What’s one of the most enjoyable things about reading a fast-paced action-adventure like The Da Vinci Code or an edge-of-your-seat techno-thriller like The Hunt for Red October? — THE HISTORY, right?

Yeah, there’s a lot of liberties taken. But you still feel smarter just thumbing through the pages. Without a doubt, all that real-world history makes the read that much more fulfilling for you, the reader. And, glancing through the research that went into O.L.D. — A Good Way to Die, it’s just too good not to share with you here, especially if Cold War history is your thing. Sure, some of it’s rather mundane (like what Ronald Reagan ate for breakfast), but some of it is astonishing.

Take, for example, Project Azorian…

In 1968 the Soviet nuclear missile submarine K-129 mysteriously sunk somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, tragically killing all on board. But the Soviet Union, it’s once-mighty Red Fleet now decrepit and underfunded, was clueless as to its whereabouts. The C.I.A., on the other hand — thanks to the Navy’s cutting-edge submarine tracking technology — had a pretty good idea of its location. Only they weren’t sharing. Project Azorian was the C.I.A.’s top-secret effort to raise the K-129 from a depth of almost three miles. What’s impressive is that this was an engineering endeavor so extreme that it was on par with landing a man on the moon… except it was completely illegal and had to be hidden from the public, the media, and, most importantly, the Soviets.

So how did the C.I.A. go about covering up “the most complex, expensive, and secretive intelligence operations of the Cold War”? Simple, they just asked eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes to throw his name on it, christening the supposed deep-sea mining rig as the Hughes Glomar Explorer. Hell, Hughes was so excited to be involved in the cover story that he even let them park the thing next to the Spruce Goose down in Long Beach, CA.

Eventually, Seymour Hersh of the New York Times broke the story to the public… hence why he’s an inspiration for Steven, one of the main characters of my novel. You can read Hersh’s article here. And here’s a fun bit of trivia for ya: You know the phrase “We can neither confirm nor deny that… blah blah blah”? Well, that’s actually called a Glomar Response, named after the C.I.A.’s attempts to stop the press from publishing any details about Project Azorian and the Hughes Glomar Explorer.

For more information about Project Azorian, click here. And while you’re at it, check out these images courtesy the C.I.A.’s very own Twitter account — haha, I don’t know about you but the fact that we live in a world where major intelligence agencies have their own social media accounts just cracks me up. Or scares the shit out of me, whichever.

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I have some great news for y’all today: O.L.D. — A GOOD WAY TO DIE is now available (both ebook and paperback) on Amazon. And not only that, but you can preview the first four chapters as well. So get your butt over there and check it out! >> https://amz.run/3ES5

As always, thanks for reading!

Today’s tidbit of Cold War research might not have actually made it into my novel — but it’s just too good not to share. So, sit back, relax and let me tell you about PROJECT A119… aka THE MISSION TO NUKE THE MOON…

The year was 1958, and the USA was desperate… real desperate. In a single year, the USSR had embarrassed the USA numerous times in the budding SPACE RACE. First with Sputnik 1 — the world’s first manmade satellite. And then Sputnik 2 — which carried the first living animal into space (Laika, a stray dog plucked off the streets of Moscow.)

Gone was the cushiony post-war technological lead the USA had enjoyed for over a decade. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, not only had the USSR developed their own atomic bomb… but they had leapfrogged the United State’s ability to deliver this weapon quickly and accurately (thanks to their R-7 rocket — the first ICBM). Long-range bombers like the B-52 — a strategy of deterrence the United States had sunk billions of dollars into — were suddenly archaic and obsolete. The future was space.

To answer this call, the United States Air Force proposed a top-secret mission called PROJECT A119. Its objective was shockingly simple and insultingly inane: detonate a nuclear bomb on the surface of the moon. Why? To remind the rest of the world that the USA was still king of the castle. Assuming the blast would be visible to the naked eye, it was to be a show of force — the USAF insisted — that would boost the morale of the American people and reinstill confidence in the USA’s military might.

