My latest thriller, THE LIES OF SPIES, is now available exclusively on Amazon, with the audiobook to follow in December.

The second novel in the Kyle Achilles series dives straight into the deep end of the growing divide between the US and Russia. It tackles the problem from the perspective of the people on the ground – something I know a bit about.

I don’t want to give too much away here, it is a suspense thriller after all, but this four-line summary below sets the stage. I hope you’ll check it out today. There’s no need to read PUSHING BRILLIANCE first -- although if you don’t I’m sure you’ll pick it as well up once you’re done.

Thanks for giving me a try!

I just devoured an advance copy of Timothy Hallinan’s latest Junior Bender novel, Fields Where They Lay. It was a sweet and savory experience.  Speaking as a fellow writer, I have to tell those of you who haven’t yet discovered him, that reading Hallinan is like licking ice cream. He has such a wonderful way with words that each sentence is a treat for the tongue. Wit and wisdom, humor and insight, all gathered together into splendidly simple prose that never fails to make me jealous of his gift.

The plot of Fields Where They Lay was classic for Junior Bender, Hallinan’s bungling, big-hearted thief. You journey with him as he solves mysteries in his own quirky manner, with colorful, clumsy interactions, and an investigative style reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau.

Looks like after years of sweating in the dark, I ended up in the right place at the right time. FLASH was one of eight Mystery & Thriller novels selected for the home page of Amazon’s inaugural PRIME READING program.

I’m feeling that Amazon Smile, and even better, you can too. You are a member of Prime, right? With Amazon Prime, you can read FLASH for free -- for the next 90 days.

In my new series, the protagonist is an avid rock climber. He “free solos” which means he climbs without equipment, nothing but a bag of chalk. I’m not that crazy, so I was belayed for safety, but in the name of research I did climb 200 feet up the nearly vertical face (70-80 degree pitch – rated 5.8 for those of you who know what that means) of Lover’s Leap in South Lake Tahoe using nothing but my hands and feet.

This was my first serious rock climbing experience, and frankly I still can’t believe what I did. My instructor, M. "Petch" Pietrolungo, just climbed up the cliff face like he was walking to the store – and then I followed. Unbelievable. I was expecting to start with some rocks, and then a hill, but Petch took me straight up a granite monolith.

Turns out you need two things to do this: 1) the right shoes, and 2) the ability to remain calm in an insane situation. Fortunately I gave Kyle Achilles both those things in the series.

A good friend recently recommended this bestselling health & fitness book to me, and it’s changing my life. I think it’s a book EVERYONE should read, and will be glad they did.

In HOW NOT TO DIE, Dr. Greger, the physician behind NutritionFacts.org, takes you through reputable, clinical evidence supporting the treatment and prevention of most major maladies with diet. It’s full of practical advice and fascinating statistics, for example, that a single hotdog has as many carcinogens as four cigarettes.

The conclusions are so profound that at first you’ll wonder why they aren’t more commonly known. Then you’ll come to understand that our dietary beliefs are based largely on what we’re told by organizations (pharmaceutical, agricultural, governmental) with agendas rooted in profits and self-preservation. As Dr. Greger notes, there is no “Big Beet” but “Big Pharma” spends billions.