One of my favorite things to do is seek out interesting experiences that can be used to give my books a richer, more authentic feel. And sometimes it goes beyond even that. Often something I expected to become a minor flourish—someone I’ve met, something I’ve done, a place I’ve been—morphs into a major character or … more
Sometimes it can feel like you’ve reached a dead end with your ability to solve a problem. In the world of novel writing, it’s called writer’s block, but a lack of new ideas and fresh perspectives affects everyone eventually. Depending on how bad your case is, it can slot in anywhere from mildly demoralizing to … more
After more than a year of pandemic living, things finally seem to be returning to normal. And nothing has prompted this feeling more than our recent move back to Spain. Many of you already know that I split my time between Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Granada, Spain. It’s always quite a culture shock. I’ve put … more
When I was first asked to write Mitch, I started to think about the essence of the man. Who is he on a fundamental level and how could I build on what Vince had already so carefully constructed? My mind went immediately to one of the greatest pieces of action dialogue ever written. In The Outlaw … more
Around this time last year, I was putting the finishing touches on Total Power while the world teetered on the precipice. The scale of COVID was still unknown but my imagination was running wild. I’d recently spent a year inventing YARS, the deadly coronavirus that gave rise to Lethal Agent, and was way too well … more
In the last few years, my crystal ball has been working overtime. Lethal Agent, a story about a weaponized coronavirus, was released shortly before the COVID-19 outbreak. A year later, Total Power’s dire warnings about the vulnerability of America’s power infrastructure were confirmed by the collapse of the Texas grid. Fans have been asking me what I’m writing … more
In January, I kicked off my annual review of real-world events that mirror plots and characters from my books. This month, I’m back with a few more interesting parallels. I’ve also included several scenarios crafted by Vince. It’s incredible that seven years after his death, his work still feels like it could have been published … more
Picking up where the “tour de force” (The Providence Journal) Total Power left off, the next thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series follows the CIA’s top operative as he searches for a high-level mole with the power to rewrite the world order. Enemy At The Gates September 14, 2021 Plot … more
A new year means a fresh list of news stories with eerie parallels to characters and events I’ve brought into the literary world. Have I created a fair number of plot lines that are now playing out in real life? Unfortunately, yes. Here’s what bubbled to the surface in 2020… Lethal Agent No big surprise … more
Year end is the time when many of us look back and take stock of what we’ve accomplished, what’s still left on the to-do list, and what we envision for the future. I also find myself thinking about the many things I’m grateful for. While this year has been one of the strangest of my … more
