Gary Grossman pays tribute to Michael Palmer

The publishing industry and readers around the world lost remarkable talent in the past few months. 

Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, Elmore Leonard, and Michael Palmer.

Each had a unique voice and an amazing presence.  They captivated and entertained millions of fans, and inspired thousands of writers.  I am one of them.

While a great deal has been written about Clancy, Flynn and Leonard, I’d like to honor Michael Palmer.

Michael was the first author to notice me.  Actually, notice isn’t even the proper term.  Recognize is better.  Launch is even stronger.  

Thanks to an introduction through our mutual friend in Boston, Sandi Goldfarb, Michael wrote an incredible endorsement for my first political thriller, Executive Actions.   His quote remains on my Diversion Books cover.  Through his words we became friends.

Michael Palmer encouraged me to keep writing.  After Executive Actions he helped me focus my objectives and goals.   He gave me professional tips and other introductions.  He also told me I had to participate in one of his favorite events –ThrillerFest, the annual conference of The International Thriller Writers , Inc.   

Michael was right about that as he was everything else. 

I also realized that Michael Palmer was willing to nurture others in the same manner.  Nowhere was that better seen than at the 2013 ThrillerFest where he was celebrated morning, noon and night by his fellow writers and the legions of ITW members who couldn’t wait he see him.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to repay Michael’s kindness.  Two years ago, as I helped in the production of the Emmy-winning PBS book series “Between the Lines with Barry Kibrick,”

I brought Michael to Puerto Rico for a special taping.  Michael and Barry discussed A Heartbeat Away.  The show can be viewed through:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vHyxsyRRAI.   

As Michael talks about his novel, it’s easy to grasp his own commitment to story and character; his understanding of structure; and his desire to entertain readers through suspense close enough to touch.

Michael Palmer introduced us to evil doers and took us to perilous places.  He raised decidedly scary “What If” scenarios.  He asked us to think.   

He noted in the TV interview that he wrote fiction the way the world is.  And yet, he remained personally optimistic. 

Host Barry Kibrick underscored that point by reading a quote from Michael’s novel, drilling down into his underlying optimism; his belief in the human spirit.   “..we as a people,” he wrote, “can master any difficulty and achieve unparalleled peace... .“

Rest in peace, Michael Palmer.  Your creativity and thoughtfulness will continue to inspire us. 

Gary Grossman is the author of the thrilling Executive series.

Executive Actions

An assassin’s bullet changes the course of the Presidential election— not by killing Democratic candidate Teddy Lodge, but his wife. Riding a wave of popular sympathy, Lodge surges forward as the man to beat for incumbent President Morgan Taylor. Secret Service Agent Scott Roarke is ordered by President Taylor to investigate the assassination, and unravels a deadly Soviet plot that has incubated for more than 30 years. Now in the hands of a power hungry Middle Eastern heir to the throne, Agent Roarke must stop a sleeper agent poised to change the course of American policy in the Middle East. Executive Actions is a tense political thriller, where both the Presidency and the Constitution are at stake.

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, the iBookstore, & Audible.

Executive Treason

The secret terrorist organization that came within a heartbeat of installing its agent as President of the United States in Executive Actions is back with a new—and deadlier—plot to destabilize the U.S. government. It all begins with what appears to be a simple mugging and murder of a female White House staffer. Secret Service agent Scott Roarke discovers the truth: that the murder was committed by his secret nemesis, the mysterious assassin who had managed to always stay one step ahead of him during the presidential campaign. This time Roarke has found clues about the assassin's past that give him the tools he needs to hunt the hunter, but the clues can only go so far. Roarke needs all his skill, and a huge amount of luck as well, if he's going to catch his quarry.

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, the iBookstore, & Audible.

Executive Command

The clock is ticking down to an attack on America’s most vulnerable natural resource: Water.  Our nation’s water resources are high on terrorist target lists, but low on America’s consciousness.  Water sources are largely unprotected, providing open access to any enemy with chemicals and biotoxins. 

So far we’ve been lucky.  But that luck won’t last.

This is the all-too-real-and-present danger facing President Morgan Taylor and Secret Service Agent Scott Roarke as they desperately try to prevent hell-bent terrorists from destroying America and its infrastructure city by city, and state by state.

Fact-based in frightening detail, Executive Command is a political thriller that will leave you pondering its strong possibility the next time you pour a glass of water.

Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, the iBookstore, & Audible.

Garrett Calcaterra on DREAMWIELDER and the Magic of Books

Author Garrett Calcaterra dropped by this week to chat about his debut fantasy novel, Dreamwielder, now available in both eBook and print edition!

As an emerging fantasy and science-fiction author, I have been very fortunate to know several legends in the field, including steampunk progenitors James P. Blaylock and Tim Powers, and, more recently, short story master Bruce McAllister. These three men, along with established genre authors like Misty Massey and David B. Coe, whom I’ve interviewed for Black Gate magazine and my blog, The Machine Stops, have provided me with a strong sense of history, not only for the genre I write in, but also for the publishing industry itself. Each of them has experienced a massive restructuring of how books are published, and they’ve survived. Just like the wondrous and magical characters in their books, they’ve been able to adapt and continue to be successful authors in the age of self-publishing, e-books, and print-on-demand when so many dinosaurs of the past publishing era have become extinct.

