Dear Reader,
I'm baking cookies for three lucky book club readers. Today is the last day to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway. If your name is drawn, cookies will show up on your doorstep soon. To enter the drawing, and see photos of past winners, click here.
Today's guest author, James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. A former stealth pilot from Houston, Texas, he has been shot at, locked up with surface-to-air missiles, and chased down a winding German road by an armed terrorist. He is a two-time Silver Falchion Award winner for his Section 13 mysteries for kids and a Thriller Award nominee for his Nick Baron covert ops series for adults. James is a rare multi-sense synesthete, meaning all of his senses intersect. He sees and feels sounds and smells and hears flashes of light. If he tells you the chocolate cake you offered smells blue and sticky, take it as a compliment.
The Gryphon Heist, James' latest thriller, plunges readers into a labyrinth of action, con men, and global espionage. James says "The Gryphon Heist is a nonstop, electrifying ride that will take readers into the most daring burglary ever conceived."
Please email and say hello to James.
Spies, Jesters, and Fidget Spinners
I have a confession. I am forty-four years old, and I love fidget spinners. There. I said it.
I know fidget spinners were a silly fad. But I love them. I love the variety of shapes and styles. I love the whir and feel of a little gyroscopic device balanced on my finger.
This addiction harkens back to my juggling days. Long before I held titles like Stealth Pilot and Intelligence Liaison, I was a professional juggler. I had a talent agent and everything. She was also the snake lady. Her husband was the strong man. I worked gigs all over town with this pair, juggling, riding a unicycle, and balancing oddly-shaped objects on my face. Sometimes all three. I had only one major stipulation in my contract. I would not work as a clown--never a clown.
We ran into a gray area just once.
My agent called me with a gig working as a jester for an Irish Catholic wedding reception. One hitch: I'd have to wear the costume. The shoes weren't floppy and red, but they did have bells on the toes. And there were checkered tights.
The priest brokering the deal promised I could pilfer whatever I wanted from the caterer's leftovers. The snake-lady-agent pressed me. Ten percent of my fee belonged to her. I'd like to say her husband strong-armed me, but he didn't have to. The money was too good. I put on the tights and danced around like...well...a fool. Please don't tell my military buddies.
The jester-but-totally-not-a-clown job was my last. A few weeks later, at seventeen, I was at the US Air Force Academy, running through the Rockies with an M-16.
I still juggle sometimes, usually when nobody but my kids are looking. I play with hacky sacks and fidget spinners too. When I found a kindred spirit in Eddie Gupta, the geeky best friend of rookie CIA operative Talia Inger in The Gryphon Heist, I took full advantage. I gave him a fidget spinner and told my wife I had to buy a pile of them for "research." The other characters make fun of us both, but Eddie and I don't mind.
That's the full confession. Clearly, I've said too much. If you bring it up near my military buddies, I'll deny everything. And if you catch me balancing a sword on my head and a fidget spinner on my finger, I'll swear it's all part of the writing process.
-- James R. Hannibal
To see a photo of James balancing a sword on his head, click here.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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