So guess who got dragged into this while pursuing his doctorate at the University of Chicago — none other than CARL SAGAN (haha… now my readers see the connection to my novel.) Only 24 years old, Sagan was tasked with calculating the mathematical expansion of the dust cloud that would be created by the explosion and, in short, just how visible this would be from Earth.

Fortunately, as their deadline approached, the powers-that-be got cold feet, and the project was scrapped. Several factors lead to this decision: would such an explosion leave the surface of the moon too radioactive for future research? What if the missile simply missed its target? There would be nobody to blame but themselves and no lost astronauts to exalt as a buffer to the national embarrassment. And what if the general public simply reacted negatively to such a blatant act of aggression?

Yep. Punting on this was for the best. 

There’s actually a fun little anecdote about how Sagan’s involvement in this top-secret mission came to light… but I’ll save that for another day. If you want to learn more about PROJECT A119, there’s a fantastic article by Vince Houghton, historian and curator of the International National Spy Museum, that you can read here. 

And if you’re in the mood for an action-packed, full-throttle Cold War adventure, check out my novel. It’s full of knife-fights, car chases, and, yes, nuclear weapons. It’s now available on Amazon: https://amz.run/3ES5

As always, thanks for reading. Be sure to subscribe to my mailing list so you don’t miss my next post! Thanks!

So not all the research that went into O.L.D. — A Good Way to Die dealt with Cold War top-secret missions. Case in point: presidential breakfasts. A real perk of being the Commander in Chief is the personal staff at your disposal. This includes culinary chefs ready and waiting to prepare anything you might desire. So, naturally, I wondered what the hell these presidents have eaten for breakfast over the years…

Yeah, I actually spent time researching this. And since ol’ Ronnie Reagan plays a pivotal role in my novel, we’ll start with him. So what did Reagan — the 45th president of the United States — eat for breakfast? This might seem somewhat cliché for the decade and all… but his go-to was bran cereal. If you grew up back then, you probably remember just how popular bran cereal was — not with kids, mind you. Hell no. I was a Frosted Flakes aficionado, through and through. But I certainly remember my grandparents chowing down on it every morning. Looking back, it was like people had just discovered ‘fiber’ and all of the benefits of having it in their diet. Topped with skim milk and fresh fruit, both Ronald and Nancy washed it all down with decaf coffee… now that’s a Morning in America.  

As for the other past presidents, let’s take a look:

Jimmy Carter — most often, Mr. Carter kept it simple: fruit and buttered toast. But when Mr. Carter cut loose, he’d devour a plate of country-styled ham with a serving of grits. In fact, Jimmy Carter loved grits so much he named his dog after them. 

Gerald Ford — another light eater during the week, Ford would go wild with strawberry pancakes on the weekends, topped with… sour cream? That sounds strange. Do people really put sour cream on pancakes?! 

Richard Nixon — yogurt, cottage cheese, and fruit. That doesn’t sound too bad, right? But get this… he’d top that cottage cheese with KETCHUP. And I thought sour cream on pancakes was weird? Just imagine ketchup on cottage cheese. Do you see that mental image? It’s terrifying.

Lyndon B. Johnson — this man was from Texas. He ate steaks —breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

John F. Kennedy — Mr. Kennedy enjoyed poached eggs on toast with a side of crisp bacon. Pretty simple. Nothing unsettling. And I’m betting it was quite delicious. 

Well, there you have it, folks. Thanks for reading. Feel free to start a conversation below and subscribe to my mailing list so you don’t miss my next post! Thanks!