If I’d been around and writing twenty years ago, my debut fantasy novel, Dreamwielder, would have either been signed and published by one of the big publishing houses, or it would have never been published at all. Of course, I like to think it would have been published to huge acclaim, but I’ll never know which, because I’m writing in the 21^st Century and the publishing world doesn’t function in that manner anymore. In our modern world, I signed with the cutting edge Diversion Books, Dreamwielder was released in e-book format first, then audiobook format, and now, after almost a year of positive reviews, it has come out in print. In the same manner that I took the classic tropes of fantasy and steampunk and put my own modern bent on them to tell the story of Makarria the dreamwielder, Diversion Books has modernized how readers can discover and enjoy books.

It’s been amazing, humbling, and gratifying all at once to see how readers have embraced Dreamwielder through the technological wonder of e-books. Makarria, Caile, Taera, and the evil sorcerer Wulfram have all come to life on Kindles, Nooks, iPads, and Kobos across the world. There’s still some magic left in print books, though, and I’m positively thrilled readers can now find Dreamwielder in a trade paperback edition. Fantasy has always been about discovering the magic that is lost in our modern world, so as much as I love technology, it’s an honor to now join all the fantasy greats in that classic form of print.

Get your copy of Dreamwielder by Garrett Calcaterra on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, the iBookstore, Kobo, and Audible. This exciting fantasy follows young Makarria, who has literally been forbidden to dream…

Legend has foretold the demise of Emperor Thedric Guderian at the hands of a sorceress with royal blood, and the Emperor has made it his legacy to stamp out all magic from the Sargothian Empire in favor of primitive coal fired smelters and steam powered machines. When Guderian’s minions discover a Dreamwielder on a seaside farmstead, a chain of events forces Guderian’s new threat—the young Makarria—to flee from her home and embark upon an epic journey where her path intertwines with that of Princess Taera, her headstrong brother, Prince Caile, and the northman Siegbjorn, who captains a night-flying airship.

Dogging their every step is the part-wolf, part-raven sorcerer, Wulfram, and Emperor Guderian, himself, a man who has the ability to stint magic and a vision to create a world where the laws of nature are beholden to men and machines. Only by learning to control the power she wields can Makarria save her newfound companions and stop the Emperor from irreversibly exterminating both the magic in humans and their bond with nature.

New Release: Backlist women's fiction by Liza Gyllenhaal, now available as eBooks

Liza Gyllenhaal is back with two charming backlist titles, both romantic and contemporary. Changes of Heart and Heart and Soul are now available as eBooks!

Changes of Heart

With a sophisticated new life comes daring new love…

Janie is the misfit in her New England family, never as pretty, nor as thin, nor as popular as her older sisters. Hidden away in her own solitude, she seeks comfort in her art and in her isolation.

Then everything changes.
When her abilities as an artist land her a dream position at a prominent advertising company, she finally discovers her true worth. The shy, introverted girl Janie was is no more, replaced by a confident and sophisticated woman. But thrust into a new role and a new world, she’ll soon discover how quickly friends can become enemies, fairy tales don’t always have happy endings, and that even the most determined woman can have … Changes of Heart.  

Available on Amazon, the iBookstore, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo TODAY!

Heart and Soul

One woman envies her sister's glamorous world—until she 

becomes a part of it.

After a lifetime in the shadow of the incomparable Miranda, Cassie believes that she can never measure up to her sister. Rather than compete, she withdraws, and the two remain estranged—until a phone call from Miranda changes everything.

At Miranda’s insistence, Cassie flies to New York City for a visit, where she is instead offered a new home and a new job. But when Miranda dies suddenly in a freak accident, Cassie is thrust into a whole new life altogether—Miranda’s.

Living in her sister’s house, working at her job, and even wearing her clothes, the hidden truths behind Miranda’s seemingly perfect existence begin to claw their way forward. Suddenly Cassie finds herself on the verge of losing herself to the world she thought she envied, and her heart to the man she isn’t supposed to love. 

Available on Amazon, the iBookstore, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo TODAY!

Also available for pre-order, Martin J. Smith's The Disappeared Girl. Order your copy now on Amazon, Kobo, and the iBookstore. Due to release on March 4, 2014.

Jim Christensen’s daughter, Melissa, has been troubled of late. She has dreams that feel like memories, unsettling images percolate to the surface. She remembers a terrifying past, possibly her own, from a time before she was adopted by her father. Christensen’s work as an expert in memory makes him the ideal person to help unlock his daughter’s fragile grasp on her own history. But will he want to learn the truth of where Melissa came from? Who she was before? Who might still be looking for her?

This dizzying novel of suspense takes the reader back into a dirty war and its human costs, into the fevered mind of one of its survivors, and through the crosshairs of a man desperate to keep his own history vanished.

