BUREAU 13: Judgment Night

The printed covers can not do them justice.

The novels hit the bookstores, and suddenly fan clubs started appearing across the country, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Seattle, then there was a Bureau 13 convention! My books were a hit with the cast of hard-boiled, wise cracking heroes who faced down any danger and fought hard to deliver justice, often at the end of a gun or magic wand. Suddenly, I was the Mickey Spillane of the supernatural.

Then a Moscow publisher contacted me about translating the trilogy into Russian. Smiling broadly, I signed, and the books went ballistic in the Ukraine. Selling over half a million copies, just in time for Soviet Communism to fall apart and democracy to return to Russia. I take some small measure of pride in thinking that maybe my books helped bring down the Red Menace. Okay, they didn't, but it makes a hell of a story for me to tell over beer and pizza.

Now this cult-classic trilogy has been rewritten, the real-world technology updated. An amusing anecdote for my English speaking readers, the Russian translators changed a few things, mostly that Mindy became a six foot tall Norwegian blonde, and a certain group of villains became ex-KGB agents now using necromancy to try and topple the god-fearing democracy of Russia and return the iron-heel of communism. Hmm, maybe I did help a little. Who knows?

Now, since both my American and Russian publishers have asked me to say something about myself, rather than just chatting about the books here goes. Gang, if you read my books, then you know me. My heart, blood, and guts are in every one. Let me explain. A long time ago I heard a recorded interview with Frank Sinatra on the radio from 1955, and the disc jockey was trying to bust Frank's chops with snide remarks, but Sinatra was cool and answered every question with panache and humor. Finally, the DJ asked if Sinatra had a philosophy that he followed and Frank said yes. He did everything, every song, every performance, every movie, as if he was going to drop dead instantly after it was finished, and it would be by this one last act that he would be remembered forever - or forgotten completely. I was floored by that and turned off the rest of the interview to memorize his words. Now I have the phrase framed on the wall of my studio.

"By this one book be remembered, or forgotten, forever."

That's it, folks, win, lose or draw, every book is all that I got. I hold nothing back.

For those who want more, I'm half Sicilian and half Scottish, which means I occasional put on a dress and kill people with a pepperoni haggis. I used to be a stand-up comic in Manhattan, a martial arts instructor, an armed high security courier, owned a used bookstore, did voice-overs for TV commercials, and was a video store clerk. Now I write novels and am truly happy, living with my beautiful wife in a small town north of Chicago where there is a park named after Ray Bradbury, who was born and raised here, and I am only blocks

away from a barbecue pit with the best smoked ribs in the known universe. Case closed, I am home.

So now you know the backstory. For my returning readers, old friends await inside, facing new dangers, and battling even more impossible odds. But guts are always more important than guns, and those this FBI team have got in abundance.

For all of the new readers, come on in and grab a weapon. Plenty of M16 machine guns to the left, or magical wands to the right. The tide of evil is rising, and the world is facing a supernatural war beyond imagination.