Award-winning author and former US Secret Service special agent
SECRET SERVICE AGENTS MUST BE COURAGEOUS What would you do at the sound of gunfire? Hit the deck? Move to cover? Maybe you'd run in the opposite direction? For most people, these are reasonable and appropriate reactions to an active shooter, but that's not how a Secret Service agent, on a protective mission, will respond.... Continue Reading →
THRILLERFEST 2019 ThrillerFest 2019. Thrillerfest is the annual, week-long event, held every year during July in New York City (The Grand Hyatt Hotel) where acclaimed authors (and aspiring ones), agents, publishers, editors, and book reviewers come together in celebration of the thriller genre. It's a who's who of the writing community. Don't believe me? Here's... Continue Reading →
DIVINE INTERVENTION Wanting to build upon the theme of my last post—A VISIT FROM GOD’S MESSENGERS—I thought I’d share the extraordinary circumstances of how I met Father Manuel “Manny” Dorantes. No, I’m not going to mention angels or moral dilemmas, but I might bring up divine intervention a time or two. Divine intervention? Is there... Continue Reading →
A visit from God's messengers Los Angeles. No, not Tinseltown. I’m talking about the city’s namesake. You know, those robe-wearing celestial beings with feathery wings that sprout up from their shoulder blades. Yeah, I’m talking about angels.There are references in the sacred texts of nearly every major religion of these supernatural creatures. For example, in the... Continue Reading →
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 | NYPD OFFICER JOHN D'ALLARA September 11, 2001 | NYPD Officer John D'AllaraBy: CE AlbaneseSeptember 11, 2001. It was a beautiful morning, typical of early September. The bright and warm sun rose slowly and steadily, burning away the few wisps of clouds that still lingered in the sky. Summer vacation was over,... Continue Reading →
A RARE GLIMPSE INTO THE LIFE OF A SECRET SERVICE AGENT Here's a rare glimpse into the life of a Secret Service agent circa 2008. 2008 was a campaign year (McCain vs. Obama), and I found myself assigned to the Candidate Nominee Operation Section (CNOS) detail of McCain's vice presidential pick— Sarah Palin, the governor of... Continue Reading →
A FAMILY DIVIDED A family divided. "As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." - Saint Pope John Paul II Pretty accurate quote, huh? I think so. Just take a look at current events. Go turn on your television, or check the latest post to your Facebook... Continue Reading →
Read to the end and you will see… C-4 is classified as a high-order explosive (HE), that produces an over-pressurization shock wave. It is similar to TNT, Semtex, nitroglycerin, dynamite, and ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO). It is very stable and cannot be detonated by a gunshot or by dropping it (unlike the explosive TATP, commonly referred… Continue Reading →
Several years ago, I had the honor of meeting Paul Bucha. At the time, I only knew that he was a foreign policy adviser for Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign. We spoke at length about the current state of politics and his vision for the future of our country. I listened politely, not knowing his... Continue Reading →