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In O.L.D. — A Good Way to Die, our heroine Hunter Gunne drives a badass gold and black Corvette Stingray, which Steven immediately notes is similar to the cars that the NASA astronauts drove. So, let’s take a look at these iconic ASTROVETTES… 

One of the awesome perks of being a NASA astronaut in the late 60s — in addition to boldly going where no man — or woman — had gone before — was getting to lease a brand new Chevrolet Corvette for the measly sum of just $1 per year. A local Florida dealership generously supplied these cars, and each included custom and unique flourishes per the astronaut’s requests.

Hunter’s black and gold model is a specific shout out to the cars of the Apollo 12 mission, the second lunar landing. Comprised of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon, and Alan Bean, the astronauts decided to get three identical 1969 Stingrays, each sporting a 390-hp, 427 Turbo-Jet V-8 engine and four-speed transmission, with the custom black-wing paint job added just before delivery. Of the three cars, only one remains intact and documented. This car, featured in this fantastic Motor Trend article, was driven by astronaut Alan Bean.

As for Hunter’s car, I definitely took some liberties with the vehicle. But why’d I pick this as the template for her secret agent super-mobile? Well, just imagine this car — Hunter behind the wheel — smashing through the wrought iron gates of the White House compound, machine-gun fire ricocheting off its bullet-proof glass and nearly-indestructible fenders… badass, right? 

If that sounds cool to you, you’re going to love my novel. It’s full of car chases, secret agents, and Cold War history… so check it out! — https://amz.run/3ES5

For years, the CIA had been flying ultra top-secret (and highly illegal) espionage flights over the Soviet Union. Their vehicle: the U-2 spy plane, a technological marvel seemingly lightyears ahead of anything the Soviets could throw at it. Flying at heights of 70,000 feet, the plane was assumed to be untouchable by Russian anti-aircraft weaponry. In other words, the U-2 spy plane (and the state-of-the-art cameras mounted in its nose) had free reign over Soviet airspace, to photograph whatever they pleased. But — as so often happens — the unthinkable became doable…

On May 1, 1960, the Soviet Union downed a flyover piloted by Gary Powers. President Eisenhower, who had been assured this would never happen, was understandably pissed — not with the USSR as much as his own intelligence community. But the CIA quickly quelled his concerns, promising him that there was no way that the plane could have survived intact, nor that Powers could have survived. So their secret was still secure. The Soviet Union played coy while the USA scrambled together a convoluted cover story. Claiming that a civilian weather plane had veered off course and crashed, the CIA even doctored photographs of the spy plane (it’s first reveal to the public) complete with fake NASA markings and serial numbers. 

That’s when the USSR played their hand, taking the United States totally by surprise. Not only did the Russians have the wreckage of the spy plane mostly intact, but they also had the pilot, Gary Powers, alive and in custody. Oh — and he also confessed to being a pilot for CIA. Thoroughly made an ass of, Eisenhower had to come clean: Yes, it was a top-secret spy plane. And yes, the USA had been flying illegally over Soviet airspace. 

As for Gary Powers, he was eventually returned to the United States a few years later. He was traded atop the Glienicke Bridge — the infamous Bridge of Spies — for a captured Soviet agent. Eisenhower would later call this one of the worst debacles of his presidency. 

If you’re digging this, you’re going to love my novel. It’s full of secret agents, top-secret missions, and Cold War history… so check it out! — https://amz.run/3ES5

Hey y’all — the reviews have been pouring in for O.L.D. — A Good Way to Die so check ‘em out below. The novel is available here on Amazon but we’re hoping to make it available locally soon — so be sure to swing back for details! Stay safe, readers!

With today being the Friday before the most horrifying day of them all — I’m talking Halloween, not Election Day — I think it’s time we tackle one of my favorite horror films: 1982’s Poltergeist. So let’s get sucked into the closet, y’all.

The idea for the film originated with a quasi-sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That film, entitled Night Skies, was to be directed by Steven Spielberg. But, unhappy with the progress they were making, he decided to split the concept into two separate films instead. Those films were Poltergeist & E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Below is an unused creature design from Spielberg’s Night Skies.

