Author Interview with Fatal Castle Author David Boito

Welcome to the author interview with David Boito as he shares with us about his book – Fatal Castle!

Blurb

Fatal Castle : A Tower of London Heist and British Action Thriller

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “The most authentic military heist thriller of 2026.”
“A tactical masterpiece. David writes with the precision of a scalpel.”
“If you loved The Gray Man, FATAL CASTLE is your next obsession.”

An ancient curse collides with modern greed when heavily armed mercenaries lay siege to the Tower of London.

Ashley Bellamy, a diamond enthusiast, visits her estranged father Clive—the Tower’s Chief Yeoman Warder—and becomes trapped when ex-bomb disposal expert Richard Bindar leads a brutal heist disguised as an act of terrorism. Their target: the cursed Kohinoor diamond, said to doom any man who possesses it.

With police forces deliberately misdirected and innocent lives at stake, Ashley and Clive must use their intimate knowledge of the fortress’s secret passages and medieval defenses to fight back. Armed with ancient longbows against modern weapons, they turn murder holes and centuries-old tactics against their ruthless enemies.

As the Tower faces its most devastating siege in history, this fractured father-daughter duo must reconcile their past and uncover Bindar’s true motives before the diamond’s curse claims new victims—and London’s greatest fortress falls.

PERFECT FOR FANS OF:

The Tactical Realism of Mark Greaney and Jack Carr.

The High-Stakes Heist of Ocean’s Eleven and Heat.

The Gritty London Underworld of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Ready to learn more about Fatal Castle and the author behind it? Keep reading for our interview with author David Boito!

Author Boito, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with Scribbles about your book, Fatal Castle!

Q: Author Boito what was your inspiration in writing Fatal Castle?

Author Boito: I visited the Tower of London and was quite inspired by the setting. The place just exudes history at every turn.

We’ve never visited the Tower of London, but for sure after reading Fatal Castle that is absolutely something we want to do! The amount of history contained there just spikes our curiosity!

Q: How much research went into writing this book? Was this a tedious process for you? Or did you enjoy it?

Author Boito: Quite a bit. I visited the Tower twice and read extensively on its history. I quite enjoyed it.

Wow! You visited the Tower twice?! Sounds like the location really captured not just your attention, but your imagination! Quite fortunate for us readers because it has given us this riveting suspense thriller!

Q: How did you settle on the cover for Fatal Castle? Were there any other covers that you contemplated before selecting this particular one?

Author Boito: I took some photographs the last time I was there and picked one that I thought conveyed a sense of mystery. Yes, I did contemplate several other covers but thought this one lent itself to the story the best.

Oh! So the cover is based off of a photo that you took on your last trip to the see the Tower! How cool is that!

That makes absolute sense to go with the cover that you feel best fits the story that you’re looking to convey. The cover does give a sense of foreboding with the Beefeater standing behind it as if closing it.

Q: What was it like coming up with and writing Clive’s character?

Author Boito: I wanted to portray someone who lives out of time. He’s steeped in the lore of a thousand-year-old castle most of the time yet he has modern day problems. As he is someone with a military history he comports himself with a strict discipline.

Author Boito, we have to say that you accomplished that with flying colors. That is probably one of our favorite aspects concerning Clive’s character. He’s so immersed in the castle and the persona of being a Beefeater. It seems that your decision to have him become a Beefeater was absolute gold.

Q: Why did you decide to make the Kohinoor the focus of the story so to speak? What about this particular gem drew you to it?

Author Boito: I learned of the Kohinoor while visiting the jewel vault and its history fascinated me. I found the idea that it was considered cursed to any male that possesses captivating.

We actually had to look up the history of the Kohinoor thanks to Fatal Castle to see if this was a true “myth” surrounding the gem. LOL! So, we can see how the history of the gem fascinated you enough to incorporate it into your novel!

Q: How did you come up with Slater’s character?

Author Boito: I wanted to portray someone who has no respect for the Tower’s cultural history. That was the seed for his character.

You knocked it out of the park then! Because you were angling to create a character that would be easily disliked by readers and he does exactly that.

(a) What was it like writing him?

Author Boito: It is always fun to come up with foils to the main character and his goals in the story.

We can agree that Slater does get the job done when it comes to rankling Clive. It also helps to set the spark of pushing the story towards the big drama waiting ahead.

