FIELD NOTES

Although it can be applied to virtually any project, this advice certainly applies to the odyssey of writing a novel. Or more specifically, it directly applies to the arduous quest to get published. Every author I've met at the thriller writers' conventions has a war story about getting published, especially those who went the traditional route via a publisher as opposed to self-publishing. Except for the fortunate few, it can take years just to get a literary agent which man

The mayor of Arcadia, California was recently arrested for acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. She pushed PRC propaganda on behalf of PRC officials. Her ex-boyfriend had previously pled guilty to doing the same. I worked the Chinese asymmetric threat for years, as well as the traditional threat from known officials. I reference the use of co-optees and sleeper agents in False Flag. When I speak on the China threat, I always emphasize when I say "the Chine

Or something like that from Shakespeare. Does writing expose our vanity? Our self-importance? We believe we have stories that must be told, be shared with the masses. Are we reflected in our characters? We construct them how we want them to be, to think, to act. Or is writing a catharsis to cleanse our souls of regret, loss, desire, purpose? Did Billy contemplate these questions before putting quill to paper? Or was he just hungry and trying to make a buck on the way to The G