I’ve got a new book coming out in a few weeks so I thought I would share the experience. I’ll be candid. And I would appreciate your feedback.
When I wrote my first book Hide & Seek, I think I had unrealistic expectations. I still think it is a very good book and gives a lot of insight into the “culture” of the bureaucracies that helped facilitate September 11. The book is also kind of prophetic but it didn't get any publicity and never really caught on. I thought my job was finished when the writing ended. I thought the publisher would take care of the publicity. I was wrong. However, within the “community,” Hide & Seek continues to get a lot of positive feedback.
My next book, On the Tail of Terror Finance, is more of a text book and it has a niche market. I do a lot of teaching at the federal, state, and local levels plus sometimes international. There was a lot of confusion about terror finance. So I wanted to write something primarily for law enforcement and intelligence professionals that was clear, straightforward, and concise. I teamed with Avi Jorisch – a former Treasury official. Although we have had some online sales, most sales have been at seminars and to government agencies and departments. I’m happy with the results.
I know the word “passionate” is overused, but it describes my view about the importance of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance.
I wanted to see if I could write a story and teach at the same time. I've found some relate better to stories rather than text books. I was also tired of reading unrealistic suspense or action novels that portrayed the world and the government protagonists in ways that I found contrived. I wanted to write a realistic story, incorporate issues of concern and try to make people think.
I never wrote fiction before. The hard part for me was writing dialog. Law enforcement and intelligence officers are trained to write their observations in the first person. We report facts and observations. So in Demons of Gadara I decided to tell much of the story through the vantage point of a Special Agent. I also wanted to develop the characters of the terrorists and give their perspectives.
Once I got going, it was a lot of fun. I lived and worked in most of the areas described in the book. Many of the characters in the story are composites of people I have dealt with. They always say “write what you know.” That’s what I tried to do.
If anybody out there has ever thought about writing a book, I strongly encourage it. The discipline of writing is a great leaning experience. Even if you just write it for yourself or for close friends and family, do it!
More to come. . .
When I wrote my first book Hide & Seek, I think I had unrealistic expectations. I still think it is a very good book and gives a lot of insight into the “culture” of the bureaucracies that helped facilitate September 11. The book is also kind of prophetic but it didn't get any publicity and never really caught on. I thought my job was finished when the writing ended. I thought the publisher would take care of the publicity. I was wrong. However, within the “community,” Hide & Seek continues to get a lot of positive feedback.
My next book, On the Tail of Terror Finance, is more of a text book and it has a niche market. I do a lot of teaching at the federal, state, and local levels plus sometimes international. There was a lot of confusion about terror finance. So I wanted to write something primarily for law enforcement and intelligence professionals that was clear, straightforward, and concise. I teamed with Avi Jorisch – a former Treasury official. Although we have had some online sales, most sales have been at seminars and to government agencies and departments. I’m happy with the results.
I know the word “passionate” is overused, but it describes my view about the importance of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance.
I wanted to see if I could write a story and teach at the same time. I've found some relate better to stories rather than text books. I was also tired of reading unrealistic suspense or action novels that portrayed the world and the government protagonists in ways that I found contrived. I wanted to write a realistic story, incorporate issues of concern and try to make people think.
I never wrote fiction before. The hard part for me was writing dialog. Law enforcement and intelligence officers are trained to write their observations in the first person. We report facts and observations. So in Demons of Gadara I decided to tell much of the story through the vantage point of a Special Agent. I also wanted to develop the characters of the terrorists and give their perspectives.
Once I got going, it was a lot of fun. I lived and worked in most of the areas described in the book. Many of the characters in the story are composites of people I have dealt with. They always say “write what you know.” That’s what I tried to do.
If anybody out there has ever thought about writing a book, I strongly encourage it. The discipline of writing is a great leaning experience. Even if you just write it for yourself or for close friends and family, do it!
More to come. . .
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