Best-Selling Author Peter Senese Makes Donation To I CARE Foundation Helping Families Targeted For International Abduction

Peter Senese, author of the critically-acclaimed novel, Chasing The Cyclone, made a promise years ago - after having his child internationally abducted to the other side of the world - he said: “A long time ago, while I was searching… I made a promise to one day try to make a difference so others would never have to chase the cyclone.  My work continues…”

And his work does continue today.  Not only is Peter Senese a best-selling author, but he is also the Founding Director of the I CARE Foundation, an organization dedicated to conducting research and raising social awareness about the serious issue of international child abduction.  The I CARE Foundation has also played a major role in creating legislative initiatives that are helping to reduce the rate of abduction.

Peter Senese has made it very clear that he is committed to helping families targeted for international abduction, both through his work with the I CARE Foundation and by the fact that he so generously donates 100% of the royalties earned from the sale of his e-books,including Chasing The Cyclone and The Den Of The Assassin.

The fast-paced, legal thriller, Chasing The Cyclone has been heralded as a must read by targeted parents that are desperately trying to protect their children from international child abduction.  Peter Senese's novel has been recognized by child abduction prevention advocates as a road map on how a parent may either prevent the international abduction of their child or reunite with their child.  As international parental child abduction continues to be a grave concern for thousands of parents each year, resource guides that outline child abduction risk factors and preventive measures against abduction are critically important.  Chasing The Cyclone provides parents with keen insight on these issues.

The Den Of The Assassin is being praised by top critics as an international financial espionage thriller that is filled with the modern-day realities of our post 9-11 world.  The story is steeped with realism and the frightful possibilities of global cyber and biological terrorism.  It opens in New York City where unassuming investment banker, Tyler Boxter, is preoccupied with his career on Wall Street, which acts a personal shield against the trappings of life that hides the guilt, pain and memories he doesn't want. During one of the biggest deals of his career, and unknown to Boxter, he is about to play a sophisticated but explosive game against a savage and merciless madman.

Peter Senese had this to say about The Den Of The Assassin: "For readers who enjoy fast-paced, multi-dimensional plots based upon historical events and plausible possibilities relevant to the world we live in today, The Den Of The Assassin will take readers on a thrilling global geopolitical journey that begins in New York City's Wall Street.  The reader is quickly introduced to the hidden and unseen worlds that exists within nations that have highly questionable agendas toward the United States and the West, including, but not limited to, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.  It is here, in there worlds that disturbing plans that stand against America and the West's idea of liberty and freedom are carefully hatched and cultivated.  Most concerningly, as each nation has become more reliant on one another in our global society, a new level of extraordinary vulnerability to our national security has been created, on perhaps we may not be prepared for.  In The Den Of The Assassin, I believe readers will find the uniquely accurate information on this subject that is carefully weaved through an intricate, entertaining storyline to be quite fascinating - and disturbing."

Reviewers of The Den Of The Assassin have praised Peter Senese's storytelling.  

Renowned book critic Daniel Jolley commented: "This is one seriously good thriller.  Billed as a 'novel of international finance and espionage', Den Of The Assassin is a super-realistic exploration of frightening possibilities, unsurpassed heroism, Lucifer-life evil, and terrorism of the worst kind... The novel revolves around some kind of Day of the Jackal-like assassination plot, but the complexity of this novel stretches it's tendrils deeply into international finance, the vagaries of the American legal and health care systems, international terrorism, diplomacy, intelligence, WMD, and cold-blooded murder - with a little romance thrown in just to stir up the pot a little more.  Peter Senese does a masterful job traversing the inner hallways of diverse institutions as he slowly brings all these diverse elements together for a slam-bang climax... Peter Senese displays a wealth of knowledge of geopolitics, espionage and international finance, describing all the technical intricacies of the story's elements and implications with great attention to detail - without ever letting the pace get bogged down or become confusing to the reader.  He also keeps a number of secrets close to the vest, saving them for just the right time in the story.  This serves to make the book thoroughly believable and increasingly suspenseful. There's no shortage of action here.  What Tyler finds himself involved in is nothing less than a war, and he must fight to save not only himself, his friends and his company, but his very country from an unimaginable catastrophe.  The Father's network of agents and killers is as formidable as they come, and the security-related forces Tyler brings into the game are some of the best money can buy.  In the end though, the drama becomes deeply personal, as the Father and Tyler Boxter rush headlong toward a face-to-face encounter of epic proportions... Many a writer of thrillers seem to drop the ball somewhere in the middle of their novels, but Peter Senese's knowledge of geopolitics, international finance and 21st century terrorist threats keeps the fires of detailed complexity and story evolution stoked and red-hot for the entire ride.  Tyler Boxter is no James Bond, but Den Of The Assassin proves to be just as exciting as any 007 caper - and much more realistic."

