An Inappropriately Timed Memory…

Mission: Stand Down

From my latest book, Mission: Stand Down:

…Jay stood in front of the unmarked door and took a deep breath. As often happened in stressful moments, a strange and inappropriately timed memory suddenly popped into his head. Standing in formation at a beginning yoga class that one of his past girlfriends had taken him to, he was admiring the very attractive yoga instructor. The instructor moved around the room assisting the students with each new pose as it was introduced. As the instructor lightly pushed on Jay’s back to guide him into the correct posture, Jay had taken a deep breath and, as she pushed his spine into place, Jay had suddenly broken wind, very loudly. The entire room had gone silent before everyone had burst into gales of laughter. Jay and the yoga instructor had ended up dating for a year after that…

My Latest Book, Mission: Stand Down Now Available!

Mission: Stand Down

My first full-length book since the release of Single in the CIA is now available! (Although it is still a short book)

Mission: Stand Down is a true to life spy thriller, and my most controversial book yet. Full of redactions, but the story still comes through.

Here’s a blurb about it:

Jay is a covert officer in the post-9/11 Central Intelligence Agency. Risking his life on a perilous mission of high importance to the CIA, he is a rare breed in the culture of bureaucratic stagnancy that the Agency has become. Under cover in a hostile environment, he stumbles upon weapons transactions that should be of interest to the intelligence community and even manages to sustain a love life. He accomplishes tasks of which few in the Agency could even dream.

But Jay quickly learns that while working for the CIA, one must be proficient at one thing – waiting.

When he gets called for an interview with the Secret Police, he begins to question not only his choice of career, but his blind loyalty to the Agency – the Agency that has put his life in danger on more than one occasion.

You can buy it on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, iTunes and more!

Goodbye August!

Book Reviews, Mingling in the CIA, Single in the CIA

I am so glad August is over. I’m not a fan. No offense to those of you with August birthdays, it’s nothing personal, I just find August to be terribly long and boring. It’s still super hot where we live and school starts in early August these days (at least in the last couple of places we have been), so summer vacation comes to an end. With the average temperature where we live ranging from 99 to 108 (sometimes 115!) degrees every day the weather is not conducive to outside activities with small children.

In my mom life I’ve come to look forward to fall, with its cooler temperatures and string of birthdays leading into the holiday season. I used to hate the holiday season – back when I lived on my own so far from my family. I spent many a Thanksgiving and Christmas alone, wishing for the time to pass, first in the D.C. area and later in South Florida. Of course in South Florida that loneliness was accompanied by a beautiful beach view from every window of my condo, and the constant sound of crashing waves, and maybe a bottle of scotch…. But I digress….

How times have changed. I look forward to the holiday season now – I guess having young children does that for you.

Anyway, I have a few projects that should be wrapping up before the end of this year. One is the release of my first full-length book since Single in the CIA. This latest book, a spy thriller full of humor, is set to release in October. Mission: Stand Down is the result of a compromise with the CIA. Apparently it is very controversial. After many appeals, I am very excited to have the green light to publish this one.

Many of you know that I have a page on this site where I post book reviews. Lately I’ve had some authors and publishers send me free books to review, and I’m very flattered by the attention. I only wish I had more time to read – but rest assured, I will get to reading all of them. Soon I will be adding children’s books to my reviews to go along with my CIA officer-turned-Mom brand. Most likely I will stick to “vintage” children’s books – ones I read as a child or were out when I was a kid.

All in all it has been a one-step-forward-two-steps-back kind of year for me. I have a couple more surprises up my sleeve that I was hoping to reveal before the end of 2017. Due to the constant roadblocks I’ve encountered this year I’m not so sure they will all be realized by December 31st, but I’ll keep trying.

There’s always next year, right?

#wakemeupwhenseptemberends

Happy 4th of July!

Mingling in the CIA, Self-Publishing for Moms, Single in the CIA

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far and has a very happy 4th of July!
Just a quick summer update…
As most of you know, my books are available on Smashwords as well as Amazon and many other book retailers. Smashwords is having their 9th annual Summer/Winter Sale beginning July 1st and running through the month of July. All of my books will be 50% off for the entire month of July!
You can’t beat this deal, so check it out on Smashwords.

