Kingdom Keepers 4

I first met Ridley Pearson in 1988 on his tour for Undercurrents, as he, along with Lou Boldt and Daphne Matthews, made there way to Tower Books in east Portland.  It was my first author signing and I was electrified as I stood in line waiting for him to sign my lone copy of Undercurrents.  I still have that book.  He inscribed it, “To John, watch out for The Angel Maker, Ridley Pearson.”  From that day forward I have been a book collector, and as such have every book he has written since.

Boldt and Matthews became regular visitors to my house each year.  In off years they would send others in their place, sometimes Chris Klick and more recently Walt Fleming.  There was even an odd visit one year by Ellen Rimbauer.

The excitement grew to a fever pitch when Peter and the Starcatchers reached our home.  Mitchell was 7 at the time and Evan had just turned 4.  Every evening we would read from “Starcatchers.”  The conclusion of each night’s reading you could hear the echo of young boy voices “one more chapter dad!”  We read the sequels in the same way, as Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, and Peter and the Sword of Mercy finally arrived.

Ridley with co-author Dave Barry

The boys are older now, (more…)

Today is the official laydown date for THE JUNGLE, so I thought I’d give Jack DuBrul a call and see how he feels about his latest collaboration with Clive Cussler. It seemed a shame to take him away from his writing, but I always enjoy talking with him.

Jack says that THE JUNGLE is probably his favorite Oregon Files book, and he sounds pleased with the twist he adds to the ending of the story.

From the “news fit to print” category, Phil Mercer lives! Jack is “hard” at work on the long awaited new Phil Mercer story. He is unwilling to share his working title, but did say that I can report that the story revolves around the global warming controversy, and starts with the long lost aviation pioneer, Amelia Earhart. As a long time fan of the series I was pleased to learn last fall that Jack would take a break from the Oregon Files to flesh out the Mercer tale that has been rattling around in his head for a couple of years.

So save a weekend sometime in the months ahead to head back to Tiny’s Bar, where you can slide onto a stool next to Harry White, order a Vodka Gimlet and wait for Phil Mercer to make an appearance.

I have it on good authority that he is on his way.

- John

I was watching a piece on CBS News Sunday with the title of ‘based on a novel by . . . “

It featured none other than the master spymaker, John LeCarre. Few of us can forget the Cold War and the novelists whose stock-in-trade were those “spies” who applied their craft, and by doing so kept us safe.

LeCarre, in 22 novels, revealed the frailties of the human condition and exploited it, building up tension in the reader with characters that lived in the shadows, dark and mysterious. LeCarre, along with Len Deighton, Frederick Forsyth, and Ken Follett showed us the face of British counter intelligence.

Gradually, US spy novelists came to par in the genre created and dominated by British writers. The Scarlatti Inheritance caused Robert Ludlum to be regarded as the first American spymaster. In the 1970s, former CIA operative Charles McCarry began the Paul Christopher series with The Tears of Autumn. The first American techno-thriller was Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October. It introduced CIA analyst, turned field agent, Jack Ryan.

With the end of the Cold War the genre went on hiatus. Spies lost their luster and relevance. No secrets needed exposure, or so we thought . . .! To survive, the novelists had to re-invent (more…)

VJ Books is now shipping signed 1st editions of The Secret Soldier by Alex Berenson.

Author Signed Hardcover.  February 2011 NY: Penguin  First edition, first printing, mint, new/unread in a flawless dustjacket, signed by the author.  Each dust jacket is protected in an acid-free archival quality acetate cover.

VJ Books is now shipping signed 1st editions of Swamplandia! by Karen Russell.

Author Signed Hardcover.  February 2011 NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing  First edition, first printing, mint, new/unread in a flawless dust jacket, signed by the author.   Each dust jacket is protected in an acid-free archival quality acetate cover.

VJ Books is now shipping signed 1st editions of Night Vision by Randy Wayne White.

Night Vision by Randy Wayne White

Author Signed Hardcover.  February 2011 NY: Penguin  First edition, first printing, mint, new/unread in a flawless dust jacket, signed by the author.   Each dust jacket is protected in an acid-free archival quality acetate cover.

Doc Ford is on a collision course with death in this extraordinary new novel from the New York Times bestselling author.

A lot is going on in the trailer park known as Little Guadalajara, inhabited principally by illegal laborers. The park manager is the hired gun of a financial syndicate that wants to develop the property, and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes-but he can’t figure out what to do about the teenage girl, the one the laborers believe has some sort of gift.

When she witnesses him killing a man, though, and runs, there’s nothing left to figure: He’s got to find her fast and shut her up good. Her only hope for survival: a marine biologist (and sometimes more) named Doc Ford, who along with his friend Tomlinson, must undertake a search through an underground, invisible nation…and just hope he reaches her first.

See all titles by Randy Wayne White.

VJ Books is now shipping signed 1st editions of Fatal Error by J.A. Jance.

Author Signed Hardcover.  February 2011 NY: Simon & Schuster  First edition, first printing, mint, new/unread in a flawless dustjacket, signed by the author.  Each dust jacket is protected in an acid-free archival quality acetate cover.