Predators Games, which will be released soon, is the riveting sequel to The Den Of The Assassin.  It propels readers into the shocking and deadly world of alternative energy speculation and depicts the world's power-nations conspiring against one another in an extremely dangerous and potentially cataclysmic quest to control what was once the unthinkable unfolds as unique characters initially introduced in The Den Of The Assassin race into real and startling possibilities evolving around advances in alternatives energy and mankind's greed.

To learn more about Peter Senese and his various writings or child advocacy... or to order an autographed and dedicated copy of one of Peter's novels, please visit any of the following websites:

I CARE Foundation
The Official Website of Peter Senese
The Official Website of The Den Of The Assassin
The Official Website of Chasing The Cyclone

You can also purchase Peter's e-books at:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Peter Thomas Senese: North Korea Needs War To Sustain Its Myth

                                     The Den of the Assassin: North Korea's War-Monger
                                        Click here to order a copy of The Den of the Assassin

Many of us outside of those who are actively serving in the military or who have previously served in the armed forces appear to not be too worried about events taking place in North Korea as the isolated, notoriously secretive nation prepares to launch medium-rage missiles as the young toad's rhetoric of war-mongering escalates. 

Granted, North Korea is on the other side of the world from the United States and Canada, and perhaps the non-chalant attitude is because it is commonly believed that an attack by North Korea cannot reach our homeland.

Perhaps this is correct, but with over 1 Million active duty military, a strong-standing army, and in reality, very little to lose as that nation's economic and social platforms are near non-existent, war is not only a possibility but an economic and socially advantageous probability for North Korea.

Which means that our friends in South Korea and Japan are in trouble.

Distinctively, as much as the war-mongering little toad desires to capture the southern part of the divided penninsula (South Korea), his real goal appears to immortalize himself as another mythical leader.  And how can he achieve this?

By attacking the United States homeland as well as foreign military installations.

Last week the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported North Korea loaded two missiles onto mobile launchers; in response, South Korea sent destroyers to its northern neighbor's coast.

Immediately thereafter, the North Korean government also says it plans to restart a major nuclear reactor it shut down as part of an international deal five years ago. And leader Kim Jong-un ordered rockets readied to strike U.S. military bases in the Pacific, not to mention the U.S. mainland. (It's not clear that North Korea's missiles have that kind of range.)

Amid this brinksmanship, North Korea remains remarkably shut off from the rest of the world. Read on for what's known about the hermit country. [Nuclear Security: Best & Worst Countries (Infographic)]

As a novelist, I have had great interest and concern over North Korea and the dangers this nation presents to the free world. In my international espionage thriller 'The Den of the Assassin', I touched upon the grave realities that North Korea is a nation that needs to go to war because culturally, its leaders need to appear mythicize themselves.  In my upcoming novel 'Predators Games', North Korea and some of this nation's oddities are intricate themes in my historical fiction thriller that I hope will entertain and educate readers everywhere.




Here are a few things I find of great interest:

1. Isolation nation
The Korean peninsula has long been a battlefield for the world powers nearby. Japan controlled Korea (then one nation), until the end of World War II; after Japan's surrender, the United States and Soviet Union sliced the country along the 38th parallel, with the United States administering the south and the Soviet Union controlling the north.

This division became permanent after the United Nations failed to negotiate a reunification in 1948. The first president of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, declared a policy of "self-reliance," essentially shutting the nation off diplomatically and economically from the rest of the world.

It's a philosophy called iuche, or self-mastery. The idea is that the North Korean people must rely on themselves only. This philosophy, according to Kim Il Sung, required North Korea to maintain political and economic independence (even in the face of famine in the 1990s) and to create a strong national defense system.

2. Mythical leaders

North Korea's ruling dynasty has always cast itself as somewhat supernatural. Founder Kim Il Sung was known as Korea's "sun," and claimed control of the weather. Along with his son Kim Jong Il's birthday, Kim Il Sung's birthday is a national holiday. After his death, Sung was embalmed and still lies in state in Pyongyang.