Though Spielberg handed Poltergeist over directing responsibilities to Tobe Hooper, his aesthetic is all over the film. And there’s still a ton of controversy over whether Spielberg (as producer) actually did direct the movie. Interestingly, the two films hit theaters within weeks of each other. Here he is… not directing? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Again, these films were made AT THE SAME TIME. Spielberg would jump between sets. Here he is with the children of both films:

For me, the most memorable moment of the film is when Diane (played by the great JoBeth Williams) meets face to face with (what I believe to be) the film’s primary baddie: THE BEAST. Here you can see an early sketch and the sculpture itself by the talented Craig Reardon.

But it turns out THE BEAST wasn’t always as ethereal and otherworldly. At one point, the filmmakers thought of making THE BEAST more human. Here you see some recently unearthed test footage showing this iteration of the baddie greeting Diane instead. 

Next time you watch Poltergeist, keep an eye out for evidence of deleted scenes. For example, when Diane is pushed to the ceiling, she was to fight off an amorphous monster. That segment was cut, but you know the spot on the wall that the dog fixates on? That’s the monster!

Poltergeist still intrigues viewers decades later. It was incredibly ambitious and, according to the cast and crew, there was a ton of footage left on the cutting room floor. As for the whole Night Skies film, here’s a great article to check out!

Thanks for reading. If you’re into this sort of thing, please click that subscribe button and share! And Happy Halloween! 

Here’s a bit of history that didn’t make it into my novel, but it’s fascinating nonetheless: the Silbervogel, aka The Nazi Space Plane. Designed by Eugen Sänger and Irene Bredt, the Silbervogel (translated as The Silver Bird) was to be a liquid-fueled rocket-powered sub-orbital bomber. 

One can generally take two approaches when it comes to space flight: a single-use ballistic rocket with a payload on top. Think Germany’s V2 rocket (which terrorized London) or NASA’s Saturn V (which took men to the moon) — both of which were designed by Wernher von Braun (yeah, he was a Nazi.) The other approach is a reusable space vehicle that can achieve space flight and then return safely to earth, its crew or payload intact. Examples of this would be NASA’s space shuttle program and, well, the Silbervogel.

So how was the Silbervogel going to rain the Führer’s fury down on New York City? Well, I’m glad you asked because get this: a rocket-powered sled was going to propel the plane along a two-mile rail system, flinging the vehicle into the air. Then, the plane’s onboard rocket engine would provide the required thrust to achieve suborbital flight. At that point, the Silbervogel would bounce off the upper atmosphere — up and down like a roller coaster — until reaching its target. Then… bombs away. 

All of this was a part of Nazi Germany’s Amerikabomber Project, whose explicit purpose was to obtain a long-range strategic bomber capable of striking the United States. (This is a fascinating rabbit hole to jump down, so expect a few follow-up posts on this!) But before you go having nightmares about the Silbervogel, the actual feasibility of this design was highly unlikely to ever — pardon the pun — get off the ground. And modern computer modeling has shown the design to be catastrophically flawed. But perhaps, if there hadn’t been a war sucking up scarce resources and funding, maybe these designs would have spurred further developments. 

Thanks for checking out today’s post. As always, if this stuff interests you, you’ll love my book. And since I’ve mentioned Nazis, it’s necessary I post this:

There’s surprisingly little out there on the web about the development of Robert Zemeckis’ CONTACT. But it’s Friday, I’m a big CARL SAGAN fan, & I recently watched the film — so let’s TAKE A RIDE!

There may not be much because the film was initially developed by GEORGE MILLER, the director of such incredible films as Mad Max, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Babe. In fact, it was Carl Sagan himself (along with his wife/partner Ann Druyan) who reached out to Miller specifically. Unfortunately, there was a falling out between the studio and Miller, thus Zemeckis stepped in to replace him. All that remains of the Sagan-Miller venture seems to comes from PETER POUND, an Australian artist who has worked on many of Miller’s films. Here we have a few sketches of Ellie. Note the number of corporate sponsors adorning her spacesuit…

Next, we have the dodecahedron-shaped vehicle itself. It appears Miller intended to retain the five crew members found in Sagan’s novel (as opposed to Ellie traveling by herself.) Also: look at the size of the thing! It’s huge! And I love the idea of each ship fitting a specific shape/wormhole! Very cool!