FREEBIE-FRIDAY: Ammey McKeaf: The Chronicles of Azulland

For all your fantasy lovers, this week's Freebie-Friday is the first in Jane Shoup's thrilling series, Ammey McKeaf: The Chronicles of Azzuland. Download it for FREE on Amazon, Kobo, and the iBookstore. But before you do, check out this excerpt:

In the middle of the Cantabric Sea, surrounded by the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of France and the five kingdoms that make up the Iberian Peninsula, was the island country of Azulland. It is no more—or so they say, yet every ship that attempts sailing past that phantom land area, the very space the country once occupied, is lost, never to be seen again. ‘Cursed’ is the whispered reply. Perhaps. I once thought so.

The mystery of Azulland has been an object of great speculation and pure fabrication.Eventually, in the passage of time, it may be forgotten altogether, just as we’ve forgotten Ydlil, Khlohar, Atlantis and so many others. Perhaps it matters not—yet there are legendary tales from this country that are worth knowing. I know because it was my home—and will be again if I ever manage to secure passage back.

The regret I feel for fleeing her shores is more profound than words could ever express. Like the others who fled, I was fearful for my life. If granted time, I will explain that, but I dare not divulge the most compelling factors for my leaving at this point in my narrative. It takes time to explain how things came to be the way they are—or rather, were when I fled.

Over the course of the last several years, I have developed a fascination with the science, craft, and art of cartography. Often I look upon a favorite old map, fixated on the island of Azulland, and I can clearly picture the Blue Mountains we were known for. In my mind’s eye, I can see the great cities of Nawllah and Bellux-Abry, the grand castles and estates of the southern valley, the cold, clean rivers, and fields of wild loira – a deep blue flower so sweet in scent, nothing can compare. It does not grow anywhere else and so it will fade with the memory of the few of us who still remember it and who will, too soon, vanish from the earth.


I state this vow with utter conviction; if I am ever able to cross back to my homeland, I shall never leave those shores again, no matter what forces rip and tear at her.

 Download your FREE copy of Ammey McKeaf: The Chronicles of Azulland today!

At nineteen, Ammey McKeaf is a golden-haired beauty that is beloved and protected, not only by her father, the most revered General in Azulland, but also by five elder brothers, all champions of the games that are held in the medieval island country. Her brothers have trained and challenged her all of her life, especially at swordsmanship, which will serve her well.

Trouble stirs when Marko Corin, the ambitious leader of Bellux-Abry, seeks to gain control of the country. His small bands of highly trained soldiers, known as ‘wolf packs,’ roam the country, reaping destruction and death. When a pack strikes close to the Forge, home to the McKeafs, Ammey is escorted to sanctuary -- but sanctuary is a thing of the past.

As violence reigns, Ammey is rescued and taken into the mystical Vihlae Forest, where she discovers strength she did not know she possessed, and learns the art of survival from one of her rescuers, sparking an undeniable passion. As Ammey travels from one end of Azulland to the other, battling to survive and protect those around her, she will be tried and tested beyond anything she could have imagined, but will her efforts be enough to save herself and those she loves?

New release 2/11: A thrilling historical romance, now available in eBook

The third installment in her series about Queen Victoria's five daughters, Mary Hart Perry delivers a dazzling historical romance, both thrilling and luminous.

The Shadow Princess follows one of history’s most notorious killers, and the princess who risks losing her family, her life—and her heart…

London, 1888: A year after Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee terror mounts in the city's slums.  A killer has butchered two prostitutes, the crimes brutal even by London’s hardened standards.  Rumors of the murders reach Princess Vicky, daughter of Queen Victoria and grieving widow of the German Emperor Frederick III.  When her niece Princess Maud visits, she brings with her even worse news—the Metropolitan Police have a suspect. It’s Vicky’s nephew, Crown Prince Eddy. Desperate to clear her family's name, Vicky rushes back to England.

Detective Inspector Thomas Edmondson believes there is a royal cover-up behind the killings. He will stop at nothing to expose the truth and bring a murderer to justice before he can kill again.  But when Vicky joins him in searching for the man who will become known as Jack the Ripper, neither of them foresee the overpowering attraction that will draw together the royal and the commoner—or the danger their love puts them in. 

Order your copy today on Amazon, the iBookstore, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble. And for a limited time, download the second book in the series, Seducing the Princess, FREE!


Also, available for pre-order:  The Disappeared Girl by Martin J. Smith.

Two men stand out in a crowd overlooking the Ohio River. A plane is being taken from the water where it crashed decades before. Both men helped put it there. 

Jim Christensen’s daughter, Melissa, has been troubled of late. She has dreams that feel like memories, unsettling images percolate to the surface. She remembers a terrifying past, possibly her own, from a time before she was adopted by her father. Christensen’s work as an expert in memory makes him the ideal person to help unlock his daughter’s fragile grasp on her own history. But will he want to learn the truth of where Melissa came from? Who she was before? Who might still be looking for her?

This dizzying novel of suspense takes the reader back into a dirty war and its human costs, into the fevered mind of one of its survivors, and through the crosshairs of a man desperate to keep his own history vanished.

Due to release March 4, you can pre-order your copy of The Disappeared Girl now from Amazon, Kobo, and the iBookstore today!