Q: As you were writing Fatal Castle did you know exactly how the story was going to play out? Or did it come to you as you wrote?

Author Boito: Great question! For the most part I did plot out the story in advance, but some of the characters were fleshed out more in the writing of the book.

So, it sounds like you knew the overall direction you wanted to the story to flow, but the characters help drive it as well. It’s always interesting to see how a character fleshed out in the moment helps to manipulate the story in unexpected directions.

Q: What was your inspiration behind Ashley’s character?

Author Boito: I wanted Clive to have a daughter from America, who clashes with him on many of his old-fashioned ideas.

Ashley definitely does that! The differences between them is quite stark and creates an added element to the story.

Q: How much of Ashley’s persona and view points of her dad was fostered by her mother and their tumultuous history?

Author Boito: Certainly Ashley is very independent and strong-willed and I wanted her to be distinctly different than Clive while at the same time sharing many of his best traits. She has been affected deeply by her parents divorce and her subsequent life growing up in California.

Based on her character’s behavior the sense that her parents divorce and subsequent separation definitely shines through as to having had an impact on Ashley. We were conflicted about her strong-willed nature, but it serves her when it’s most important. So, we can see how it’s one of her better traits connecting her to her father.

Q: Author Boito, you’ve written your novel Fatal Castle in the third person. Why did you choose to write the story this way instead of perhaps first person?

Author boito: I thought the third person lent itself to the story so we could see Clive’s viewpoint and then Ashley’s viewpoint separately. If the story had been written in the first person it would all be told through the eyes of either Clive or Ashley and that has its limitations.

Great response author Boito! We felt that might be the case when we really thought about it, but we’re glad to know the thought process behind the storytelling! Because we have to agree. First person POV limits you while you can do a lot more with third.

Q: Did you ever consider giving Bindar the spotlight to allow readers to learn more about him and his true motivations? Or was the intent to always keep Clive and Ashley the focus?

Author Boito: I did giving Bindar his own point of view in the story but decided to keep Clive and Ashley the main focus points.

We’ll be honest with you, we would have loved to have had a couple of chapters with Bindar’s POV, but we respect that you kept it tight and concise by only using Clive and Ashley.

Q: We’re curious about Bindar’s “lucky charm.” Is there more than one or does the one he’s holding hold a dual purpose?

Author Boito: He is quite superstitious and this makes him prone to believe the lore of the Kohinoor diamond. He believes in talismans and keeps them with him.

We were honestly surprised by how superstitious Bindar was in the story. Especially in the beginning! His vehemence about the rabbit’s foot was something that immediately made us look at him differently.

Q: What was Bindar’s “tipping point” that ultimately pushed him into organizing this heist?

Author Boito: His biggest turning point would be the fact that his brother was executed in America and he felt the British government did nothing to advocate for his release.

That particular element of the story almost felt like readers were meant to develop some empathy for Bindar in that moment. But then he went and jumped off the deep end, and empathy went out the window! LOL!

Q: Why does Clive believe that people are more drawn to a gemstone than a castle packed with history?

We would think that people would be more drawn to the bloody history of the Tower of London.

Author Boito: Because every day he sees crowds line up for tours of the Crown Jewel vault. If you ever visit the Tower you will see the long queues of people who wait long periods of time to see the gemstones.

So, that must be more inspiration from your own visits to the Tower playing out in Fatal Castle. On one hand, we can understand the draw a gemstone has, but to be in a place full of living history that is steeped into the very stones? That just has more draw in our opinion. LOL!

Q: As Fatal Castle plays out you make a point of showing readers Ashley’s lack of knowledge concerning the castle. Was the reason behind her not reading the information her father gave her because she had no real interest in it?

Author Boito: No I think, though having lived in America, she is just not as steeped in the lore as he is.

Okay, we can understand that. Clive practically lives and breathes the history of the Tower, so it makes sense that he’s more invested in it than she is.

Q: What was the inspiration behind Herman the raven? While he’s not a main character, he brings a good amount of uniqueness to the story in such an unexpected way.

Author Boito: The Tower Ravens are a significant presence on the Tower grounds and they are revered and well cared for there. Seeing this inspired me to write Herman.

