FEATURED AUTHOR: SEELEY JAMES

ABOUT THE BOOK 



Have you ever been betrayed by your government, your best friend, and your fiancé—all at the same time?



Jacob is about to propose to his girl when he discovers the next generation of weapons are being shipped to our enemies. Factions in the government ask him to find the perpetrators while others work to make sure he fails. His intended fiancé does not understand his disappearance and he can’t give an explanation. Can he lose the woman he loves to save the nation? When Jacob sets out to expose the billionaire intending to auction off national secrets, he is fired, expelled, and hunted by the government that once awarded him medals. If he ever wants to return to his homeland, he must insert himself into the dangerous world of technology smugglers. It’s a place where only the aggressive and ruthless survive. In the cutthroat world of modern-day pirates, every breath he takes may be his last. As the bad guys close in and those who could deny him aid, he confronts a terrible choice: to complete his mission or take millions in cash and run. The former is a death sentence and the latter is a lonely future. He must ask himself, can he outsmart the most corrupt billionaires in history before democracy is destroyed?

Book Details


Title: Death and Betrayal: A Jacob Stearne Thriller


Author: Seeley James


Genre: thriller


Series: Sabel Security Series, book 8


Publisher: Machined Media (February 18, 2020)


Print length: 393 pages


On tour with: Partners in Crime Book Tours



LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH SEELEY JAMES

Things you need in order to write: a quiet space with a good view.

Things that hamper your writing: social media.

Things you love about writing: getting to create fascinating stories people enjoy reading.

Things you hate about writing: editing sentence structure.

Things you never want to run out of: my wife’s love.

Things you wish you’d never bought: a television in the bedroom.

Favorite foods: any Mexican food or grilled salmon.

Things that make you want to throw up:  Fois Gras (goose liver pate).

Favorite smell: rain in the desert which is scented with creosote and sage.

Something that makes you hold your nose: last week’s bean and seafood dish that isn’t tightly sealed and is hiding at the back of refrigerator shelf.

Something you like to do: hiking.

Something you wish you’d never done: killed that guy (just kidding!).

People you consider as heroes: the great pacifist including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

People with a big L on their foreheads: liars and obfuscators.

Things you’d walk a mile for: A great view.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: television ads.

Things you always put in your books: humor.

Things you never put in your books: sex.

Best thing you’ve ever done: marrying my wife.

Biggest mistake: marrying my first wife.

EXCERPT

Chapter 1

The man they called Ra stood on the Savannah’s main deck, staring hatred into the eyes of the general’s emissary. The smug bastard needed to learn a hard lesson about respect. Ra took several deep breaths, tamping down his growing agitation without betraying his emotions. The general had a good deal of money to spend. Ra held the emissary’s gaze as he cooled off. He said, “We’re talking about an auction for the most advanced weapon system the world has ever seen. An auction the general could easily win. What concerns could he possibly have?”
Ra resisted the urge to glance over the sea toward Monaco’s harbor. He was dying to see if his darling’s tender was on its way back from town, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted.
“The general does not believe you have what you claim.” The emissary said in his heavily accented English. He gestured with his arms wide, encompassing Ra’s superyacht. “I do not see it here on your little skiff.”
Behind his left shoulder, the emissary’s sycophantic lieutenant made an insolent face to match his boss.
The dig was childish. Ra had the biggest yacht in Monaco, a present to himself after making billions in commodities. Too big to dock in the harbor. Sure, it was post-season, and the Numina would drop anchor due east of him in a few weeks. Until then, the Savannah reigned supreme. He felt like gutting the slimy emissary for his rudeness. Instead, he smoothed his Kiton sport coat and puffed up his thin frame.
“Don’t be a fool,” Ra sneered. “If I kept Alvaria onboard, sleezy generals from around the world would send commandos to take it from me. In case that’s what you’re thinking, rest assured, I have security. We call them ‘the dogs.’ You’ve met two of them.” He gestured to two bulky men in black suits standing close by. “Fido and Rover. Spot keeps watch with a rifle in case someone approaches uninvited. There are more. I have a whole kennel.”
Ra turned his back on his guests and checked the harbor. He couldn’t wait for his darling to return but he needed to conclude this delicate business before then. He didn’t want her to see the kind of men he dealt with. The emissary wore a ludicrous uniform without insignia yet festooned with medals. His black hair was greased straight back with what might’ve been motor oil. The lieutenant dressed and groomed himself to match. The very definition of a toady.
“The general does not believe the system can do what you claim,” the emissary said.
“Oh, my misguided friend. Alvaria is the stuff of autocrats’ dreams.” Ra laid his hands on the railing, keeping his focus out to sea. “Imagine what it can do. At the push of a button, a hundred drones leap into the air, locate their target, and annihilate whoever you choose. Each drone on a single-purpose mission, never stopping until one of them achieves the objective.” He straightened up and turned to face the emissary. “No more political rivals. No more annoying reporters asking inconvenient questions. No more adversaries across your western border. Everyone doing as they’re told, all under the general’s control. As it should be. It’s science fiction—and it’s here today. If your general doesn’t want to bid on it, he won’t get to see the show we have scheduled.”
“The general is skeptical you can obtain this system.” The emissary crossed his arms and widened his stance. “The Americans have impenetrable security.”
“I stand on my reputation. Many times your poor general has failed to pay me in a timely manner, yet I have never failed to deliver what he needs. From rocket launchers to automatic rifles, they arrived on time and under budget. He would still be a lieutenant were it not for me making good on my promises. He knows damn well my word is gold. My plan has been in the works for years. I have all the right people in all the right places. Alvaria will fall into my hands at exactly the right moment. If he does not believe me, he won’t see the demonstration.” Ra paused before making a sympathetic face. “Until his rival uses it to target him.”
To his credit, the emissary didn’t flinch.
“Think about this,” Ra said. “If Iran acquires Alvaria, they could destroy the ruling classes of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in an afternoon. The next morning, they could annihilate Iraq’s parliament. Then, they invade. The price of oil skyrockets because they would control 24% of the world’s production. Sanctions are lifted under threat of an oil embargo. And just like that, the Persian Empire is reborn.”
The emissary thought while he took a long, deep breath. He pressed a finger to his lips and looked at the deck. After a long moment, he lifted his finger and shook it at Ra. “The general does not like the glimpses of the future you have illuminated. He does not want to participate in your auction. Instead of bidding for it, he will report you to the Americans. That way, no one will have this system.” He paused and smiled. “There will be no resurgent Persian Empire.”
Ra flicked a quick glance at Fido, who sprang into action. To the emissary, Ra said, “I am most disappointed to hear you say that. On a different subject, do you recall meeting my man Bonham in a café last month? Bonham is my second-in-command. He offered you money to turn against the general. Ah, I see from your surprise that you do recall the encounter vividly. Well, sport, the problem for you is that when you turned him down, your lieutenant did not.”
As the emissary’s surprise turned to shock, his gaze swiveled to his lieutenant. At that moment, Fido knelt at the emissary’s feet and clamped leg irons on his ankles. In disbelief, the emissary looked down at his shackles, then followed the attached chain to find Rover standing at the railing, holding a very large, very heavy stone. “Do you think you can scare—”
“You’ve been paid,” Ra said to the emissary’s lieutenant. He held out an old, razor-sharp dagger. “Slit his throat.”
The lieutenant stared at Ra in disbelief. “Now?”
“Yes, now. Or die with him. Your choice. Ah. You’ve seen the light. Good man. Right here, above the collar. Stand behind him so you don’t get blood on yourself.”
As the young man weighed the knife in his hand and moved behind his former boss, Ra took out his phone, set it to video, and pressed record. The knife slashed through the stunned and wordless emissary’s neck. Blood sprayed forward. Rover dropped the rock overboard. The chain’s slack disappeared and yanked the emissary’s body with it, over the railing and into the deep.
The young man looked up at Ra, who kept the video rolling. The psychological weight of his first murder began to contort the young lieutenant’s expression. As he pondered his rapidly changing allegiances, he looked down to find Rover placing leg irons on his ankles. Behind him, Fido stood at the railing with another rock. He looked back at Ra and squeaked, “Why? I did what—”
“I think it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Ra asked. “You can’t be trusted.”
Over his shoulder he saw the tender bearing his darling returning from shore. She would be onboard in five minutes. No time for long goodbyes.
He turned back to face the lieutenant as Rover slit the young man’s throat. “There are four more of your kind in the general’s private guard. He’ll be dead by morning, so you’ll be in good company.”
The stone dropped. The chain tightened. The lieutenant’s body flew over the railing into the deep.
Ra looked at the pool of blood covering the deck. He snapped his fingers. A steward appeared. “You see this ugly mess? Scrub it clean.”
***
Excerpt from Death and Betrayal by Seeley James.  Copyright 2020 by Seeley James. Reproduced with permission from Machined Media. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