Kim Jong Il's mythology is no less extensive. His birth was hailed as "heaven sent" by propagandists, and state media has often touted impossible feats: He scored a perfect 300 the first time he tried bowling, and shot five holes-in-one the first time he played golf. Upon his death in 2011, the skies about the sacred mountain Paektu in North Korea allegedly glowed red. [Supernatural Powers? Tales of 10 Historical Predictions]

Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il's son and successor has yet to have quite so many tall tales told about him, but the news media have described the new leader as "born of heaven" upon his ascension to head of state. In December 2012, North Korean state media declared the discovery of a lair supposedly belonging to a unicorn ridden by Tongmyong, the ancient mythical founder of Korea. The story wasn't an indication that North Koreans believe in literal unicorns, experts said, but a way to shore up Kim Jong Un's rule and North Korea's cred as the "real" Korea.

3. National prison
All the fanciful and funny myths about North Korea's dictators cover up a disturbing truth, however: Some 154,000 North Koreans live in prison camps, according to South Korean government estimates. (Other international bodies put the number at closer to 200,000). There are six camps, surrounded by electrified barbed wire. Two camps allow for some "rehabilitation" and release of prisoners, according to "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" (Viking, 2012). The rest are prisons for life.

"Escape from Camp 14" tells the story of Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person known to have escaped from one of these camps and to have made it to the outside world. Shin was born in the camp; his father was imprisoned because his brother had abandoned North Korea for South Korea decades earlier.

Torture, malnutrition, slave labor and public execution are ways of life in the camps, which are known from satellite imagery. An Amnesty International report in 2011 estimated that 40 percent of camp prisoners die of malnutrition.

4. Daily life in North Korea
Given North Korea's secrecy, it's hard to imagine what daily life in the country is really like. In the book "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea" (Spiegel & Grau, 2009), journalist Barbara Demick interviewed North Koreans who escaped to South Korea. They describe a society tied by family (during the famine of the 1990s, parents and grandparents starved first, trying to save food for their children) and inundated with propaganda.

"In the futuristic dystopia imagined in 1984, George Orwell wrote of a world where the only color to be found was in the propaganda posters. Such is the case in North Korea," Demick writes.

It's not clear how many North Koreans buy into this propaganda. Interviews with North Koreans in China by the New York Times suggested that smuggled DVDs from South Korea have enabled average North Koreans to get a glimpse of the world outside their borders.

Very recently, foreign journalists on supervised trips in Pyongyang have been allowed 3G connections on mobile phones, enabling real-time pictures of daily city life.

5. Difficult adjustments
With such limited access to the outside world, North Koreans who do make it out often struggle to adjust. Many are paranoid, a skill that served them well at home where anyone could turn anyone else in to the police for saying the wrong thing. Some are cognitively impaired by early malnutrition. And few know anything about world history outside of North Korean propaganda.

"Education in North Korea is useless for life in South Korea," Gwak Jong-moon, principal of a boarding school for North Korean refugees, told Blaine Harden, the author of "Escape from Camp 14." "When you are too hungry, you don't go to learn and teachers don't go to teach. Many of our students have been hiding in China for years with no access to schools. As young children in North Korea, they grew up eating bark off trees and thinking it was normal."

According to Harden, the suicide rate for North Korean refugees in South Korea is two-and-a-half times that of the rate for South Koreans.

Click here to order a copy of The Den of the Assassin.  Remember, I continue to donate 100% of my e-book proceeds to the I CARE Foundation.

                                              THE DEN OF THE ASSASSIN - Trailer II 


Kindest regards to all,

Peter Thomas Senese

Is China Declaring War On The United States

A secretive Chinese military unit is believed to be behind a series of hacking attacks, according to U.S. computer security company Mandiant.  Of course the Chinese government strongly denied the accusation, and then attempted to turn around the accusation by stating that China was in fact the victim of U.S. hacking.

Now those of you who have read my novel 'The Den of the Assassin' have learned a few things about cyber-warfare, and how the real world military threat is not going to be between foot soldiers, but will be fought in cyber war, where countries can realistically attempt to use one nation's own military weapons against themselves by taking control of the weapons when they are deployed.  An unconfirmed example of this is when the Iran military is believed to have landed a U.S. Drone on Iran's soil.

But there is so much more at stake, and part of China's end-game is to remove the United States dollar as the world currency. 

How could they accomplish this?

By shaken the financial infrastructure of America's banking and commerce centers vial cyber warfare, that's how.

Imagine if the United States Federal Reserve gets hacked into, or several of our largest banks for that matter?

What if our national grid gets shut down?

If you think this is not possible, then you better think again.

The truth of the matter is that nations such as China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, and others have sizeable military personnel units (tens of thousands in the case of China's 'Blue Army') dedicated to cyber-warfare.

Now, the United States is far from sitting ideal; however, the reality is that if the Chinese government had their military cyberware units attack American companies on American soil, then sadly, we are very much at war.

