But the
adversity and the persistency did not end there. His first manuscript for Term Limits
was rejected more than sixty times. Overcoming those rejections, Flynn decided
to self-publish the novel himself. Focusing on the Twin City market, he found
himself hitting the number one sales slot—leading to the agent and book deal
needed to catapult his career.
Vince was
not one who would naturally have been pegged to be a writer. He battled
Dyslexia. He had the normal pressures of life to battle while trying to hone
his craft. Yet, he was determined to listen to the persistent whisper of his
heart to push through and follow his passion.
Flynn’s
writing was blunt, real, and captured the post-911 zeitgeist perfectly. His ability
to forecast near term geo-political realities and imagine the ever-evolving
nature of threats from terrorists was in a war-gaming class all his own. He
created scenes that had a tangible quality to them and lurched the reader
eagerly into the next scene. His characters embodied the man’s man spirit and possessed
natural dimension and depth.
The Mitch Rapp character grew to
become an iconic symbol of the distaste for all politicians and for the
cumbersome bureaucratic labyrinth of protocol and regulations that they impose.
Mitch Rapp was all about results, not strict adherence to a rule-laden process.
He got the job done and punished the bad guys. Internally, he compartmentalized
guilt in order to accomplish what needed to be done for the greater good of the
country—often while pissing off his superiors.
The
character of Stan Hurley further typified the man’s man motif. Stan Hurley was
an old school, stubborn CIA spook who took crap from no one. His on-the-clock
standards were high and he was loath to compliment the abilities of Rapp or
anyone else that followed him. His off-the-clock standards were low and his exploits
with loose women and barroom bourbon bouts layered his character with
compelling flaws and moral inconsistencies.
Although
Flynn always denied any connection between himself and Mitch Rapp, to the
reader, it was clear that he was lurking in Mitch’s shadow at every
step—guiding his next move and steering his thoughts in tandem with his own. Mitch
Rapp was indeed Vince Flynn with a 9mm berretta and CIA credentials.
After
fighting cancer for years with a strong positive mental attitude, Vince Flynn
passed away on June 19th, 2013. He was taken too soon. Fourteen
novels was not enough. If you haven’t read them, you’d be blessed to start now.
And then you too will lament his passing.
My debut geo-political spy novel, BLAZE: Operation Persian Trinity, details
the adventures of CIA assassin Blaze McIntyre. Many influences were poured into
the mold that created Blaze McIntyre. The writings of Vince Flynn were
undoubtedly a strong ingredient in that mix.
Purchase BLAZE: Operation Persian Trinity here.