His near-death experiences range from talking a jealous husband into putting the gun down to spinning out on an icy freeway in heavy traffic without touching anything. His resume ranges from washing dishes to global technology management. His personal life stretches from homeless at 17, adopting a 3-year-old at 19, getting married at 37, fathering his last child at 43, hiking the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim at 59, and taking the occasional nap.

His writing career ranges from humble beginnings with short stories in The Battered Suitcase, to being awarded a Medallion from the Book Readers Appreciation Group. Seeley is best known for his Sabel Security series of thrillers featuring athlete and heiress Pia Sabel and her bodyguard, the mentally unstable veteran Jacob Stearne. One of them kicks ass and the other talks to the wrong god.

His love of creativity began at an early age, growing up at Frank Lloyd Wright’s School of Architecture in Arizona and Wisconsin. He carried his imagination first into a successful career in sales and marketing, and then to his real love: fiction.

Connect with Seeley:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |   Twitter  |  Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble   

FEATURED AUTHOR: GRAY BASNIGHT

ABOUT THE BOOK

An innocent math professor runs for his life as teams of hitmen try to prevent publication of their government’s dark history. 


College professor Sam Teagarden stumbles upon a decades-old government cover-up when an encoded document mysteriously lands in his in-box, followed by a cluster of mini-drones programmed to kill him. 


That begins a terrifying flight from upstate New York, to Washington, to Key West as Teagarden must outfox teams of hitmen equipped with highly sophisticated technology. While a fugitive, he races to decode the document, only to realize the dreadful truth—it’s the reason he’s being hunted because it details criminal acts committed by the U.S. in the 20th Century. 


If he survives and publishes the decoded document, he’ll be a heroic whistle blower. But there is no guarantee. He may also end up dead.


Book Details:

Title: Flight of the Fox

Author: Gray Basnight

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Publisher: Down & Out Books (July 23, 2018)

Print length: 381pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH GRAY BASNIGHT

A few of your favorite things: Playing with my dog, reading, writing, eating, traveling (especially by train), sitting on a porch during sunset.
Things you need to throw out: Anything made of plastic.


Things you need in order to write: A PC or laptop.  (The best thing about computers is the backspace key because I’m a lousy typist.)
Things that hamper your writing: Interruptions both external and internal.