                                          Is China Declaring War On The United States?
                                     

                                                      Special Mandiant Video Report


The following was issued by Rueters:

The company, Mandiant, identified the People's Liberation Army's Shanghai-based Unit 61398 as the most likely driving force behind the hacking. Mandiant said it believed the unit had carried out "sustained" attacks on a wide range of industries.

 
"The nature of 'Unit 61398's' work is considered by China to be a state secret; however, we believe it engages in harmful 'Computer Network Operations'," Mandiant said in a report released in the United States on Monday.
 
"It is time to acknowledge the threat is originating in China, and we wanted to do our part to arm and prepare security professionals to combat that threat effectively," it said.
 
China's Defense Ministry issued a flat denial of the accusations and called them "unprofessional". It said hacking attacks are a global problem and that China is one of world's biggest victims of cyber assaults.
 
"The Chinese army has never supported any hacking activity," the Defense Ministry said in a brief faxed statement to Reuters. "Statements about the Chinese army engaging in cyber attacks are unprofessional and not in line with facts."
 
Unit 61398 is located in Shanghai's Pudong district, China's financial and banking hub, and is staffed by perhaps thousands of people proficient in English as well as computer programming and network operations, Mandiant said in its report.
 
The unit had stolen "hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations across a diverse set of industries beginning as early as 2006", it said.
 
Most of the victims were located in the United States, with smaller numbers in Canada and Britain. The information stolen ranged from details on mergers and acquisitions to the emails of senior employees, the company said.
 
The 12-storey building, which houses the unit, sits in an unassuming residential area and is surrounded by a wall adorned with military propaganda photos and slogans; outside the gate a sign warns members of the public they are in a restricted military area and should not take pictures.
There were no obvious signs of extra security on Tuesday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the government firmly opposed hacking, adding that it doubted the evidence provided in the U.S. security group's report.

"Hacking attacks are transnational and anonymous. Determining their origins are extremely difficult. We don't know how the evidence in this so-called report can be tenable," spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.

"Arbitrary criticism based on rudimentary data is irresponsible, unprofessional and not helpful in resolving the issue."

Hong cited a Chinese study which pointed to the United States as being behind hacking in China.
"Of the above mentioned Internet hacking attacks, attacks originating from the United States rank first."

"ECONOMIC CYBER ESPIONAGE"

Some experts said they doubted Chinese government denials.

"The PLA plays a key role in China's multi-faceted security strategy, so it makes sense that its resources would be used to facilitate economic cyber espionage that helps the Chinese economy," said Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer and co-founder of CrowdStrike, one of Mandiant's competitors.

Though privately held and little known to the general public, Mandiant is one of a handful of U.S. cyber-security companies that specialize in attempting to detect, prevent and trace the most advanced hacking attacks, instead of the garden-variety viruses and criminal intrusions that befoul corporate networks on a daily basis.

But Mandiant does not promote its analysis in public and only rarely issues topical papers about changes in techniques or behaviors.

It has never before given the apparent proper names of suspected hackers or directly tied them to a military branch of the Chinese government, giving the new report special resonance.

The company published details of the attack programs and dummy websites used to infiltrate U.S. companies, typically via deceptive emails.

U.S. officials have complained in the past to China about sanctioned trade-secret theft, but have had a limited public record to point to.

Mandiant said it knew the PLA would shift tactics and programs in response to its report but concluded that the disclosure was worth it because of the scale of the harm and the ability of China to issue denials in the past and duck accountability.

The company traced Unit 61398's presence on the Internet - including registration data for a question-and-answer session with a Chinese professor and numeric Internet addresses within a block assigned to the PLA unit - and concluded that it was a major contributor to operations against the U.S. companies.

Members of Congress and intelligence authorities in the United States have publicized the same general conclusions: that economic espionage is an official mission of the PLA and other elements of the Chinese government, and that hacking is a primary method.

In November 2011, the U.S. National Counterintelligence Executive publicly decried China in particular as the biggest known thief of U.S. trade secrets.

The Mandiant report comes a week after U.S. President Barack Obama issued a long-awaited executive order aimed at getting the private owners of power plants and other critical infrastructure to share data on attacks with officials and to begin to follow consensus best practices on security.
Both U.S. Democrats and Republicans have said more powerful legislation is needed, citing Chinese penetration not just of the largest companies but of operations essential to a functioning country, including those comprising the electric grid.

                                      China Accuses The United States of Cyber Warfare

The reality of cyber warfare is upon us.  There is real cause for concern.  Fortunately, the United States has not ignored these threats.

