Stealing Stealth follows a CIA officer tasked with protecting a new stealth technology who must enlist the help of a brilliant thief to stop it from falling into the wrong hands. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I wrote the initial draft of this story when I was deployed in Afghanistan. I was constantly in this battle with what is said and what is left unsaid, in an intriguing chess match with men who were both my ally and not at the same time. To capture this specific paranoia, I thought of the mid-1970s. We often look at the Cold War through the lens of the 80s. That was the end. But just before that, everything was messy. The Church Committee was exposing CIA secrets, Vietnam had just ended, and trust in institutions was crumbling. I wanted to drop a “Boy Scout” character like John Olson into that moral grey zone and force him to work with someone like Gabrielle Hyde, who represents pure, chaotic individualism. The stealth technology itself was the perfect catalyst because it represented a revolution in warfare that terrified everyone. The idea that a plane could be invisible to radar felt like magic in 1977.

There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?

Competence. Nothing kills a thriller faster than characters who make stupid decisions just for the sake of the plot. I wanted Olson and Hyde to be masters of their respective crafts. When they fail, it’s because they were outmaneuvered by a smarter opponent, not because they were making bad choices. I also wanted to explore the cost of competence. For Olson, his dedication to the CIA cost him his personal life. For Hyde, her tragic youth led to brilliance as a thief, but it also left her isolated. The most important factor was ensuring that even when they were enemies, they respected each other’s skills. That mutual respect is the engine of the book.

How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?

My background in special operations taught me that real action is rarely a continuous two-hour firefight. It’s hours of tension followed by seconds of chaos. I tried to replicate that rhythm, but with a better balance. Also, it is important that the reader cares. 1970s politics and game-changing aircraft technology are complicated enough, but I needed the reader to feel that pressure. Then, as the tension built through briefing room politics, the surveillance, and the planning, the reader finally felt the stakes. The pacing comes from the pressure cooker effect; the clock is ticking, and the walls are closing in. Then I added the guns.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?

The next book is Arctic Fire, releasing in April 2026. It is a tonal shift from the spy world of Stealing Stealth. It’s a Neo-Western Noir set in the Alaskan wilderness, following a female Marine veteran who uncovers a conspiracy in a small, frozen town. Think Wind River meets Sicario. After that comes Eye of the Caldera. It’s a high-octane disaster thriller inspired by incredible true events and a declassified CIA operation. It drops in the Fall of 2026.

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