Gene’s college-age son moves in with him. Together they face off attacks from the president’s men. Much of the last half of the book tells of the help each gives the other in the face of adversity.
Part of the challenge of the book was to bring together Gene’s professional and personal life at the climax of the story. I have tried to do that in all my novels—establish two different narratives, personal and work life, then find a way to tie them to one another so that they reach a single climax.
My novels usually end sadly but with hope. With Secretocracy I changed the pattern. The 2018 election shifts control of the House of Representatives to the Democrats. With Gene’s help, a House subcommittee calls for hearings and unmasks FIREFANG.
Part of the reason that Secretocracy works is that it is authentic. Even though the government organizations featured in the book are fictional, they are based on real entities and real happenings. And my depth knowledge of the serpentine maneuverings of government agencies and the Congress from my many years in government provided a solid underpinning of accuracy to the story.
My expectation is that Secretocracy will sell better than my other books not because it is superior but because it addresses a hot topic—the damaging flounderings of Donald Trump. As more and more scandals erupt, public interest in the harm Trump has inflicted will grow. What has escaped attention—because it is classified—is the injury Trump has wreaked on the U.S. intelligence community, our eyes and ears to warn us about what is going on with other nations. That damage could be the worst of all. Secretocracy hints at how serious the wound may be.
More tomorrow.
Tom Glenn, Writer 