Take a Spy Home for the Holidays

Ah, yes... It's that time of year.

I want to thank everyone who read one of my books this year. You, my readers, are the reason why I write. I hope I've given you something worthwhile to think about. This year, we distributed over 33,000 copies of Spies Lie books!

The month just passed was a milestone for me. First, I was a NaNoWriMo member. I got a head start on CypherGhost, Book 7 of DS Kane's Spies Lie series. I'll be busy with that new book for at least the next nine or ten months. It's about a war between the hacker community and the government.

Also, just now being released: ProxyWar, Book 6 of the Spies Lie series. The paper version is now available at Amazon, and the ebook versions should be out in the next two weeks.

Finally, for those of you in Florida: On December 29 at 7:00 p.m., I will have an author event at Vault 39 Wine Cellar, 4580 Donald Ross Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. I'll be selling and signing paper versions of the Spies Lie books. Those who purchase one of my books will receive free wine and snacks, And, I will read passages from several of my books.

I hope the coming year brings you joy.

We’ll Always Have Paris

My thoughts lay today with the people of Paris, France. The ISIS attack last week, preceded by the Charlie Hebdo attack a few months ago, has shown that the  terminal disease called Islamic fundamentalism is at least as grim and deadly an undertaking as the Spanish Inquisition was, six hundred years ago. These events also punctuate the claim of atheists who, like myself, believe that religion is the most implacable cause of mass murder.

Imagine, as John Lennon proposed, there is no religion. Yes, there might still be occasional wars. Economic fundamentalism causes a few of those, but it is second to religion. But religious exterminations, of which there have been ever-so-many, would simply not exist.

Is there any reason to believe in god, when if you do believe, you must then reconcile that being’s existence, with world events such as those in which groups like ISIS and Islamic fundamentalist groups target peaceful, soft targets. No real “god” would permit this, and therefore, there must not be any entity called god out there. Those of you that pray are simply applying wishful thinking to the world.

Don’t pray for Paris. Do something tangible about it. Contribute some money to help the victims. ISIS consists of deluded human beings, who are motivated more by hopelessness than by their religious beliefs. I believe two additional things: First, every time we poke our noses into the Middle East, we make things there much worse. Taking an active role again in the mess we’re have already created won’t end the turmoil. The United States should assist those countries we call our allies, but not supply a presence. Second, ISIS must be exterminated, but it is not our role to do that. It is the role of the real stakeholders, the governments of neighboring countries that feat being overrun. So, not our job.

In an earlier blog entry, after spending two weeks in the Middle East a few years ago, I stated that “The Middle East has Always Been a Time Bomb.” No longer. Now it is the Middle East is exploding all over Europe.

Blog Tour for DS Kane's Baksheesh (Bribes), Book 5 of the Spies Lie series

Would you like to know more about what a former spy does after he's no longer serving his country? Of course you would. If this is your guilty pleasure, drop by any of these web sites where I'm being interviewed this week and next week:

All of my tour stops are listed here:  
November 9: It's Raining Books
November 11: Stormy Nights Reviewing and Bloggin' - review only
November 11: The Voluptuous Book Diva
November 12: Queen of the Night Reviews 
November 13: Reviews by Crystal 
November 16: Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews 
November 17: Christine Young 
November 18: BooksChatter 
November 19: Room With Books 
November 20: Long and Short Reviews 

I hope to see you there!

Cover Reveal: DS Kane's ProxyWar, Book 6 of the Spies Lie series

Yes, DS Kane's ProxyWar, Book 6 of the Spies Lie series will be released soon... in early December, 2015. The manuscript is currently being copyedited by master copyeditor Karl Yambert.

But, to whet your appetite, here's ProxyWar's cover, designed by the legendary Jeroen Ten Berge:

Decades in my past, I lived in Manhattan, three blocks south of the United Nations. In this cover, you can see the UN General Assembly building with it's row of flags dotting the left side of the cover, and the tall Secretariat Building  on the right side of the cover. Also visible are the two figures, a shooter on the right of the title, and a body lying under the title. The bleak, bare winter trees punctuate the scene at the top right edge.

