Two Trees, Two More Miles

I am thrilled to announce that my debut novel Columbia has been signed to a publishing contract with Sunbury Press. Sunbury is a Pennsylvania-based independent publishing house with a long history distributing thrillers into sixteen English-speaking countries through their Milford House imprint. The tentative release date for the book is August 8, 2019. From my first interaction with their website ("Continue the Enlightenment"), to all of my discussions with their team during negotiations, Sunbury was a clear first choice to launch Columbia. I look forward to working with the team at Sunbury to get the book ready for the market. Stay tuned for more updates to follow, including the launch of the book's dedicated website, confirmation of the release date, and updates on book reading and signing events nationwide.

The movie 300 is based upon the real-life Battle of Thermopylae.   Columbia is poised to pass 300 pre-orders! I am so thankful to everyone who has bought a book, or a couple of books, or invested in hosting a book party. 500 is the goal! If you have not bought a book yet, I hope today's update gives you reason to click over to the campaign page and make a buy. The spy thriller genre is well-known for pulling plot lines from the headlines. For example, 9/11 spawned a whole new subgenre . And, after the 2016 elections, there was a resurgence of titles focused on Russian ops and some of the genre's great heroes found themselves up against the FSB and conspirators in the US . While some thrillers exist in the real world (I'll use Grisham's Pelican Brief as a familiar example: real Washington, real institutions like the Supreme Court), they recreate that real world from whole cloth (fake justices, fake President, etc.). Other thrillers rely on the reader...

My first novel, Columbia , is poised to pass 250 pre-orders on Publishizer today. That sends a great message to publishers who will be bidding on the book that there is an audience for spy thrillers in the tradition of Graham Greene, but with modern twists on characterization and plot that are from the new school of fiction. 250 is awesome! But the goal is 500. I thought it would be instructive in today's update to show some other movements that had a stop at 250 along their way to even bigger things. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Ferrari 250 - Built from 1953-1964, these racing and road cars lent the Ferrari brand some of its earliest credibility before giving way to the 275 and 330 series cars. I hope we can top 330 pre-orders next week! 1824 US Presidential Election - There were only 235 electors for the 1820 US Presidential Election. The US passed 250 electors and settled on 261 by the next election in 1824. No candidate won a majority of the presidenti...

Yesterday, I posted the first chapter of Columbia for readers to get a sneak preview of the book. Today, I have posted an analysis of that chapter . One of the most common questions that I am asked is how the novel takes shape: how are the characters established, how do I choose the places that they inhabit, and why are other specific choices made? Why do readers need to know what kind of tobacco or whiskey Seymour prefers? I hope I will answer some of those questions, and interest you with some other comments on the structure and framing of this first chapter. Take a look at the redlined chapter analysis here .

My debut novel,  Columbia ,  is available for pre-order now on  Publishizer . The pre-order campaign lasts thirty days, and during that time, I am going to use my blog to post responses to frequently asked questions about the book, its inspiration and its development. Please click SUBSCRIBE on the campaign page to get updates sent automatically about each new post. ========== Day Three - DON'T Keep it 100! Wilt Chamberlain celebrates his 100-point game. Photo by Paul Vathis of Associated Press I had planned to re-create the iconic Wilt Chamberlain 100-point game photo when Columbia hit 100 pre-orders. But, I did not have time! Last night, the book hit 100 and sailed on past. As of this morning the book has more than 125 pre-orders on Publishizer. THANK YOU for helping me send the message to publishers that there is a market for this book and for a series about a spy who represents the best of America's diversity. The top-selling thriller titl...

My debut novel, Columbia,  is available for pre-order now on Publishizer .  The pre-order campaign lasts thirty days, and during that time, I am going to use my blog to post responses to frequently asked questions about the book, its inspiration and its development. Please click SUBSCRIBE on the campaign page to get updates sent automatically about each new post. ========== Day One - #WhoisTomTinker Columbia is a spy thriller based on my own experience working in intelligence and counter-terrorism between 2001 and 2006. But, you may not realize that Columbia's  earliest historical inspiration reaches much farther into history. In  Columbia ,  Sami is an off-the-books intelligence operative who is pulled into an investigation that implicates his estranged grandfather, a well-known DC-area imam. Sami quickly realized that while his grandfather may be involved, the operation has all the hallmarks of a false flag being run by a mysterious per...