Things you love about writing: The best thing is when it goes well. A good writing session is what I imagine it must be like to have a good work shift as a brick layer. To be able to look back and see the bricks or stones taking shape must be a satisfying sense of accomplishment. 
Things you hate about writing: The worst is when it goes poorly. But I’ve learned that on those days you need to stay in the chair. Keep staring at the screen. Okay, get up to water the plants or walk the dog. But returning to the chair is a must. At the very least, the bad days allow you to know there’s a real problem and where. Afterward, both the conscious and subconscious mind will be working that problem. Sometimes the solution comes while falling asleep (keep pen and paper next to the bed) or the next morning in the shower.  

Easiest thing about being a writer:  Nothing is really easy about the creative end of writing. It’s debatable as to who first said one of the all-time great quotes about writing, that goes something like this: “Writing is easy, all you have to do is sit down at the keyboard and slice open a vein.” Once a contract is signed, I enjoy working with a good copyeditor who’s dedicated to working in tandem to improve the manuscript. For most of us, that give and take is a vital part of the product.      
Hardest thing about being a writer: There isn’t any one thing. It’s all difficult and frustrating. But one ever-present roadblock tends to be the business end of writing where agents, editors and publishing houses are increasingly more selective as the industry evolves through tectonic changes.  It’s perfectly understandable that fewer titles receive attention from the big houses, but that doesn’t make it less bumpy for both published and aspiring writers.

Things you love about where you live: In New York City, I love that all eight million of us are in the vortex together, yet at the same time we can all be alone within the crowd. 
Things that make you want to move: Parking tickets.


Things you never want to run out of: Coffee.
Things you wish you’d never bought: My last donut.


Favorite foods: Bread, butter, potatoes, onions, garlic, beans, nuts, peas, pasta, shellfish, chicken and pork. As for cuisine: Southern, Italian, Mexican, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese.
Things that make you want to throw up: Liver.

Favorite music: Blues, classic rock, and classical.
Music that make your ears bleed: Contemporary corporate-managed teenie-bopper pop.

Something you’re really good at: Bowling (but I don’t do it much).

Something you’re really bad at: Singing, which is why I never try.


Something you wish you could do: Anything musical, especially blues guitar or classical violin.  Oh—what magic.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Pop my knuckles.

People you consider as heroes: My only true heroes are public school teachers.

People with a big L on their foreheads: This is really gross I know, but I can’t stand it when people talk with their mouth full of food or have other equally disgusting table manners. It’s weirdly ironic, but famous chefs and other foodies are some of the worst offenders.   



Favorite places you’ve been: Paris, Madrid, Porto, Venice, Key West.  

Places you never want to go to again: My mom’s nursing home in Richmond, Virginia.

Favorite books: Robinson Caruso, Moll Flanders, Around the World in Eighty Days, War of the Worlds, The Sun Also Rises, Intruder in the Dust, Shadows in Paradise, In Cold Blood, Travels with my Aunt.  

Books you would ban: None/never.

Things that make you happy: Laughter, seeing animals in the wild, a good book.  
Things that drive you crazy: Technology that doesn’t work properly makes me want to move to Tibet and live in a cave. The old joke that you need a 12-year-old to fix the glitch really doesn’t apply any longer. Everything interfacing with everything else makes it all so complicated and mysterious.   Much of the time the cable guy and the clerk in the phone store haven’t a clue how to fix the issues.   And sometimes they make it worse.         

EXCERPT FROM FLIGHT OF THE FOX

He knew the pages would be historic if made public.  It would be a mean revelation that many would prefer to leave hidden, to keep the past cloaked in beguiling innocence.

He opened the sliding glass door just wide enough to slip out.  Once outside, he stooped low and pushed it closed with a foot.

Crouching low, there was a strong smell of freshly cut grass and store bought chemical fertilizer.  He moved slowly, going as easy on his still-healing knees as he could while maneuvering down the embankment of the neighboring yard, Ernest Blair’s yard.  He paused every few feet, cocking his head, first to one side, then the other, listening for any sound that might be out of place with the night.  The most prominent noise was the lapping of tiny waves at the shore’s edge caused by a light breeze.  Beyond that, the night was still.        

      

OTHER BOOKS BY GRAY:

The Cop with the Pink Pistol
Shadows in the Fire
Audio sample of Flight of the Fox
Full interview with Gray






ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Gray Basnight worked for three decades in New York City as a radio and television news producer, writer, editor, reporter, and newscaster.  He lives in New York with his wife and golden retriever, where he is grateful to be dedicated to his lifelong passion of writing. 

Basnight’s novels and works-in-progress cross several genres, including crime, historical, YA, and literary fiction. At the moment, he’s available for readings and interviews for his run-for-you-life thriller Flight of the Fox.


Connect with Gray:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Down & Out Books

FEATURED AUTHOR: GRAY BASNIGHT

ABOUT THE BOOK 

An innocent math professor runs for his life as teams of hitmen try to prevent publication of their government’s dark history.

College professor Sam Teagarden stumbles upon a decades-old government cover-up when an encoded document mysteriously lands in his in-box, followed by a cluster of mini-drones programmed to kill him.

That begins a terrifying flight from upstate New York, to Washington, to Key West as Teagarden must outfox teams of hitmen equipped with highly sophisticated technology. While a fugitive, he races to decode the document, only to realize the dreadful truth—it’s the reason he’s being hunted because it details criminal acts committed by the U.S. in the 20th Century.

If he survives and publishes the decoded document, he’ll be a heroic whistle blower. But there is no guarantee. He may also end up dead.

Book Details

Title: Flight of the Fox

Author’s name: Gray Basnight

Genre: Suspense/Thriller
 

Publisher: Down & Out Books (July 23, 2018)

Print length: 381 pages




INTERVIEW WITH GRAY BASNIGHT

Gray, what’s the story behind the title of your book? 
It was originally called The Dear John File, but the publisher correctly worried that it may be misunderstood as a romance novel.  I changed it to Flight of the Fox, which I think is better, and certainly more intriguing.  

Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
This is definitely a series. Flight of the Fox is the first title. The sequel is now in progress. It too will explore a subject rooted in history that some readers may find controversial. Meantime, number three in the series is cooking somewhere deep in my cerebellum.  

Where’s home for you?
New York.

Where did you grow up?
Richmond, Virginia.

What’s your favorite memory?
Saturday bus trips by myself to downtown Richmond for a movie, followed by a long exploration of my favorite book store on Broad Street where I purchased paperbacks priced between 50 cents and $1.95. I typically came home with two to four books each trip. 


If you had an extra $100 a week to spend on yourself, what would you buy? 
I truly have no idea.  I need nothing at all except peace on Earth and coffee.


What’s the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made?
An expensive mountain bike which taught me that biking in the mountains is…um…difficult. It also taught me that riding a mountain bike in the city is…um…not fun.  

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
Be tolerant and cultivate your garden.

What do you love about where you live?
In all modesty, New York City is the greatest city in the world.  The reason why is because it is the world in miniature.  

Have you been in any natural disasters?
Not really. I was around for Superstorm Sandy which hurt many and damaged a great deal of property. I personally suffered little impact, except for the prolonged power outage.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
I do it every day by sitting down to the keyboard to write.


What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Sitting down every day at the keyboard to write.

What’s one thing you wish your younger writer self knew?
If you want to be a writer, put your butt in the chair for four to six hours a day, that’s the only rule. 


If someone gave you $5,000 and said you must solve a problem, what would you do with the money?
This question is a real challenge. My inclination is to give it to a worthy charity, but that doesn’t completely solve any particular problem in its entirety. So, how about this—I’d buy a restaurant’s services for a full meal period, either lunch or dinner. Then I’d bus in all the homeless and hungry people I could find in need of a full meal. It’s not a solution to hunger. I’d rather teach a homeless person to fish than buy a homeless person a fish. But for five-grand, hey, abatement of hunger is at least a worthy temporary solution.   



What makes you nervous?
Drivers who behave as though the highway were their own personal NASCAR track and cops who do nothing about them because they focus only on speeders.


What makes you happy?
My golden retriever, especially when she misbehaves by trying to steal food from the kitchen counter by stealth. 

Who are you?
I am an American who believes in the promise of America, and I’m a writer.

How did you meet your spouse? Was it love at first sight?
I met her in Studio Three at WOR Radio in NYC and liked her immediately because she popped her knuckles. Naw, not really love at first sight.  How about: like at first sight.

What are your most cherished mementoes?
My well-preserved comic book collection which I keep safe in a New Jersey rental storage bin. It’s all Silver Age with a lot of Superman, Superboy, Uncle Scrooge, Blackhawk, The Haunted Tank, Herbie, and many others.  

Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
Lonely genius.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”  - Twain

If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
Paris, in the Montmartre neighborhood.

What would you like people to say about you after you die?
He was a good writer.

What’s your favorite line from a book?
“I could be bound within a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.”  - Hamlet

How did you create the plot for this book?
By inventing the characters and letting them take me on their journey. Oddly, the subject of the book was born in 2011 while watching Ellen DeGeneres interview Clint Eastwood about his movie “J. Edgar.” At the time, I’d been wracking my brain for an event, or a period in history that could spark a thriller in the mold of alternative history. I found it during that interview. Long story short: Mr. Eastwood said the “jury is still out” as to whether J. Edgar Hoover was gay. I believe Mr. Eastwood was mistaken about that. And—that—sets up the plot for Flight of the Fox. 

Is your book based on real events?
In part, yes. It’s loosely based on my emotional reaction, and my continuing bitterness over Vietnam, the assassinations of two Kennedys, Dr. King, and finally—9/11.

Who are your favorite authors?
So very many: Daniel Dafoe, Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Somerset Maugham, Graham Green, Erich Maria Remarque, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Truman Capote, Carson McCullers, Sylvia Plath, Saul Bellow, Isabel Allende.


What book are you currently reading and in what format?
Tangerine, by Christine Mangan in hardback.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
Morning and afternoon, in solitude.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
As a freshman at North Carolina Wesleyan College, after taking a composition assessment test, the chairman of the English Department called me into his office and told me I displayed superior writing skill, that he was impressed, and that he hoped I’d work on developing it. That did it for me. I was eighteen-years-old. In that moment, I became committed to writing. 

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
I worked for several years as a broadcast news writer at 1010 WINS, a major all-news radio station in New York City. It was a terrific place to hone both journalistic and fundamental writing skills. Cranking out accurate, well written stories in a highly abbreviated format under intense time pressure can be likened to the Marine Corps of writing. It’s a difficult, challenging job because if you get it wrong or write it poorly—you will hear from the newscaster who must read your stuff.  

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
New York Public Library, the main branch on Fifth Avenue. Shy of the Library of Congress, it’s the best for research. And the Rose Main Reading room is spectacular. Whenever I go there to sit and write for a few hours, I feel like I’ve stepped back into history. My laptop is plugged in, but I’m sitting in a 19th Century cathedral of scholarship.

You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Robinson Caruso. He’s one of the great didactic and heroic figures of literary fiction, the ultimate example of playing the hand you were dealt. He not only played it and survived, but he prevailed.      

What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
In 2013, I attended a Q&A literary panel in NYC. Well-known editors and agents were on the dais.  Afterward, without knowing me or ever reading anything I’d written, an editor with a large and well-known publishing house said to my face: “I doubt you could write anything I’d be interested in.” As for dealing with it, I’m still trying. 