I think this cover tells you enough to keep you shifting your weight on the balls of your feet, thinking, "Okay. Now, I want to read the story!"

Kirkus Reviews selects DS Kane's Baksheesh (Bribes) as a top book!

I just received another email from the folks at Kirkus Reviews (Anna Cooper):

"I just wanted to send the good news that your most recent review for "Baksheesh (Bribes)" was selected by our Indie Editors to be featured in Kirkus Reviews 10/1 Issue. Congratulations! Your review will appear as one of the 35 reviews in the Indie section of the magazine which is sent out to over 5,000 industry professionals (librarians, publishers, agents, etc.) Less than 10% of our Indie reviews are chosen for this, so it's a great honor. "

Note that its predecessor book in the series, GrayNet, was featured in Kirkus Reviews 9/15 Issue.

If you'd like to read the unexcerpted reviews of either book, pick up Kirkus Reviews (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/).

 

Here is an excerpt of the October Kirkus Review of Baksheesh (Bribes):

 

“In the fifth installment of the Spies Lie series, former covert operative Cassandra Sashakovich is finally ready to settle down with her family, though a plot to start World War III threatens to pull her back into danger.

At the conclusion of the fourth installment, GrayNet (2014), Cassie had barely survived being shot by an assassin determined to collect a bounty placed on her head. As she recovers both physically and mentally, Cassie, her boyfriend, Lee, and their adopted teenage daughter, Ann, plan for a new life in a new city under new identities. Hopefully, none of their old enemies—many of whom are still hungry for revenge—will find them. Cassie decides to sell her consulting agency, The Swiftshadow Group, to the Israeli mercenary Avram Shimmel and to finally put her obsession with great food to good use by opening a restaurant. Yet an obstacle arrives in the form of Amos Mastoff, the U.S. vice president who becomes president when the president-elect is assassinated the day after the election. Mastoff plans to make Christianity the sole religion in the world by wiping out Israel and rest of the Middle East via a few well-placed suitcase nukes obtained from a Russian arms dealer. The Swiftshadow Group must utilize all of their very special skills to stop Mastoff and his cronies before they wipe out half the world. To do that, they need Cassie’s talents as a hacker. Author Kane shows no sign of running out of wild plot twists and corrupt figures out to destroy Cassie, not to mention the world… readers will be swept away on the tidal wave of sexy, espionage-laced prose...the large ensemble of colorful and incredibly damaged characters… the reappearances of some seemingly forgotten central characters from the pre-Cassie books in the series.”

 

 

A Humble Thank You for the Promo Results for DS Kane's Swiftshadow, Book 3 of the Spies Lie series

From September 21 through 23, 2015, I offered free Kindle copies of DS Kane's Swiftshadow, Book 3 of the Spies Lie series to readers FREE. I am truly amazed at the results, and wish to thank everyone who downloaded the book.

Amazon distributed 7,735 copies of Swiftshadow over the three days. Over 100 of those were paid sales. I am forever in your debt for the popularity of my books. I am especially thankful for the 15,000 of you who already own the two books that preceded Swiftshadow.

Total sales of my books for for this year currently exceed 23,000 copies. My sixth book of the series, ProxyWar, is currently in production and should be available before Christmas. My superb marketer, Rebecca Berus of 2MarketBooks.com, is arranging promos for the three books that follow Swiftshadow. And, I'm currently outlining the seventh book in the series. I hope I can retain your interest as the series continues on.

And once again, thanks for your interest in my books.

Bloodridge is now available as an AUDIOBOOK!

Today, DS Kane's Bloodridge, Book 1 of the Spies Lie series was released by Audible as an AUDIOBOOK! Buy it here:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Bloodridge-Audiobook/B015NL1RWA?ref_=a_mycart_ad_c2a_1_3