Lately I have been expanding my own personal brand as a former CIA officer-turned-Mom. This means lots of surprises to come during the next few months. In response to finding myself getting a lot of questions about how to go about self-publishing a book I decided to create a short instructional eBook on how to self-publish on Amazon. It was a little experiment, to see if I could create my own PDF eBook, all by myself. Created for busy moms (or anyone who doesn’t have much free time) who have always wanted to be published authors!
Check out the result on the eBooks page.

Only 99 cents!

Stay tuned in the months ahead! I have lots of surprises in store for you!

European Intelligence Officers and Fluffy Pink Clouds

Mingling in the CIA

From the latest in the Mingling in the CIA series – Annie Goes Overseas:

…Andrej poured a glass of wine as he attempted to explain the Basque-French menu to Annie.

Basque? Where is that? Is that some kind of fish?

She tried to disguise her confusion and appear enthralled with every word coming out of Andrej’s mouth. It actually wasn’t difficult; his accent made her feel like she was enveloped in a fluffy pink cloud. She grabbed the wine glass and took a large gulp of the very expensive French wine he had just poured for her. He was so elegant, so charming, so European…

Annie Goes Overseas!

Mingling in the CIA

From the latest in the Mingling in the CIA series – Annie Goes Overseas:

ā€œBut I live on the west coast of Florida,ā€ Rick wrote. The message on her computer screen baffled her.

The west coast? Where is that? I didnā€™t know there were different coasts in Florida? Isnā€™t it all one state?

Annie was interrupted by the vibration of her phone. She picked it up to greet the exotic purr of Andrejā€™s voice on the other end…

Join CIA officer Annie as she continues on her blundering path, dragging national security along with her. From inappropriate relationships with foreign intelligence services to entitled use of government money to fund her love life, you will never view the CIA the same way again! Annie Goes Overseas is now available almost everywhere books are sold!


Thank you.

Mingling in the CIA, Single in the CIA

As I just had my second baby, I havenā€™t had much time for writing lately and will likely be absent from this blog for a little while. But, I want to thank all of the people who have been supportive of my books so far. It means a lot to me to hear that someone has taken the time to read something I have written, whether they like it or not.
I have a new book in the Mingling in the CIA series ready to go, but am still waiting on the CIAā€™s Publication Review Board to grant its approval for me to publish the latest in Annieā€™s adventures. I had fully intended to have the book out prior to my daughterā€™s birth, but that was not meant to be (sigh). I hope to hear some good news in the near future, and get on with the business of publishing in the few spare minutes I have each day.
Again, thank you to all of you who have been supportive, and stay tuned for more soon.



Five Year Anniversary!

Single in the CIA

…A feeling of complete emptiness came over me. I was lost. I had no job, no boyfriend, no car, no direction. I began to question all of my recent life choices…

What a difference five years makes! As I celebrate my five year anniversary of leaving the horror of my CIA employment, I cannot believe how much my life has changed post-CIA. A loving husband, a beautiful son, a daughter on the way, a new house, and three (going on four) published books. It just goes to show that risks are worth taking.

Porn-Addicted Boyfriends…

Single in the CIA

…I was living alone again for the first time in more than seven years, and even though I was much better off, it was quite an adjustment. I suppose I reached a true low point when I started going out for drinks with Annie on weekends. Years of emotional abuse from a porn-addicted boyfriend can do that to you…

I Dodged a Bullet!

Single in the CIA

“Make love to her right now!”
It was a wild night. I really did not feel like pursuing a relationship with Fiona; I was becoming increasingly creeped out by Archie’s request for me to find a girlfriend. After about the millionth text message pushing me to make out with her, I decided to keep him interested and fed him an imaginative story about how the night was going… He was practically slobbering through the phone…

…Later, Archie cited my supposed inclination toward lesbianism as justification for our break-up…

I dodged a bullet there, didn’t I?!