This series chronicles the escapades of two disparate individuals, Steve Casella and Edie Pauling, who surmount their differences and form an interminable bond that takes them on a journey to fight the injustices assailing the American dream. Together they challenge the seemingly unending barrage of incompetence and corruption that is ignored, facilitated or orchestrated by the almost invincible power structure of an encroaching government. Along for the ride is Amber, a dog Steve has rescued from a fatal house fire. The sometimes disobedient canine companion is a constant source of frustration and amusement, but as part of their team, no one is more capable to assist when times get rough. As the nation and the world gather at the brink, Steve and Edie desperately try to gain traction against the slippery slope toward ultimate destruction.
OPPOSITION REFLEX (book 1)
OPPOSITION REFLEX is the story of Steve Casella, a San Francisco firefighter struggling with his father’s legacy of triggering a vicious terrorist attack. Submerged in a bitter condemnation of the violent consequences of his father’s alleged rhetoric and actions, the reality of Steve’s world crumbles when suddenly confronted by the last person he would suspect to shatter his principles. Edie Pauling is the daughter of the retired Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life trying to thwart an attack on an American embassy. An event directly attributed to the acts of Steve’s father. Edie fights to convince Steve that he is dead wrong, propelling them on a journey to unravel a plot that points to the highest levels of our government. With opposing perceptions, they confront the past head-on. Driven by Edie’s thirst for justice, Steve is wrenched from a haunted past, fueled by a growing passion that she has stoked in his heart. As they get closer to the truth, the desperate actions of their enemies serve only to bind the motivation and the heated emotions of this once unlikely pair. There is little time to act on their newly found evidence, before the conspirators succeed in tilting the scales of government beyond the constitutional limits, and the future of this nation is steered from the basic foundations of our guiding principles.
TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD (book 2)
TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD is the story of Steve Casella, a San Francisco firefighter on assignment in the Idaho Panhandle joined by his girlfriend Edie Pauling, a renowned journalist who is researching an article to expose the overreaching aspects of EPA policies. Questioning the suspicious death of his uncle, Steve and Edie are confronted with a more far reaching and deadly adversary. Guided by a mysterious Native American girl, they discover that the existence and interference of several corrupt government officials is only the tip of the ice burg. A cell of Al Qaeda terrorists have embedded themselves in the region and are exploiting a government-regulated program as a disguise for a complicated and deadly operation. Steve and Edie come face to face with the reality of a terrifying plot, headed by the very same jihadists whose actions three years ago inadvertently radically changed both of their lives forever. Although they cannot comprehend the rationale for such a plan, Steve and Edie are confronted with the fact that they have literally run out of time.
THE GUARDING STATE (book 3)
While investigating suspicious fires at the vice president’s family business, Steve Casella, a San Francisco firefighter, encounters a brutal plot spearheaded by corrupt local labor leaders. At the same time, Steve is struck by the reality of his own family’s potential culpability stemming from a tangled and jaded past. When Steve’s girlfriend, Edie Pauling, teams up to help, she is confronted with the image of her own brother as the prime suspect in the murder of a young female student. As they dig deeper, it becomes apparent that as local union leaders attempt to sway labor politics in New Jersey, the plot extends to the nation’s capital, and is ultimately aimed at squashing the vice president’s plans to occupy the White House. In a desperate attempt to save her brother’s life, Edie herself comes face to face with her own mortality as she and Steve finally begin to connect the dots of the deadly plot.
TARGETED VALIDATION (book 4)
Steve Casella is a firefighter with unique responsibilities. His wife, Edie Pauling, once a journalist, is now an advisor to the president. They’re driven into a dangerous game of corruption when a close friend becomes an unwitting victim in a controversial government-sponsored healthcare study. Edie presents the president with a bold plan that could destroy his legacy and compromise the nation’s strength in fighting terrorists. As Edie’s past comes back to haunt her, new enemies seek to silence her. With help from his canine sidekick, Steve works against time to save Edie and prevent a massive attack on American soil.
AMBER ALERT (book 5)
Unless the president of the United States can rein in the devolving state of affairs in the Middle East, a world-wide crisis will soon reach a point of no return. This may just be the best antidote to global warming: Nuclear winter. With the constitution weighing heavy in his pocket and the fate of his family in the balance, the president squares off with a dangerous coalition in an attempt to abort the birth of a new world order. If not for the timely assistance of a liberal firefighter who can’t seem to grow up, a conservative journalist who needs to save the world, and an independent white German Shepherd who’d bite anyone getting in their way—the world’s sole remaining super power is on track to make the last days of the Roman Empire seem like the good old days.
JUSTICE MATTERS (book 6)
Ethan Galloway, a tormented Navy vet, is convinced there is only one way out. To the world, Patas Ta’anari is a dangerous jihadist. With a deep-seated trust in Islam, Patas struggles with her brother’s demands to become a martyr for her perceived sins. With the frontrunner in a heated presidential race set in his crosshairs, Ethan abandons his mission and saves Patas’s life. When he learns of the true depravity of the man poised to sit in the Oval Office, he takes matters into his own hands, fighting to salvage the remnants of his broken family and a divided nation who he believes has forsaken him.
AMBER WAVES OF GRAIN (book 7)
Politics and ideologies have driven the nation to the most divisive state seen since the Civil War. After three years of exile, Jalal Ta’anari returns to spearhead a series of deadly attacks. San Francisco firefighter, Steve Casella, and his canine sidekick join the president’s special team to fight an unprecedented battle against treason and jihadism. When Steve’s wife enters the US senate race in California, she places her family on a collision course with the same unholy alliances poised to undermine the foundations of America.
FLASHOVER (book 8)
Steve Casella is a firefighter who has learned that on the job there is rarely a second chance to get it right. He now faces a similar challenge in his personal life. Once again his deceased father’s legacy is questioned. Steve’s wife, Edie Pauling, has tried to bury the shocking story of an unsolved multiple homicide from a half-century ago which places his father in the forefront. Past and present worlds collide as the cover-ups resurface to haunt the newest occupant of the White House. Steve struggles to sort fact from faith while his family is threatened by a sinister group with too much to lose.