What would your dream office look like?
I already have it: a tiny walk-in closet loaded with books and knickknacks. I call it my in-utero hideaway.

What are you working on now?
A sequel to Flight of the Fox as mentioned above. I’m also fine-tuning a YA manuscript about a sixteen-year-old girl named Junior Binét with a genius IQ. Readers who love Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson will recognize Junior as a contemporary, female version of Jim Hawkins.  




READ AN EXCERPT FROM FLIGHT OF THE FOX




One

The officers spotted him while straining to hold their K-9’s. One of them pointed, yelled an order, and all three released their dogs.
That’s when Teagarden ceased being a smart fox. In that moment he became a dumb fox. He could think of only one thing.
And that one thing was as dumb as they come.
Run!
He bolted as hard as his creaky knees could manage. The nearby presence of a subway entrance helped. Once underground, it was dumb luck that a train was entering the station at that moment.
Paying the fare never occurred to him, but getting over the turnstile wasn’t pretty. There was no way he was going to jump it like an ordinary fare beater. His lousy knees forced him to pause, hoist his weight to sit on the turnstile edge, pull up his legs, spin his butt, and delicately slide over to stand down on the opposite side.
The police dogs had no such limitations. All three were in the station and plowing under the turnstiles as the train doors opened. Their momentary confusion amid the waiting crowd gave Teagarden enough time to move down the platform by one car-length.
As he entered the train, he saw the K-9 trio casually stepping aboard the adjacent car as though it were their daily commute. In the crush of passengers, the conductor must not have noticed because he closed the doors and the train pulled from the station before the pursuing cops caught up.
Unbelievable. If anyone ever makes a movie about this, no one will think this scene remotely possible.
It was a downtown N-Train. “N,” as in nuts. “N,” as in nasty.

Excerpt Copyright © 2018 Gray Basnight. Used with permission of Down & Out Books.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gray Basnight worked for three decades in New York City as a radio and television news producer, writer, editor, reporter, and newscaster.  He lives in New York with his wife and golden retriever, where he is dedicated to writing fiction. His published work includes a detective/romance novel, The Cop with the Pink Pistol; a Civil War historical novel, Shadows in the Fire; and now Flight of the Fox, a run-for-your-life thriller. Works in progress include YA and literary fiction. Like most with a passion for writing, it’s been with him all his life, or at least from second grade when, at the age of seven, reading took hold and never let go. When not writing, Gray is reading and thinking about the current project or ideas for the next manuscript. 

Connect with Gray:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Down & Out Books

FEATURED AUTHOR: JAMES MOUSHON

A 6-PACK of MYSTERIES FOR THE HOLIDAYS 

Operation Alpha Dog released November 23, 2015, now only 99 cents on Amazon

A 6-pack of Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Stories by James Moushon 
Mystery, Murder, Intrigue, and Espionage

ABOUT THE BOOK  

Again we catch up with CIA Agent Jonathon Stone in a collection of his latest adventures. We follow Jonathon as he moves from trying to catch gun runners to solving a terrorist plot in the Los Angeles Harbor to an assassination in Palm Springs to stopping a NSA leak of information.

The collection includes a 6-pack of Jonathon Stone short stories. As always, Jonathon’s ops include a lot of mystery, lots of espionage, some thrilling events and suspense. Being a CIA agent working domestically has its unique situations, and Stone seems to take advantage of them.

Operation Hidden Truth

A plea bargain turns deadly and a known gun runner is the primary suspect. Jonathon Stone becomes involved with the FBI to try to catch the elusive terrorist. With espionage and government secrets in play, the DHS suddenly becomes a problem. Jonathon needs to be on top of his game for this op.

Operation Misdirection

A female CIA agent is found dead in a motel in Long Beach and her husband, a Long Beach detective, quickly becomes the prime suspect. Jonathon Stone is given the task of investigating the murder of one of his own. His findings reveal the dead agent’s unscheduled trips to the Middle East, a cover up by the FBI and espionage.

Operation Adrift

An empty cargo ship suddenly appears in the LA Harbor. Problem: apparently there are no passengers or crew. Jonathon Stone finds out that the ship was abandoned at sea and the CIA had been tracking the vessel from the Far East. The op seems to be stalled until Jonathon gets information from an unexpected source which leads him to a terrorist plot on American soil.

Operation Red Dragon
Jonathon Stone’s plans for a quiet gambling experience is interrupted by the sighting of a known gun for hire from Mexico. A casual weekend in the desert for Jonathon changes into an apparent assassination plot. With the FBI and the Secret Service involved, Jonathon tries to apprehend the elusive hit man before he can do damage.

Operation Runaway

NSA information leaked by a spy sends Jonathon Stone and his fellow agent, Chuck Chun to Hawaii to stop the flow of information. Is our suspect a whistleblower or is it espionage? Their assignment: neutralize and stop the flow of information. At a luau in Paradise, they get help from an unlikely source before Jonathon and Chuck can complete their mission.

Operation Deadline

A hit and run death of a man on the CIA’s watch list sends Jonathon Stone on another op. This time he teams with FBI Agent Jodi Shannon. They quickly find out it was a planned murder and the victim was part of an investigative reporter’s study of a Middle Eastern student group. Then, a second murder with a similar MO occurs and Jonathon is sent in a different direction.

EXCERPT FROM OPERATION ALPHA DOG

Prologue

My name is Jonathon Stone. Like a lot of single, All-American men I enjoy gambling and drinking and the ladies.

I am a writer for the Real Sportsman Magazine. At one time our offices were located in downtown Long Beach, CA. On the main floor was a complete magazine group with secretaries and a writing staff that produced a monthly magazine.