Here we have a cryogenically frozen Hadden (and his partner!) being launched in a solar yacht. In the final movie, he died of cancer. But here it appears he’s hoping to be saved by future generations. It’s been twenty years since I read the novel, so I’m having a hard time remembering if this also adheres more to the source material.

All of this fascinates me. But like I said, details are hard to come by. Hopefully, Miller’s script will someday make its way onto the internet, but if you hear or know of anything, please share!! Thanks!

Here’s an interesting pamphlet I picked up for another project of mine. ‘You and the Atomic Bomb’ was produced by the New York State Civil Defense Commission in 1950 and reassured the reader that an atomic attack is survivable if one is adequately prepared. Early in the Cold War, efforts to inform the public of what to expect/how to prepare for an atomic confrontation were relatively common, even in the United States. But those efforts faded over the decades (in the USA at least) as both the dire reality of thermonuclear warfare became apparent, and the domestic politics of nuclear weapons became more polarized.

The pamphlet is rather informative, if not slightly naive. The illustrations are pretty good and include Manhattan getting a front-row view of a water burst (somebody had fun with that one.) There are the typical suggestions for when you’re caught out in the open during an attack. They include hiding behind a tree and covering your baby’s stroller with a blanket. Afterward, the booklet reassures the reader that emergency crews will rescue those trapped in buildings as bulldozers clear the streets (ha!) and that men with ‘special detectors’ will be by to locate and warn you of radioactive areas (yeah, right.) My favorite bit suggests a “good scrubbing” after the blast to remove radioactive particles… and the illustration is that of a mother (complete with a 1950s apron) bathing her child — later in the pamphlet, the reader is instructed not to turn on the water after a blast. Probably the most frequent suggestion in the book is: “Don’t get excited or excite others” — I guess you were expected to just die peacefully.

So I dove back into my research and plucked this tidbit out today: The Sagan Standard. Now, Carl Sagan isn’t technically a character in my novel, but he’s certainly a presence (and quite an unexpected one, if I say so myself!) I’ve been a big Carl Sagan fan since I was a little kid — I can remember sitting in my family’s living room watching Cosmos with my parents. In high school, I discovered his books. Pale Blue Dot, The Demon-Haunted World, Billions and Billions — whether I realized it or not at the time, those books had a significant impact on who I am today.

Anyway, let’s talk about the Sagan Standard…

The term refers to an aphorism used by Sagan in his television series Cosmos that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” What’s so great about this statement is how effectively it encapsulates the tenents of the scientific method. When put to use, it pushes the use of critical thinking, rational thought, and skepticism above all else. Sagan would use this concept when exploring claims of UFOs and alien abductions. And you can see how the idea can easily be applied to everything from ghost sightings to spiraling political conspiracy theories.

In my novel, Michael, a White House advisor to the Reagan administration, reflects on the Sagan Standard when Mrs. Reagan declares that, ahem, her husband and president Ronald Reagan is an imposter hell-bent on nuclear war. Michael can’t help but think the idea is preposterous. When asked if she has any proof of such a claim, Mrs. Reagan has nothing. Instead, it’s simply a gut feeling, a hunch, that is seemingly confirmed by the first lady’s personal astrologer, of all people.

Now, being an over-the-top-thriller, it shouldn’t surprise you THAT SHE’S RIGHT, lol. But the idea of the Sagan Standard is something that I can’t help but think we need more of today. As misinformation and conspiracies become more mainstream and weaponized, keep Carl Sagan and this aphorism in mind.