As we said, while Herman is not a “main character” he definitely threatens to steal the scenes that he’s in. He’s an intriguing creature and really drew us to him.

Q: We’re curious – what is it that draws Herman to Ashley in the first place?

Author Boito: That is a good question, I can only say that the Ravens are very smart, probably some of the smartest birds in existence. He is drawn to her possibly because he senses that she is in some mystical way “royalty” in her own right.

Well, whatever the reason, we enjoyed Herman’s addition to the story. He brought just the right amount of drama to the story in his own unique ways.

Q: Is the entire storyline of Fatal Castle fiction or are there some grains of truth sprinkled in here and there beyond the historical elements of the castle?

Author Boito: The entire storyline is fiction, although it is true that the Indian government has requested the return of the Kohinoor.

The entire storyline is fiction?? Well, darn! We were hoping that some part of it might have been true. LOL! But that is interesting to know that the Indian government desires to have the Kohinoor returned to them.

Q: Will there be more drama and thrills for Clive is this a one and done type story?

Author Boito: I do have some ideas for sequels to the story and I may pursue those at some point. I have been asked by others and have noodled on some story ideas but it has not yet gone farther than that.

Oh! You do have some ideas for sequels?! Really? It’s rather exciting to know that others have asked this same question! Just goes to show that readers are truly enjoying this book!

Hopefully, a seed will take root and grow into another amazing story! But regardless, we thoroughly enjoyed Fatal Castle.

We know that not every story needs to be a part of a series, but we’re just curious since the historical elements were so intriguing.

Author Boito: Thank you!

Q: Did Bindar ever really care about Hedda or was it as Ashley surmised and Hedda was just a means to an end?

Author Boito: Bindar is a very unstable individual. I think he did care for Hedda as she helped him during a tumultuous time but ultimately he did use her and he lost his trust in her.

Readers will definitely get that sense from him, especially as things begin to devolve and go off the rails thanks to Clive. It’s unfortunate how things play out, but it works to keep readers engaged for sure.

Q: What was your favorite part of writing Fatal Castle?

Author Boito: Blending the history and the modern-day elements together to create the story.

We can agree that you did a really good job blending the history and the modern day together. You balance the information so effortlessly that it ends up pushing us readers to want to explore and learn more.

Q: Author Boito, what book would you recommend readers pick up after reading Fatal Castle?

Author Boito: I’m assuming you mean of mine? If so, I would recommend either of my earlier novels, “Bee Conspiracy” or “Valley Fliers.”

Alright fellow readers! If you’ve read and enjoyed Fatal Castle and haven’t read author Boito’s previous works, then these are some pretty solid recommendations!

For sure, “Bee Conspiracy” has caught our eye, so we look forward to checking that one out for sure.

Q: Are there any books that you are currently working for readers who want to follow your works to look forward to? If so, would you mind sharing a little bit about it?

Author Boito: I am currently working on a sequel to my popular eco-thriller, “Bee Conspiracy.” Its working title is “Bee Thievery.” The two main characters must team to solve the theft of beehives during the almond pollination season in California, where beehives are an essential commodity for crop cultivation.

Oooh! Sounds quite thrilling! So, if you’ve already read “Bee Conspiracy” then you definitely have something to look forward to! Haven’t read it yet? Good news! There’s plenty of time, we’re sure, to dive in before book two comes out!

Q: Is there anything that you’d like to share with our readers before you go?

Author Boito: I appreciate you reading, and please leave a review of any books you read!

Seems to be a common theme these days, right, fellow readers? Well, it makes sense! Reviews help indie authors especially! So, if you have the time, even a couple of sentences will do! So, read a book and enjoyed it? Leave a review so another can find it!

Author David Boito, we appreciate you taking the time to share with us here at Scribbles and our readers about your book, Fatal Castle! We look forward to reading more of your work in the future! Thank you so much for your time today!

We enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to read and review Fatal Castle, and you can check out the review here.

About the Author:

David Boito studied film at UCLA, where he also participated in the creative writing program led by acclaimed novelist Brian Moore. Boito’s first novel, “Valley Fliers,” received a Literary Titan Silver Award. His eco-thriller, “Bee Conspiracy,” was awarded as a finalist in the 2024 Storytrade Awards. He has written screenplays for Warner Bros and Revolution Studios. “Fatal Castle” is his third novel.