Being a writer is a realistic, workable cover because I am, in reality, a Special Agent for the CIA. I am assigned to the west coast based – Far East Operation Center located in San Francisco.

In the basement of that office building was a full blown CIA operation with a security setup and computer center.

About a year ago, our cover was blown and the staff was scattered to the wind. My boss, Russ Evans, changed my status to At Large and kept me in the Long Beach, CA area. Actually, Belmont Shore, if you want to be more specific.

I am what my fellow agents call an Asset On Call. I may show up anywhere in the world.
As a footnote, we also handle the Domestic Operation - Terrorism (DOT) division. It was formed to handle terrorist threats inside the U.S. after DHS took control of intelligence.
This group is not on the Company’s organization chart.

Jonathon Stone

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Moushon is a mystery writer and a published writer in the electronic document field.



Starting over 15 years ago, he helped lead the startup of the electronic forms industry in the creation, conversion, and usage of electronic forms by supplying that industry with a continuing source of published literature, software products, and training seminars. 

In 2003, Moushon changed his focus to ebooks and their development. 

He is the author of the Jonathon Stone Mystery Novels. He has published three books: Black Mountain Secrets, Game of Fire and Operation Alpha Dog, a collection of short stories featuring Jonathon Stone.



He is currently wearing two hats. He is a mystery writer and a book publishing blogger.


HBS Author's Spotlight is intended to help authors get exposure in the book publishing industry. He has interviewed and showcased over 450 authors to date.



HBS Mystery Reader's Circle provides information about the latest novels and what is coming next from a collection of bestselling and outstanding authors in the mystery, thrillers, historical fiction, and crime genre.



eBook Author's Corner is a collection of author advice and studies including marketing, social media, and other major topics created to help writers in today's ever changing world of book publishing.



He has spent the majority of his adult life developing computer systems and thinking about writing mysteries.



James's website is: www.jamesmoushon.com



To contact him, e-mail: james.moushon@gmail.com

BUY THE BOOKS

FEATURED AUTHOR: PAUL HOLLIS

ABOUT THE BOOK  

A terrorist’s plot, the assassination of a prime minister, holds the key to an apocalyptic plan to destroy Europe’s economy. It’s impossible to stop, but one man doesn’t know enough to think the world can’t be saved. He’s no hero; not clever or capable, talented or tested. The Hollow Man is just trying to survive in an uncertain climate where terrorism is changing the rules of how we live.

INTERVIEW WITH PAUL HOLLIS

Paul, how did you get started writing and when did you become an “author?”
After retiring early from my day job, I used to sit with friends on the porch of my country home to reminisce. We spat tobacco juice into the yard as we took turns telling old stories. Okay, it was the local pub and none of us dipped or smoked. Curiously though, the group was always interested in my stories. One encouraged me to write a book about a few of my early exploits. She asked, “Do you have something better to do?” Apparently, I didn’t.

It was more fun than I imagined. The manuscript took a year to draft, rewrite several times, professionally edit, and publish. But I didn’t feel like a real author until I held a copy of the paperback in my hand.

That is an awesome feeling. What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I love writing dialogue. This is where characters come to life. We can describe their idiosyncrasies and characteristics. We can position them with thoughts and feelings. We can thrust them into circumstances to watch them squirm. But what comes out of their mouths immediately adds a third dimension to their being and the character jumps off the page.

How long is your to-be-read list?
My to-be-read list is down to about twenty. It contains the latest from Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Jonathan Kellerman, Kathy Reichs, and Lee Child. I learn something about plotting, characters or building suspense every time I read their books.

What books do you currently have published?
To date, I have published one book called The Hollow Man.

The Hollow Man traces some of my experiences traveling through Europe as a young man. At the time, terrorism was on the rise and I had been assigned to learn as much as I could about it. Most early acts of terror were specific, personal and damage was focused on a distinct, definable enemy. But terrorism was beginning to change its strategy to the familiar, senseless chaos we recognize today. The death of political figures no longer seemed to bother us as much as these new, random attacks against our children. Targets of innocence became preferable for these people because this kind of shock and hurt hit closer to our hearts and the fear inside us grew larger with each incident.

How long have you been a writer?
My early life showed no signs of literary talent; in fact, I paid a girl to write a required poem for me in high school. But as they say, circumstances change. I entered university at the end of 1967 and fell into a blossoming subculture that reshaped my reality, figuratively and perhaps a little too literally. My majors became physiology and English literature so I could better understand people and maybe someday write about it. I began writing my own poetry and short subjects, but life happened soon after graduation. I placed all aspirations on hold and jumped into the world head first.

That is, until I retired from IBM in 2009. For forty years, something Ben Franklin said had bounced around my brain. “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.” I thought I might cover both bases by writing about something I did as a young man. I’ve been a full-time writer since 2011.

How often do you tweet?
On average, I tweet about ten new and unique messages per day spread out more or less evenly over a sixteen hour period. With book marketing messages, I intersperse writing tips designed to help other writers with our craft.

I also retweet several hundred or more messages per day for followers. As important as my own tweets are to me, retweets demonstrate a real support of fellow authors and other followers.  Retweets tell Twitter followers you have read and liked their tweet and believe it is valuable information more people should read. As a result of this mutual respect, my own tweets are retweeted dozens of time and reach as many as a half million viewers.

Many of my strongest relationships over the years have been cultivated via mutual support. The followers who help get your message out to potential customers are key to selling books. Along with an author website/page and the type of visibility coming only from wonderful bloggers and reviewers like you, Twitter should be considered another cornerstone of any author’s social media platform.

