THE PERSIAN GAMBLE emerged from conversations with former CIA directors and senior Israeli & Arab intelligence officials. (Here’s my 1st interview on the new novel and the research that goes into writing political thrillers that feel ripped from tomorrow’s headlines.)

March 11, 2019 By in Epicenter

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(Washington, D.C.) — On the eve of the release of The Persian Gamble, I gave my first interview specifically about the book to Ryan Steck, editor of The Real Book Spy, the industry’s leading news site covering thrillers and mysteries.

Here are a few excerpts from Ryan’s story:

Author Brad Meltzer (who also hosts several shows on the History Channel) once said “a thriller author’s job is to beat the headlines,” and nobody has done that better over the last fifteen years than Joel C. Rosenberg. 

So known to predict future events that he was once nicknamed “a modern-day Nostradamus,” Rosenberg has been right on the money regarding a number of issues both in the States and, where he seems to really specialize, the Middle East. Consider this: Before everyone and their brother was writing about ISIS and making them the bad guy in their stories (Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, John Lescroart, Ben Coes, Kyle Mills, Alex Berenson, Mark Greaney, etc.) Rosenberg wrote them into his 2015 thriller  The Third Target, which originally wasn’t slated to come out until further into the year, but was pushed up to a January release by Joel’s publisher, Tyndale House Publishers, because the events of the book were seemingly playing out in real time. 

So, while everyone else was focused on other Middle Eastern terrorist groups, Rosenberg drew attention to the threat of ISIS. Now, as most thriller writers are finally pivoting away from ISIS, Rosenberg once again leads the charge, having set his sights on Russia—the main antagonist of his last novel, The Kremlin Conspiracy. At the time, in an exclusive interview, Rosenberg told me, “I needed a new challenge and wanted to focus on a different part of the world, different enemies. In this case, I kept finding myself drawn to Russia.”

Bottom line: Nobody has read the tea leaves quite like he has . . . so if you want to see where the conflict between the U.S. and Russia might one day be headed, and what it could look like when we get there, Rosenberg’s books offer a chilling and sobering take on things—wrapped inside a heart-pounding thriller. 

Now, after the success of The Kremlin Conspiracy, Rosenberg is set to release his highly-anticipated follow-up, which continues the story of former secret service agent Marcus Ryker, who’s teaming with a high-valued Russian with direct ties to the president to try and stop World War III before it’s too late. Just before heading out for his book tour, Rosenberg, who lives with his family in Israel, agreed to another Five Questions piece, and I asked him about everything from how he came up with the plot details for this one to whether or not he feels pressure to continue trying to predict the future in his stories….

To read the full article, including my answers to Ryan’s 5 Questions, click here.

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