The government paid me to lie to my wife
Hello again!
Lars here.
I used to do some interesting stuff under the ‘National Security’ banner.
I was allowed to talk about a good bit of what we did.
But there was some stuff that I would be thrown in jail for disclosing.
That’s not news to anyone, I don’t think. Most of us are familiar with the idea that militaries and intelligence agencies have secrets, and we generally accept that those secrets exist to protect our personnel in harm’s way, and also to protect particular technologies, processes, or relationships.
But there are two interesting spinoffs that occur as a result of this secrecy.
First (and I think this comes as a surprise to many people): in certain circumstances, we are required to lie to you.
It’s not optional. We can’t decline to answer the question. We have to answer, and the answer has to be a lie.
I have lied to my wife because the government made it...
"It's not poo, daddy. It's dirt."
Hello! Lars here.
Hope your day is well above average. :)
It's pure bedlam here at Lars Emmerich Headquarters. At the headquarters are three children. They live here.
It's not really a headquarters as much as it's... a house.
But I'm fond of pomp and circumstance, so we'll go with 'headquarters.'
The two-year-old is going through a nakedness phase. No problem... except that she's not yet down with doing her business in the toilet.
Have there been 'surprises' left in strategic locations around the headquarters facility?
I'm sad to report, yes.
Did a certain author step in a 'hidden gem' and proceed to spread the gift throughout the house via the bottom of his shoe?
Again, yes.
These are the times that try men's souls, as somebody smart and famous once said.
And what did my daughter have to say for herself?
"It's not poo, daddy. It's just dirt."
Which brings us to today's topic: propaganda!...
Some people like having this kind of nonsense delivered to their inbox on the regular. I don't know why. But I'd be happy to add you to the list if you're so inclined. (You'll get early-bird specials on new releases and occasional deals and discounts, too).
Sam Jameson Books 1 & 2
Special double-volume edition containing Books 1 and 2 in the Sam Jameson series. This is the story that kicked everything off for me, and it still blows my mind that over a million people have read (and hopefully enjoyed) the story. It's Sam in her prime, and I hope you love her as much as I do :).
Quinn Book 1
Man, I loved writing this book. I think that probably shows through when you read it, too. I think I can usually tell by the way a sentence reads if an author is wearing a smile as they write it. A reader named James said that MONARCH is "maybe the best thriller I've ever read." I hope you enjoy it, too.
Sam Jameson Book 3
This is my least favorite of my books. It has... issues. But I've had many readers tell me it's their favorite in the whole catalog (there's no accounting for taste, evidently). Improbably, it actually became a #1 bestseller. If you really want to read it, it's available in every format except audio.
Sam Jameson Books 4 & 5
"The end of the world began in New Jersey," is how Meltdown starts. Sorry if you're from that state, but I think we can all agree that it's an appropriate place for the end to begin. I had a ton of fun playing around with this topic, and I really enjoyed getting Sam and Brock out of the trouble I stuck them in. I think you'll like this double-volume special edition.
Peter Kittredge Book 1
This one ended up as one of those noir psychological thrillers that have become all the rage. I wasn't smart enough to have planned it that way. I actually didn't set out to write a noir psychological thriller. It just seemed like I followed Peter Kittredge to someplace dark, cynical, and entertaining as hell. I hope you love it!
Sam Jameson Book 6
I wrote Fallout right after Descent, during a time when I had a long commute to the cement box that held my cubicle. I dictated a good portion of the manuscript into my laptop, which sat open on the passenger seat... except during hard braking, which led to my requiring a new laptop. FALLOUT tackles some thorny questions in what people say is a very interesting story. Let's hope they're right.
Sam Jameson Book 7
This story has a gigantic twist at the end, and it shapes a good bit of the rest of the series so far. I've lost count of how many emails I've received since I published BLOWBACK from people asking when and how I'm going to resolve it. There's also a surprise appearance made by an old favorite, and you won't believe how different he is now.
Sam Jameson Book 8
BURN is the first story I wrote in Sam's voice, and I absolutely loved the way it seemed to come alive from this new vantage. There's another mega-twist in this one that has left a lot of jaws in the fly-catching position. I can't tell you any more, because I don't want to spoil the surprise!
Sam Jameson Book 9
This story picks up just two weeks after the end of BURN, and Sam is still a long way away from okay. People say it's an intense ride, and a handful of folks wrote to me within hours of the book's release to tell me they finished it in one sitting, loved it, and when the hell is the next one coming out? I hope you enjoy it just as much.
Sam Jameson Book 10
This book solves one of the biggest riddles in the entire series. It provides the answer to the question I've been asked hundreds of times, which is.... something that I can't even tell you, because if you're reading this description before you read the earlier books, it might ruin the surprise. Suffice it to say that if you're a Sam Jameson series fan, this is one you won't want to skip.