How do you feel about Facebook?
Facebook is great for connecting with old friends and virtual friends, watching animal videos, pretending you’re an amateur psychiatrist, making fun of what everyone is eating, and being glad you ate what you did. A Facebook poster also has the option to send posts directly to other forms of social media like Twitter in case anyone missed their misery, attempt at humor, or this morning’s waffle special at Denny’s.

But it also has its downside. This form of social media is very time-consuming and a total distraction from writing. Every time I login, Facebook is like the worst movie I’ve ever watched but for some reason only a neurologist can answer, I must see the end to feel complete. There is no easier way for me to crawl under the covers with procrastination.

For what would you like to be remembered?
I want readers to remember I was a decent writer who entertained them for a while.

What scares you the most?
The dead. Here’s the true story of how I got my nickname, Doc:
When I was in high school, I took a job as a clean-up guy in a very busy mortuary owned by twin brothers. A few days into the first week, I was sweeping the basement where bodies were kept for embalming prep. A scratching noise broke into the music in my head. I glanced up through the dim light and dust to see a body slowly rising from a metal gurney. Strange sounds were coming from beneath the sheet. The thing was between me and the door.
As I sprinted by, I used the end of the broom as a jousting pole, knocking the body backward off the table. A thunk and a moan reached after me, but I kept running; up the stairs, past the chapel, through the main office, and out the front door. I was two blocks away by the time one of the brothers caught me in his car. He had to cut off my path to get me to stop.

“Hey,” he yelled out the window. “That was just my brother Bob having a little fun with you.”

“I quit,” I said.

“Sorry. All right then, come on by and pick up the money we owe you.”

“You can keep it.”

He sat looking at me a long time before speaking again.

“Can I have my broom back,” he finally said.

That's a great story. What five things would you never want to live without?
I thought a lot about this question. The five things I couldn’t live without are indoor plumbing, hammers, automatic weapons, a third grade education, and Wal-Mart Super Centers for all my hunting and gathering needs. Life would be good.

Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?
Chris Rock because life should be a comedy, not a tragedy.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
Hell, yeah!

Great answer. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
I’m a little of both in a passive aggressive sort of way. I’m an extrovert until my mouth gets me into trouble, then I turn introvert fueled by indirect resistance to the demands of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation.

What is the most daring thing you've done?
The most daring thing I’ve ever done was imagining I had a story to tell that people might want to read. I hadn’t written anything of this magnitude before and knew being an author was no easy job. To succeed, I had to see it as simply another of my first-time adventures like Woodstock, living in Paris without a word of French in my pocket, or jumping from an airplane then wondering if my chute was going to open.

In writing and publishing The Hollow Man, there were remembered experiences to sort through. Bits of which I never imagined would ever come to light. Yet there were the events, the people, and the stress, neatly packaged into a strange sequence of words called a novel. And I hoped no one would run away.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” -Oscar Wilde Authors take note. Even a bad review is still a review. 

True. 
What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
A gentleman from County Cork, Ireland gave me my worst review, a two star slapping across the face. “I gave up on this novel after chapter 11. I kept waiting for the story to ignite and engage my attention but it failed to do so. I am at a loss to account for the rave reviews it has on Amazon.”

My first reaction was, he’s really not going to like the sequel to The Hollow Man. London Bridge Is Falling Down chronicles the ‘Troubles’ between England and Ireland during the 1970’s. But honestly, a writer should remember your book isn’t macaroni and cheese. It will never please everyone, every time. Listen to criticism and extract meaningful thoughts. Examine the critic’s statements from all sides then apply what needs to be applied. Be honest with yourself and you’ll know what should be done.

You're right. You can be the ripest, juiciest, sweetest peach, but there will always be people who don't like peaches. 
Do you have a favorite book?
More than any book I can read over and over, I continue to be drawn back to my favorite twentieth-century poets. The poetry of T.S. Elliot, W.H. Auden, and Dylan Thomas has done more to shape who I am as a writer than any other. An American, an Englishman, and a Welshman have taught me in my writing to search for the exact word needed by its sound, its meaning, its shape, and its feel to create my own form of poetry in my prose. At the very least, their words never fail to lift me above whatever sea bottom I may be roaming at the moment.


How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?
One of my favorite books is The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. The book is an early classic thriller from John Le Carre portraying Western espionage methods as morally inconsistent with democratic values. Though movies must represent the details of a full length novel in an hour-and-a-half slice across the top of the iceberg, I thought the original movie version generally kept the author’s feel and intent intact. Scenes had an air of authenticity throughout, helped by the black and white photography.


If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
A rolling stone gathers no moss.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a sequel to The Hollow Man called London Bridge is Falling Down.  By the early 1970’s, animosities between England and Ireland had become razor sharp. Mass bombings and cross border clashes were constant reminders of Ireland’s struggle to be united and free. The media had dubbed these conflicts “The Troubles” which had already claimed almost a thousand lives and there was no end in sight. Militant activities were spiking amid rumors the IRA had developed a list of targets designed to bring England to her knees. Like The Hollow Man, London Bridge is Falling Down is based on true events and includes some of the same, unforgettable characters. Surviving Prague is the third installment.

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Frosting
Laptop or desktop? Laptop
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Bill Murray
Emailing or texting? Both
Indoors or outdoors? Indoors
Tea: sweet or unsweet? Unsweet (diabetic)
Plane, train, or automobile? Any, as long as it’s going somewhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Hollis always had wanderlust, living in twelve states and eventually working in all fifty, luring him with the idea of touring the world at someone else’s expense. He has lived and worked in forty-eight countries across five continents while teaching companies about growing global implications.

Paul’s travel experiences inspire the novels in The Hollow Man series, bringing the streets and villages of Europe to life and offering a unique viewpoint to his mesmerizing thrillers.

