Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles until I was about 8 years old. Then we moved to Oklahoma City for a year. After that, my father got a job with an American company working overseas, which I personally think was a front for the CIA because it was a turbulent time for the country and his company was charged with the task of “improving the Greek infrastructure.” We lived in Athens, Greece for about three years, and that’s where I really grew up. When we moved back to the states I was 12 and felt like a stranger in my own country. I had to make all new friends and couldn’t really relate to anyone because of the differences in my upbringing. I finally made a friend with one person, and that friendship has lasted a lifetime. I lived in the states until about 2002, when I started going back and forth between California and the south of France, where I live now. For the past four years, I have been a gypsy, living between the far East of Russia, where I met my wife, Valentina, and the south of France.
I have worked in the legal profession almost all my life, and just recently started writing books. So far I have written two screenplays, one of which was produced, and three books.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“An Involuntary Spy” was inspired by the recent trend in the past decade for private industry to place their own people in charge of government agencies which regulate their businesses. This term has been given the name “revolving door,” referring to the fact that many in public service leave for private industry and often come back. It was also inspired by the Edward Snowden story.
“An Involuntary Spy” is a political thriller, but it differs from other political thrillers, because, instead of the FBI and the CIA being the good guys, and the Russians being the bad guys, as usual, my hero is the good guy, who is chased by the CIA (the bad guys) and finds refuge in Russia. It is also different from the genre because it is a believable story that could appear in the news headlines at any moment. And it educates the reader on the dangers of GMO foods at the same time as it entertains.
The story is about Seth Rogan, a genetic engineer with a promising career with the largest biotech company in the world. He loved his job more than anything, but when he was asked to do some tests on the company’s genetically engineered foods, he became entangled in a trail of corruption and fraud that he wanted no part of, but could not escape from.
Seth discovers that the danger in the genetically engineered foods made by his company is being covered up not only by the company, but also the government. Deciding this moral dilemma in favor of what he feels is right, he blows the whistle on the company and the government, and escapes the country as a fugitive. On the run, he is forced to become an involuntary spy.
While writing the best selling non-fiction book, “Bless the Bees”, I did a lot of research on the hidden dangers of genetically engineered foods. I was disgusted by the way the government agencies like the FDA and EPA were controlled by ex-executives from Monsanto and the fact that Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods undergo no safety testing by the government.
I thought to tell the story of how the big chemical companies quietly slipped GMOs onto our table. The best way I thought to do it was a human story about someone who was torn between their job and what was morally right.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always knew I had it in me, but never set aside the time to do it. When I finally had a block of time due to the turn down of the economy, I just sat in front of my computer and it happened. As Hemmingway said, you just “sit in front of the typewriter and bleed.” That is how it works for me. I will first formulate a story in my mind, and then write it one chapter at a time, with the details of each chapter coming to me as I write. When nothing more comes out, I know the chapter is finished and I go on to the next one, or I simply stop until the next day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like the classic authors like Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Ray Bradbury and John Steinbeck. They have written books that never disappear from a modern reader’s library because the books are so good. My favorite contemporary author is Paolo Cohelo, whom I had the honor of meeting several years ago. He is a genius and his books are philosophical and say a lot about life.
What are you working on now?
I have started another book called, “Predatory Kill,” in which I intend to point out the major frauds perpetrated on the American public (and the world) by the big banks which caused the Economic Collapse of 2008. The big banks have been bailed out by the U.S. government, but they have gone ahead to make billions in profit and still foreclosed on homeowners.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve tried everything – the KDP Select free promotion was great and put the book on the best seller and hot new release charts. I have a web page, a Facebook page, two book trailers, and have sought the cheap labor of Fiverr.com to get SEO and PR support. I have the book listed in almost every place where it can be listed free, including Goodreads, which is probably the most important site next to Amazon. What I have found that gets the most exposure is getting a story about your book into print.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be discouraged by poor reviews. Don’t pay attention to opinions that have no basis and are obviously just a negative reaction to one of your books. They are not very constructive. Everyone is different and there are bound to be a few crazy people who have a knee jerk negative reaction to your book. Don’t let it get you down. Just write more stuff to piss those people off.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Make the most out of every day you have on earth.
What are you reading now?
I am downloading and reading all of my competition, so I am currently in between books, but the ones I found the most interesting in this endeavor were: “The First Witness” by Todd Easterling, “Orbs,” “Cyber Storm,” by Matthew Mather, “Time Fall,” by Timothy Ashby, and “Terminus,” by Joshua Graham. All were excellent reads.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will keep writing fiction, and probably continue the “Involuntary Spy” series. I like to write stories that have real life issues and conflicts instead of contrived ones like so many popular novels have. People learn things better when they are taught about them in a story. For example, with “An Involuntary Spy,” the story centers around the subject of genetically engineered foods. Genetically engineered foods are a fledging science, and the bugs have not been worked out of them yet. They are too dangerous to put on the table; mostly because of their danger to the ecosystems, which are already under too much human stress. I wanted to write a great story that could impart this knowledge to people and, from the looks of most of the reviews, it is working. I plan to continue the trend with my writing of educating at the same time as entertaining.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This question reminds me of the “Twilight Zone” episode where the last survivor on earth finds a library and stacks up all the books he wants to read the rest of his life and then breaks his glasses and can’t read any of them.
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