Derek Almer Counterterrorism Series

Derek Almer is the main character in an action-packed series of four espionage/counterterrorism thrillers with plots based on realistic, real-world scenarios. There are seven reasons why this series should interest those who read this genre.

Reason one is that the hero is a helicopter pilot, not a fighter pilot. In other novels of this genre, the main character is often fighter pilot in action at high speeds and high altitudes. Unless he is in a dogfight, the fighter pilot rarely sees his enemy. Scenes in the Derek Almer books put readers in the cockpit of a helicopter where one can see the face of men who are shooting at you and the muzzle flashes of their guns!

Number two is that the use of equipment is realistic and accurate. In the scenes in which airplanes and helicopters are “flown,” they are operated within their limits and the characters often have to deal with less than perfect equipment.

The third reason is that the characters are different and interesting. For example, in FAILURE TO FIRE, Fatimah Serraf comes from a traditional Saudi family and refuses to be married in an arranged wedding that benefits her family.  Fatimah has a dark side in the bedroom and her success making money for high net-worth individuals leads her to becoming the de-facto investment banker for al Qaeda.

After leaving the Navy, Derek Almer stays in the Naval Reserve and is employed as a contract pilot with the CIA. From operations in the CIA, he developed ties to the Mossad and operates in the Arab world.

Reason four that readers will like the Derek Almer series is that the plot for each book is placed in the proper historical context. The series begins in 2015 so the background is recent history and enables the reader to identify with events he or she witnessed.

By telling the story from both sides, readers meet the protagonists and antagonists along with the supporting cast and learn what drives them. This is reason five.

Reason number six is the titles should draw the reader to read the blurb on the back and even buy the book. For example, the word “Pawnee” in the Flight of the Pawnee’s title is not a reference to the Indian tribe, but to an agricultural airplane built by Piper Aircraft that names the models of its airplanes after Indian tribes.  The plane has a major role in the plot.

Number seven is that within a month after being released, Flight of the Pawnee was an Amazon #1 Best Seller.

Even though it is a series, each book is a discrete, stand-alone novel and the books don’t have to be read in sequence. Flight of the Pawnee and Failure to Fire are already out. Here is a description of the third book of the three, Insidious Dragon.

INSIDIOUS DRAGON - Senior Colonel Fang Sun of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) gets permission to develop a plan to use a bio weapon to test the U.S. reaction to such an attack. After attending the PLA's school on chemical and biological weapons, he learns that in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangzhou and Guangxi, diseases that have been wiped in much of the world, are still present and some of the strains are resistant to current vaccines. With the help of one of the instructors, compiles a list of diseases that might be used as a weapon. Sun wants one that creates fear and has long term disabling effects on the victim, assuming he/she survives. While he is developing his he is introduced to Jun Lin who recently received her doctorate in virology from the University of California, San Diego. Jun's PhD thesis suggests that she has the knowledge and expertise to help him create the weapon he needs.

After the Korean War ended, his father left the Active duty Air Force and joined the Vermont Air National Guard as a full time Guardsman. Derek was born in Burlington, VT and was a collegiate ski racer at Norwich University in Northfield, VT. He was good enough to be considered for the U.S. Olympic team, but a broken leg in his senior year of college ended his dreams for winning an Olympic medal. The break almost ended his chances of qualifying for Navy flight training.

While at Norwich, he heard retired Rear Admiral Josh Haman speak several times and decided that he wanted to fly special operations and combat search and rescue missions. To do so, he volunteered to fly helicopters.

Derek married right after he earned his wings, but the marriage to Adrian ended in three years. The experience made him gunshy about engaging in a deep relationship with a woman. On his third tour in Afghanistan and near the end of his service obligation, a senior Army officer didn’t want Derek to pick up a SEAL team because of the weather. Because the team was being chased by the Taliban, Derek ignored the Army colonel’s wishes took off from Bagram Air Force Base. Had he not gone when he did, the SEAL team would have been overrun by the Taliban and either killed or captured. Despite the success, the Army colonel tried to screw Derek to cover his ass.

Right after the rescue, a CIA officer asks Derek if he wants to be a contract pilot for the agency. The CIA officer had seen Derek in action and believes he could be an asset to the CIA. The agreement that he signed allows him to stay in the Naval Reserve. After his release from active duty, Derek buys a small ranch in a town called Ivanhoe which is 120 north, north east of Dallas.

Derek is 5’ 11”, 170 and looks like an athlete. He has close cropped blonde air. Like his “idol” Josh Haman, Derek is a maverick and an innovative thinker who hates those with political agendas. With him, one’s position is binary, either one is part of the solution or part of the problem.