Connect with Paul:

Website  |  
Blog  |  
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Featured Author: David Khara

France Book Tours brings French author David Khara here today to talk about his novel, The Bleiberg Project, an espionage thriller, first published in French by Le French Book, Inc. and adapted into English by blockbuster movie translator Simon John. The Bleiberg Project won the Blue Moon prize for best thriller and has sold over 100,000 copies already. It is being made into a movie.

About the book:

Are Hitler’s atrocities really over? Find out in this adrenaline-pumping ride to save the world from a conspiracy straight out of the darkest hours of history.

1942, Poland. The head of the SS meets secretly with a scientist in charge of a major Third Reich project.

Present day. After another late night with yet another woman whose name he doesn’t remember, self-pitying golden boy trader Jay Novacek learns that his long-lost father has died, precipitating events that lead him to board a plane to Zurich. He’s got a Nazi medallion in his pocket, a hot CIA bodyguard next to him, and a clearly dangerous Mossad agent on his tail. What was his father investigating? Why was his mother assassinated? Why are unknown sides fighting over him with automatic weapons? Far from his posh apartment, he races to save the world from a horrific conspiracy. Can it be stopped?


Praise for The Bleiberg Project

“Fascinating, written with a sharp style, shock value and a lot of humor.”
– Serge Perraud, http://www.lelitteraire.com.”

“Impossible to put down.”
– France Inter

Interview with David Khara

David, which character did you most enjoy writing?Jeremy is by far the most enjoyable character I’ve ever written. Getting into his head was pretty fun since he has a very unique, desperate sense of humor. Also, I enjoyed starting off with him as he’s stuck in a deep depression with low self-esteem leading him to care for no one, including himself, and then, slowly, step by step, bringing him back to life as he meets Jacky and Eytan.

Are any of your characters inspired by real people? Actually, all my characters existed in real life; at least in both the way they think and behave. But they do not come out of one person, but several. Nobody around me is safe, since I constantly listen to people, and study their personalities in order to feed my characters.
Eytan is the only one who was been inspired by one person, surprisingly a woman named Simone Lagrange who was arrested by the Gestapo, tortured, deported to the death camps and survived. She played a key role in Klaus Barbie’s arrest and trial in the 1980s. She’s an impressive woman of great strength, with an amazing energy. The kind of person we all have something to learn from.

Are you like any of your characters?My writing is not about me; it never is, and never will be. The real thing is that I use every experience or feeling I’ve been through to feed my characters should it prove relevant. I do this just to get the right emotion at the right time, no more than this. With this premise, you’ll find a little bit of me in almost every character in the book. I do share Jeremy’s weird sense of humor and Eytan’s capacity to go on, whatever happens to him.

If you could be one of your characters, which one would you choose?Ten years ago I would have answered Eytan without an hesitation. Now, as I grow older, I’d probably chose Bernard Dean since he stays in the shadow, watching Jeremy and trying to help him without taking any credits for it. In many ways, I regret what happens to Bernard in the book, it’s a character that deserved to be developed.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

Chapter 37 is by far the most important chapter in the book since it depicts the deportation of the hero and his family. Everything starts in this heartbreaking chapter, and writing it was emotional. Though, I’ll go for the Epilogue, since it reveals that the hero Jeremy believes to be dead is not, thus delivering a message of hope and happiness. And God knows how badly our world needs hope and happiness nowadays…
 
What song would you pick to go with your book?

Since I write with my headphones on, listening to a selected play list depending on the chapter or the character I’m working on, I already have a theme for The Bleiberg Project. Eytan’s character was born with Aerosmith’s “Living on the Edge.” Not just the music, but the lyrics too, were an inspiration for his mood and own story. Should the movie be shot, I’d love this song to be played on the ending credits.

You get to decide who would read your audiobook. Who would you choose?
 There are so many great English-speaking actresses and actors that choosing seems impossible. I could still name a few: Ian McKellen, Clancy Brown, Peter Dinklage, Charles Dance, Cate Blanchett, and that’s just a start. This list could go on endlessly!

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?I need to be home, alone, far from the world and any distractions. Since I work with no written plot or notes, I need to stay totally focused. The character, the story and its twists exist in my mind and no thing must distract me while I’m putting them on the paper. Writing is a ritual: In my garden, my old laptop on the table, coffee on my right side, cigarettes and ashtray on my left side, headphones on.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?I fell in love with Manhattan the first I went there. I was 16, and from this day on, I’ve always dreamed of living there, and (do not ask me why, I can’t tell) I’ve known I would end my life there. It’s pretty surprising because I’m a rather rational man. Also, I do not usually like big cities, but there, I feel free. I feel like I’m home. Apart from The Shiro Project (the second in the Consortium series), Manhattan has always appeared in my books, being a central character in my other series Dawn’s Early Lights (Les vestiges de l’aube in French).

What are you working on now?I’m currently working on the second book in the Dawn’s Early Lights series. For now this series is only in French. I’m also working on a historical thriller series for teenagers. I’ll be busy for quite a few years to come.

Sounds like it. I hope you'll come back when your next book is released.

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, July 22
 Review at Lady Techie’s Book Musings

Wednesday, July 24
 Interview by author Amy Metz (You found it! Thanks for stopping by.)

Monday, August  12
 Review + Giveaway by author Julie Coulter Bellon

About the author:

French author David Khara, a former journalist, top-level athlete, and entrepreneur, is a full-time writer. Khara wrote his first novel—a vampire thriller—in 2010, before starting his thriller series. The first in the series, The Bleiberg Project, was an instant success in France, catapulting Khara into the ranks of the country's top thriller writers.

Connect with David:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo