The Paul Franco Award

Paul Franco is one of my Facebook friends...a Los Angeles-based photographer who recently told me he was traveling across Europe by train when he saw a young woman reading one of my novels. He approached her with his usual flair and swagger and said, "I know the author." Paul never made it clear whether he approached the woman because she was tall and gorgeous or because she was reading my book. Nevertheless, I decided to create an award dedicated to that moment.

Unlike the mind of its namesake, The Paul Franco Award is simple: I will give an autographed copy of my next thriller to the very first random person I meet in public who is reading one of my novels. Plane, train, rickshaw, bicycle, hover craft, skateboard -- it doesn't matter. To win a free copy of my next book, all I need to do is see you reading one of my other novels. Yes, digital eBooks count. (Please, no reading while driving your car or big-rig, although passengers are certainly encouraged to partake!)

Which brings up an important point.

With the proliferation of high-speed hand-held internet devices today, if you see me coming, you can quickly go to Amazon and order a copy of Department Thirteen clicking HERE or The Identity Factor by clicking HERE, or if you're a Nook fan, go to Barnes & Noble and purchase a copy of Department Thirteen by clicking HERE, or The Identity Factor by clicking HERE, and that simple strategic purchase could win you FREE autographed copy of my next book! Easy!

What are you in for if you do? Well, Department Thirteen chronicles a week in the life of former KGB informant Aleksandr Talanov, who discovers he has broken the first rule of survival by unwittingly falling in love with the woman he must now fall out of love with if he is to save her from a mysterious group of assassins from his past. Released in 2011 by Comfort Publishing and set in Los Angeles, Australia, Vanuatu, and Switzerland, the novel was inspired by my years as a smuggler behind the old Iron Curtain, where it was recently awarded the Best Thriller of 2011 by USA Book News. You can read the official press release by clicking HERE, or watch the two-minute trailer by clicking HERE.

The Identity Factor is a completely different story altogether. Also published by Comfort Publishing and set in Austin, Cairo, Jerusalem, Washington DC, and San Francisco, The Identity Factor is attraction versus antagonism when a headstrong, mouthy rookie profiler with the CIA competes with a charming Texas journalist to identify a phantom terrorist. The book scooped finalist awards in four US book competitions, including the National Best Books Awards and the Eric Hoffer Award.

And what is my next book, you ask? I can't tell you that right now other than to say it is the second in my Talanov thriller series. "Book X," as I am presently calling it, will be announced officially by its actual title in June at the giant Book Expo America convention in New York. Naturally, some quotes and teasers will be leaked before that time, but if you like the likes of Aleksandr Talanov, you're in for a real treat.

So, in conclusion, I wish you happy reading, and on behalf of The Paul Franco Award, I hope to see one of you soon!