A Dancing Guy in a Doughnut Suit?

As a kid, I always loved writing. I wrote stories, I lived in my own little fantasy world. As a teenager, I excelled at writing papers where my imagination and strong opinions could shine through. All through my youth I loved reading books that allowed my brain to experience a different world.

Then, as an adult, I chose a career where creativity was used only in crafting whichever lie you would tell next. I went to work for the CIA, where I learned to write in “cable-ese”. I didn’t read many books for fun. I had to censor most of what I wrote or said to anyone.

After nearly a decade of having my creativity squashed, my writing stifled by the robotic tone necessary for cable writing, my creative writing ability is slowly emerging from a deep slumber.

The awakening of my creativity begins with my newest book, Mingling in the CIA: Annie, just released this week. As I enter into writing fiction, influenced by my experiences and people that I met in the Central Intelligence Agency, I truly am having fun seeing life through Annie’s eyes!

I think you will too.

Annie is not only available on Amazon. It is also available on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iTunes, and more!

Welcome to the world of a dimwitted backstabber…

Are you ready to get to know Annie just a little bit more? Next week, my new book Mingling in the CIA: Annie, the second book in the Mingling in the CIA series, will be available for purchase! Bumble through the life of Annie, a dimwitted CIA officer who drifts her way from assignment to assignment, all at the expense of national security. I can assure you, you will never view the CIA the same way again.

From my new book, Mingling in the CIA: Annie:

…A few hours later she was sitting at a small booth in a new Moroccan place that Carina had dragged her to.

Where the hell is Morocco?

She had no idea, but she thought the guys there must be cute, because their waiter was HOT. She felt her customary annoyance as Carina flipped her hair and threw on a thick accent while flirting shamelessly with the waiter. For the moment, it appeared her detainee love affair was forgotten…

Allow Me to Introduce… “The Blacklisted”…

…Prior to meeting each one, I would hear stories about what many of these people had supposedly done wrong in the past (the deed that their career would never recover from), and while there was always a shadow of mystery surrounding what created their tarnished status, some of the worst offenses one could be brought down for were either involving finances or sex. True or not, it did not matter, once the charge was levied, it was permanent. It was called a “hall file” – a mysterious record of the bad behavior that even The Blacklisted himself had no idea about. Anyone who was less inclined to think for themselves would believe the rumors, but I have always had a soft spot for underdogs…

Introducing the “Frazzled Woman”…

…She can talk your ear off and leave you wondering why you didn’t turn and run when you had the chance. She is prone to office meltdowns, occasional sobbing spells, and is an overall mess. She is also strangely obsessed with what she eats. She can spend hours discussing every bite of food she has consumed in recent weeks, days or hours (conveniently omitting the copious amounts of anti-depressants she inhales)…

Getting to Know the “James Bond Wannabe”…

…Her light, cooing manner of speech was only slightly less annoying than her propensity to read between the lines of anything anyone ever said to her, twisting each conversation she had into something completely inappropriate and somehow sexual. Annie considered herself a very bright girl, and she was on an endless quest to prove it. The scariest part about Annie was that the Agency knew she had psychological issues and should not be there, but they preferred to “pass the trash” and shuffled her from meaningless job to meaningless job as a way to not deal with her. Until enough time had passed that short memories would prevail and she would be placed in an overseas station where she could do the most harm to national security…

Observations of an Underdog Now Available in Paperback!

For anyone who would rather read a paperback version of Mingling in the CIA: Observations of an Underdog, it is now available for purchase on Amazon! I am gearing up for the release of my next book, Mingling in the CIA: Annie, and want to be able to share with as many people as possible. Be aware, Observations is a very short book – almost more of a promotional piece – but I think you will like it! If nothing else, it serves as an introduction to some of the characters whose lives I am about to bring you in to!
As usual, all of my work has been approved for publication by the CIA’s Publication Review Board.

Book Review, Tweeker Parade by Philippa LeVine

Definitely “Captured the Funny”!
I actually learned a lot from reading this book. It was disturbing, yet funny, to learn so much about the world of a tweeker. This book also gives some good insight into what the job of a DEA agent is really like. Ms. Levine even manages to make her time at headquarters entertaining, and I found myself seeing many correlations between her experience there and mine at CIA Headquarters. It is nice to read about someone who really loved their job and had so much passion for it. And, by the way, I loved the swearing!

Good Riddance and on to The Good Life…

One of the perks of being a moderately successful author is that I now have my very own Feng Shui consultant to assist in the remodel of our home!
Sharon, from The Good Life Feng Shui, has an article in Pathways magazine December edition, and one of my favorite passages highlights the benefits of Feng Shui, pointing out ways that you can spend more time doing what serves your higher good and waste fewer resources on things and activities (and people) that add nothing to your life. Who doesn’t want to learn how to do that in the New Year?
Sharon is an inspiring speaker, with a wonderful spirit. She teaches that Feng Shui encourages a life of infinite possibilities and that magic DOES happen. And… She shares the secret that sometimes that magic is YOU!

Sharon’s book recommendation:


For further information Sharon can be contacted at (508) 280-9570 or [email protected].

Some Wisdom for the New Year…

Since I could never do justice to such an ancient text, instead of doing a traditional book review of The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Barbara Stoler Miller, I thought I would share some wise words from this famous book.

From the Introduction: “Krishna does not condone physical violence. Instead, he identifies the real enemy as desire, due to attachment, an enemy that can only be overcome by arming oneself with discipline and acting to transcend the narrow limits of individual desire.”

“Contacts with matter make us feel heat and cold, pleasure and pain. Arjuna, you must learn to endure fleeting things – they come and go!
When these cannot torment a man, when suffering and joy are equal for him and he has courage, he is fit for immortality.”

“Perform actions, firm in discipline, relinquishing attachment; be impartial to failure and success – this equanimity is called discipline.”

“Self-reliant, impartial to suffering and joy, to clay, stone, or gold, the resolute man is the same to foe and friend, to blame and praise.
The same in honor, and disgrace, to ally and enemy, a man who abandons involvements transcends the qualities of nature.”

From the Afterword – Referring to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Emerson is chiefly interested in Krishna’s teaching that works must be done without thought of reward and that a person may have a tranquil mind even in activity.”

Happy New Year everyone!