New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance delivers another pulse-pounding tale of suspense where no one is safe from a . . .FATAL ERROR.

Ali Reynolds begins the summer thinking her most difficult challenge will be surviving a six-week- long course as the lone forty-something female at the Arizona Police Academy—not to mention taking over the 6:00 AM shift at her family’s restaurant while her parents enjoy a long overdue Caribbean cruise. However, when Brenda Riley, a colleague from Ali’s old news broadcasting days in California, shows up in town with an alcohol problem and an unlikely story about a missing fiancé, Ali reluctantly agrees to help.

The man posing as Brenda’s fiancé is revealed to be Richard Lowensdale, a cyber-sociopath who has left a trail of broken hearts in his virtual wake. When he is viciously murdered, the women he once victimized are considered suspects. The police soon focus their investigation on Brenda, who is already known to have broken into Richard’s home and computer before vanishing without a trace. Attempting to clear her friend’s name, Ali is quickly drawn into a web of online intrigue that may lead to a real-world fatal error. With unerring skill, Jance delivers relentless suspense in what is surely her finest novel yet in this riveting and addictive series.

See all titles by J.A. Jance.

VJ Books is now shipping signed 1st editions of Midnight Guardians by Jonathon King.

Author Signed Hardcover. October 2010 NY: Open Road Integrated Media  First edition, first printing, mint, new/unread in a flawless dustjacket, signed by the author. Each dust jacket is protected in an acid-free archival quality acetate cover.

Book six of the bestselling Max Freeman mystery series: Max investigates a conspiracy involving corrupt cops, fraud, and a drug kingpin from his past as he fights to save what he loves most

Max is back, trawling the trailer parks and waterways of South Florida, where amid the gorgeous beaches and abundant foliage there lies a stunning range of brutality.

After Max is hired to investigate a conspiracy involving fake claims to Medicare, he quickly realizes the scheme is much more dangerous than anyone assumed. And when the Brown Man, a former drug kingpin who once helped Max nab a serial killer, reappears in a slick new guise, Max must reclaim his street instincts to protect not just the citizens of South Florida, but also his girlfriend, Detective Sherry Richards-the one person he can’t afford to lose.

This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s life.

“King adds new dimensions of depth and substance to the modern crime novel.” -Michael Connelly
“Whether taking us to the dark corners of the Everglades or the hard streets of Philadelphia, King’s writing is gritty, vivid, and suspenseful.” -Harlan Coben
“Jonathon King captures the intrigue, lyrical beauty, and darkness of the Florida Everglades better than any other writer I know of.” -James Lee Burke

See all titles by Jonathon King.

VJ Books is now shipping signed 1st editions of Omega Theory by Mark Alpert .

Author Signed Hardcover  February 2011 NY:  Simon & Schuster  First edition, first printing, mint, new/unread in a flawless dustjacket, signed by the author.  Each dust jacket is protected in an acid-free archival quality acetate cover.

David Swift and Monique Reynolds desperately try to stop a group of religious zealots from re-creating the Big Bang.

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. And a child shall lead them.” She smiled. “That’s you, Michael. That’s why Brother Cyrus needs you. You’re going to help us fulfill the prophecy.”

The Omega Theory opens with media reports that, despite U.S. warnings, Iran has tested a nuclear bomb. But the blast from the device is different and far more dangerous than that of any previous nuclear weapon. Surveillance instruments show that for one split second an event occurred that had not taken place since the Big Bang fourteen billion years ago. Meanwhile, science historian David Swift and quantum physicist Monique Reynolds learn that their autistic son, Michael, has been kidnapped by a militant cult called the True Believers. Michael, a descendant of Albert Einstein, has inherited Einstein’s remarkable intelligence and is the only person in the world who knows Einstein’s last secret—the Final Theory, a set of equations that could explain all the forces of nature. Only those who understand the key to creation could know how to destroy it. The Iranian nuclear blast is a demonstration of this understanding.

Soon David and Monique realize their desperate search for Michael is also a desperate race to stop the horrific power of the theory from being unleashed. Joining forces with FBI Agent Lucille Parker, David and Monique race from the Old City of Jerusalem to the deserts of Turkmenistan to rescue Michael and stop the cult’s fanatic leader. Their journey proves just how difficult it is to stop those who are willing to die in the name of God. Praised by bestselling peers such as Douglas Preston and James Rollins, Mark Alpert shows he is at the top of his writing game and the cutting edge of science, seamlessly weaving fact and fiction with nonstop heart-pounding action in this explosive thriller.

We will never see our universe in quite the same way again.

See all titles by Mark Alpert.

VJ Books is now shipping signed 1st editions of Shortcut Man by P.G. Sturges.

A smart and entertaining crime series debut set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, with a cast of characters that runs the gamut from saints to sinners.

In the City of Angels, not everyone plays by the rules. When people need a problem fixed fast, and discreetly, they call Dick Henry. Henry is known as a “shortcut man,” someone who believes that the shortest answer to many problems may not always be legal.