PARK CITY — Early on a Saturday morning, Jack Carr is sitting at his kitchen table, sipping his first cup of coffee of the day.
He’s framed by a view of one of Park City’s heavily forested mountains, wild and green from all of the recent rain. The drizzly gray sky overhead seems fitting for a scene in a political thriller where the protagonist pauses to gather his thoughts amid a riveting plotline. This is the story's moment of calm before the action, just before the hero jumps into a helicopter as something explodes below. It’s fiction, of course, but such a scene in Carr’s real life isn’t that hard to imagine.
As a father, former Navy SEAL and author of a new novel centered around global terrorism and a seemingly invincible special operations commando, Carr lives a life that is almost as compelling as the likes of Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher. But even though Carr was heavily influenced by decades of reading books of that genre, and his actual story looks a lot like those literary characters brought to life on the written page, he maintains that his hero, now starring in Carr's second and most recent novel "True Believer: A Thriller" (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, 496 pages), is nothing like him.
A calling
While it's true that Carr’s protagonist, James Reece, is also a former SEAL, uses the same knives and guns as Carr and has Carr's jawline and beard (as detailed on the novel's cover), today, Carr is responding to emails, preparing to launch a book tour, filming promotional YouTube videos and taking his son to an amusement park. Reece is probably chasing the bad guys somewhere in Russia.
“Though my time as a SEAL certainly influenced our choice of a protagonist, I am not James Reece,” Carr wrote in the preface of his first book, “The Terminal List”, which was published last year. “He is more skilled, witty and intelligent than I could ever hope to be. … He has the experience, training, skill and drive to administer justice on his terms.”
Although he is humble about his experiences, Carr is nothing if not driven. With a librarian mother and a grandfather who was killed in World War II, Carr always wanted two things: to join the military and to be an author — in that order.
His first steps toward the military were influenced by a host of authors who wrote novels with postwar veteran heroes that inspired him. Carr idolized the likes of authors Nelson DeMille, Tom Clancy and David Morrell, who created the character of Rambo. So when Carr read in Morrell’s novel, “The Brotherhood of the Rose”, that being a SEAL was the top of the pyramid in terms of training and difficulty, he knew that’s what he wanted to do. He was inspired by Richard Marcinko's autobiography “Rogue Warrior” to enlist first and become a sniper for six years. Carr liked the idea of working his way up to being an officer, and he did, before leaving his 20-year SEAL career in 2016.
I wanted to test myself and to serve my country. I feel so fortunate that I was able to make it out relatively unscathed.
“It was one of those things where it was just a calling,” Carr said. “People look for a crucible to test themselves. I wanted to test myself and to serve my country. I feel so fortunate that I was able to make it out relatively unscathed.”
Carr has never shied from a challenge, always looking for the most rewarding, if not difficult, way forward. Years of jumping out of planes, kicking in doors and riding in rough vehicles took a toll on his spine that required surgery, but one of life’s tests he didn’t seek is the reason Carr relocated his family to Park City not long after he left the Navy.
Down range
One of Carr's three children has a rare genetic disorder that requires him to have around-the-clock care. The child received the diagnosis — at the time, he was only the 13th case in the world to be identified — through the help of Ross Perot, whom Carr met through a mutual SEAL friend.
“He was amazing,” Carr said. “He did a lot for people, not for any recognition, but especially for military families, if he could help with something, he would do it. It was pretty special.”
While Carr’s other children spend their winters snowboarding and their summers rock climbing and horseback riding — the same as Carr did in California when he was a kid — Carr utilizes the National Ability Center, located in Park City, to provide similar opportunities for his son. The organization, which was first started in 1985 by a Vietnam veteran, has had such an impact on Carr’s family that he regularly volunteers to help and participates in fundraisers for the center.
The emotions he experienced while being deployed in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, knowing his special needs son and family were home without him, were part of the well from which Carr drew to tell Reece’s story. That’s where Carr said the similarities between himself and Reece lie. Reece is fiction, but all of the emotions he feels are real — they belong to Carr.
“This story is all fiction, but the emotions are all things I felt down range,” Carr said, using military lingo that refers to a combat zone. “I wanted to get the technical stuff right, the gear and that sort of thing, but I didn’t expect to delve so deeply into the emotions I felt down range and apply them to this fictional character. It ended up being very therapeutic.”
That sincerity is one thing that catapulted Carr to launch the beginning of his writing career so successfully. Through another SEAL contact, Carr became connected to one of his author idols, Brad Thor, who agreed to introduce Carr to renowned editor Emily Bestler at Simon & Schuster as a thank-you for his service. Thor helped Carr choose the right font, margins and spacing for his submission to the editor, but from there he was on his own.
You’ve been struck by lightning. She likes it.
When Bestler chose to publish Carr’s book, Thor called and told him, “You’ve been struck by lightning. She likes it.”
An authentic voice
So far, Carr’s first book has already been optioned for a movie, his second has just been released and his third is nearly in the editing stages. He’s already started on book four, and there are more to come.
“Jack Carr’s sales have progressed more quickly than most, and I point to his authenticity as the reason,” Bestler, senior vice president and publisher of Emily Bestler Books, wrote in an email. “The authenticity in his writing and storytelling, the authenticity that comes through in his interviews and social media and the authenticity that you get if you’re lucky enough to hear him speak at a book signing.”
Part of Carr’s authenticity is the same sense of humility he showed in the prologue of his first book, when he wrote that Reece was “more skilled, witty and intelligent” than him. Carr’s friends are convinced that’s one reason he’s been able to make connections and receive help from his fellow authors.
“When you get to know who he truly is, he is very cerebral, very humble, very caring and very much the person who goes, ‘I care about my friends,’” said Carr’s friend and fellow Park City resident, Hoby Darling, former CEO of Skullcandy and current president of Logitech. “He is one of those guys that you just have to have in your group of five people you spend the most time with because he will make you a better person.”
If you go …
What: Jack Carr book signing for "True Believer: A Thriller"
When: Thursday, Aug. 8, 7 p.m.
Where: King's English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East
Web: www.kingsenglish.com
Note: Places in the signing line are reserved for those who purchase a copy of "True Believer" from The King's English.