Currently reading

I'm taking a break from working on "The Viper" to read Mark Abernethy's "Second Strike." 

With the majority of thrillers showing the American perspective, sometimes the British, and occasionally the Israeli, it's interesting and original to read about an Australian character. 

Plus Abernethy's a good writer. His characters are lively, his plots are tight and suspenseful, and he uses locations not usually used in thrillers and describes them well.

Updates

I've made a few minor changes to "Scorpion: A Covert Ops Novel" to make a few passages read a little smoother. But customers who have already bought the book won't get the updated version, since the changes are so minor that they don't fall under Amazon guidelines to send the updated text to a customer's Kindle. Based on the customer reviews, though, no one seems to have taken issue with anything in the original text.

UDPATE 2/18: It appears Amazon has allowed customers to get the revised version. Depending upon your Kindle settings, you may either receive the updates automatically or need to re-download the book to your Kindle. 

Colombia in the Headlines

As I'm finishing up the last third of "The Viper," Colombia has been in the news all week, after FARC's 34th Front  has kidnapped the army general commanding Colombia's counterinsurgency task force. President Santos has responded by suspending the peace talks in Havana and ordering a massive search for the general. 

As a result of Colombia's successful, American-backed campaign targeting the FARC leadership, its units are essentially operating independently, many acting as mercenaries or involved in drug trafficking. The 34th Front has been the most intransigent and is the most heavily committed to fighting the Colombian state. They've all but officially rejected the peace talks by their actions.

FARC agents refusing to give up the fight and engaging in rogue acts of terrorism that threaten the peace talks is the subject of "The Viper."