Come see me interview Brad Thor and Ward Larsen in Palm Springs next week!
(With bonus deadline-related madness and imposter syndrome!)
Hi all,
I’m on a hellish writing deadline — my next book is due to my editor in a little over a month and I’m firmly in the losing my mind stage of the process.
The book involves a plot I’ve been thinking about - in one way or another - for YEARS, but that hasn’t made it any easier to finally wrangle on to the page. Turns out that writing topical thrillers in 2026 is like trying to arrange dominos in an earthquake.
Thank God, then, that next week I’ll get to spend some time with an absolute master of the form - two masters, actually - to really add fuel to the fire of my imposter syndrome.
On Feb 13th - next Friday! - I’m thrilled to be hosting an event with megastar author Brad Thor and his equally incredible writing partner Ward Larsen in Palm Springs to launch their new thriller, Cold Zero.
The event is at the Mizell Center, starting at 6:30pm, and is COMPLETELY FREE, but you do need to register here to attend.
Here’s the official blurb for the book…
Brad Thor (above), who has been a bestselling thriller writer for a quarter of a century, has sold tens of millions of his books and a streamer developing a series based on his iconic Scot Harvath series, gets one complaint on a consistent basis. That is, some variation of “Now that I finished your latest, I have to wait another whole year for a new one. WRITE FASTER!”
Now, he’s ready to give his readers, as he puts it, “more Thor than ever before”.
To accomplish this, he’s teamed up with Ward Larsen (below), a bestselling author in his own right. Larsen is also former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and current airline captain which is why he was the perfect writing partner to bring this new standalone thriller, COLD ZERO to life.
The book already received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal so even if you’re new to Brad and Ward’s work, this is a fantastic place to start. We’ll be discussing the book, the power of thrillers in uncertain times, their writing process, and much more.
Attendees will also be able to buy a signed copy of Cold Zero and meet Brad and Ward for a photo afterwards!
Again, the event starts at 6:30pm on Friday 13th February. It’s co-hosted with The Palm Springs Public Library and completely free to attend, but we are expecting a packed house so you MUST register in advance.
I’m VERY excited about this, even though Brad and Ward will probably tell me that they delivered the manuscript six months before deadline and with zero plot holes or days spent screaming at post-it notes, and I will be sick live on stage.
You don’t want to miss any of that!
See you next Friday.
Paul