Oh, and read my book! Thanks! 

“I don’t think people are inherently evil or selfish,” she said. “We just seem to have a hard-wired stubbornness for rationalizing our own beliefs and behaviors.”

By far, one of my favorite genres is dystopian fiction, and I’m certainly not alone. Few genres are more effective at exploring and extrapolating contemporary issues in hopes of steering society away from impending disasters. Just as political and environmental anxieties have ebbed and flowed over the last century and a half, so too has dystopian fiction’s popularity, almost as if meeting the moments that define it. 

So, where am I getting at with all this? 

Well, I just read Rules of Order by Jeff Vande Zande, and I was blown away. Brilliantly written, hauntingly atmospheric, and highly entertaining: this is top-notch dystopian fiction that is both reverential of the classics and also fresh and inventive.

Rules of Order is the near-future story of Harvey Crowe, a man who lives within a massive life-sustaining high-rise that, through generations of gross incompetence and exploitative greed, has been pushed well beyond its limits. Outside the tower is an uninhabitable wasteland where nobody can survive. But inside is a toxic class system that has allowed the wealthy elite to lord over the desperately poor. A complete structural collapse is inevitable, but getting both the rich and poor to believe in the severity of the looming danger, let alone agree on solutions, is proving impossible.

Crowe is a member of a group of activists desperate to do something to save the building, but as their peaceful efforts to educate and inform the public are met with cold, arrogant indifference, a more militant faction threatens outright violence in the face of the impending collapse. Crowe finds himself the only one who can bridge the literal fissures tearing the building apart. On the one hand, he can influence the group’s de facto leader, keeping her level-headed and calm. And on the other, he has the ability to convince a handful of wealthy socialites on the upper floors to become allies of their cause. But with the building set to fall at any moment, can he find the inner conviction to pull things together before it’s too late?

“Something is happening,” she said. “To feel like you’re that much of a threat… to attack you like that? They are scared. Our message must be reaching some important people.”

If you couldn’t guess, this is an allegory about climate change. And Vande Zande absolutely nails it. I’ve been a fan of this author for a while now, and I especially enjoyed Parable of Weeds, his previous foray into dystopian fiction (which I highly recommend reading as well — available here.) 

A self-contained setting like this is a classic trope of the genre — we’ve seen it before in J. G. Ballard’s High-Rise and most recently in Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer. But it’s cool to see Vande Zande craft such a perfect stage to play out this story; it’s the ideal pressure cooker to explore these themes and highlight just how interconnected our society really is, whether we want to accept that or not. 

But what I really applaud about Rules of Order is that, yes, Vande Zande has made a statement about climate change — one that resonates with you; we are, after all, rushing arrogantly toward our own demise — but he’s also presented solutions applicable in the real world. And that’s admirable, even if they are as simple as teaching critical thinking skills to children (this isn’t presented as a magic-wand fix to the story’s imminent disaster nor our real world’s climate crisis, but instead, as a way of educating people to understand the problem and collectively come up with solutions.) In the genre, you don’t often see something like this on the periphery of the main story. It’s something that could be just as easily omitted — the story would be just as engaging and entertaining — but the fact that it’s there tucked away like a little seed for the reader to take and plant on their own — again, I applaud this. As fatalistic as I like my dystopian fiction, that’s a perfect touch of optimism.

“Whatever our circumstances, whatever our skills, whatever our wealth, we all deserve at least a modicum of dignity.” He looked out at the faces that seemed to be paying attention. “And dignity is something we feel in ourselves, but receive from others.”

Rules of Order (Montag Press, 2022) is available to purchase here. You should absolutely check it out. It’s a fast read, full of vivid descriptions, memorable characters, rich dialogue, and strong world-building. And be sure to check out Jeff Vande Zande’s blog. There you can find news and reviews, as well as his musings on various topics! You can also find him on Twitter at @jcvandez – thanks for reading, folks!