My guest today is someone with whom most of you have at least a tangential relationship. How is that possible? Well, because before he started writing compelling techno-thrillers, he spent much of his career at Microsoft, where he led the creation and development of a little thing you might have heard of – the Xbox. His first technothriller – THE WILKES INSURRECTION – came out in 2021. That one introduces us to his lead protagonist, Major Tamika Smith, a failed intelligence officer in search of redemption as she goes up against an elusive extremist hell-bent on destroying America. Smith, now a U.S. Senator, is back in his new book, THE BLOCKCHAIN SYNDICATE, which comes out on October 21st. This time Smith’s challenge is even greater and more personal – her boyfriend is kidnapped after a school shooting injures his daughter, forcing her to confront a shadowy criminal syndicate aiming to “fix” America their way.

Most of the authors who join me on this show are fiction writers, but this week I bring you a conversation with the really great nonfiction author Andrea Lankford. A former National Park Service ranger and investigator, Lankford's latest book TRAIL OF THE LOST is a gripping tale of her efforts to help find a trio of missing Pacific Crest Trail hikers who all seemed to vanish without a trace. One might think this would be an easy sale to publishers, but her path from concept to the NYT bestsellers list was anything but a gentle walk in the woods.

If you follow this show at all you know I am a big fan of the short story, and particularly the crime fiction and noir genres. Stacy Woodson's work has appeared in numerous high quality short story magazines, including Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen, Mystery Weekly and many others. She has also had her work in a lot of other great single anthologies with awesome titles like the Tattered Blue Line, Jukes and Tonks and Groovy Gumshoes. She is a two-time Derringer winner in the short mystery category (four nominations in all) and has been nominated for several other awards as well. She is also an editor, a writing teacher and, on occasion an actor who has appeared on shows like The Walking Dead and Homeland.