Discussing THE DEN OF THE ASSASSIN With Author PETER THOMAS SENESE

1. 'The Den Of The Assassin' is a real-world story of the geopolitical realities society faces today. You accurately cover with reader-friendly acumen very complex topics including the global financial
markets, global political and military instabilities, modern-day biological, chemical, and cyber-warfare, and issues evolving around global-citizenship and communication. How much research was dedicated into creating 'The Den Of The Assassin'?

Writing primarily in historical fiction requires a writer such as myself the need to pay great attention to the presentation of substantial fact in the context of the story being crafted. 'The Den of the Assassin', similar to each of my historical fiction novels, is steep in heavy research. I spend a great deal of time studying various subject matter to the point that I become confident I can take a heavily complex issue and present it in a highly technical, easy to understand, and entertaining manner without losing the complexity of the issues being presented.

Conducting the type of research required for one of my novels takes time, particularly since the multiple issues I address and write about are complex and sometimes the necessary information I am seeking is not so easily accessible.

Combining the fact that my stories always have multiple intriguing plot-lines weaving throughout the fiber of the characters' movements and that my reader-audience typically is highly educated, sophisticated, and quite knowledgeable it is critical that I present accurate, current, and meaningful information - foundations, if you will - in order to create the necessary platforms for my characters' to stand on. In 'The Den of the Assassin', I spent a substantial amount of time researching the complex and fascinating issues that are presented; however, I was also able to draw upon my own deep knowledge base and understanding.

2. Wall Street appears to be a central theme for many of your writings. Why is this?

I view Wall Street as the cradle of America, and one of the most fascinating places in the entire world. Many individuals do not realize just how important a role Wall Street had during the birth of our nation. For example, Federal Hall, which is directly across from the still-mighty New York Stock Exchange, was our great nation's first capitol and the location were General George Washington was inaugurated as America's first president. It is the location where the United States 'Bill of Rights' was first presented to Congress - and a place of many fascinating national and local political secrets! And of course, it is, and should remain the symbolic center of capitalism.

Whenever I put my foot on the 'Street', I feel the raw energy and determination that was instilled from our nation's Founding Fathers. Today, I see this attitude in many individuals who work in the financial markets, and equally viewed, that very same determination that makes a New Yorker a New Yorker. With its deep national and local New York history, Wall Street is in itself a living, breathing character that is hard to replicate anywhere, so it is only natural for me to include in my writing a place that is so unique, historic, current, and personally attached to me.

3. In 'The Den Of The Assassin' America and the free-world face very real and possibly cataclysmic possibilities at the hands of individuals hell-bent on destroying our way of life. How real are the threats of a biological, chemical, or cyber-attack on our nation's soil?

Very real. Modern warfare has changed dramatically with each passing year. And as scientists continue to place great energy and resources into the science of genetic engineering, our reality is that the capacity for a biological attack has made giant strides toward becoming a serious reality. Chemical warfare, and all of its evil possibilities will also continue to increase. However, what appears to be most concerning is the rapidly expanding threats of cyber-warfare. Countries such as China, North Korea, and Russia have extensive, well-trained cyber-warfare military divisions working endlessly to create and develop deployment systems capable of delivering malicious software code and viruses capable of attacking and shutting down a computer network system. Juxtaposing the concern associated with the ever-expanding ability of each of these and other nations' abilities to engage in a new type of potentially crippling warfare - cyber-warfare - and attack our nation's electronic infrastructure is the fact that as a nation, the United States has become reliant on foreign citizens living abroad to fulfill a variety of computer-design and software needs. So in reality we have, in a certain sense, given away the keys to our nation's central nervous system.

For example, one of the more commonly accepted cyber-warfare strategies involves the use of 'Botnets'. Botnets or 'Bot Networks' are made up of vast numbers of compromised computers that have been infected with malicious code, and can be remotely-controlled through commands sent via the Internet. Hundreds or thousands of these infected computers can operate in concert to distribute spam, viruses, or other malicious code. Because Botnet attacks are decentralized and do not typically have a cyber-warfare command center it is near impossible to defend against, while also having the capacity to easily go viral - and spread from one computer network to another at any given time. Imagine if a Botnet is initiated on a worldwide social network such as Facebook.

With hundreds of millions of users capable of downloading a malicious virus capable of shutting down or destroying for example our electric power grid or our telecommunication lines or our banking system, which is not unrealistic, any nation facing this type of threat would have extraordinary challenges on their hands.

4. What risks are associated with our nation's reliance upon foreign countries and their citizens to design and build many of the computer operating systems and software that we use today?

The risks are very straight-forward: we have given the keys to our nation's nervous system - our electronic arteries - without carefully vetting who in fact we have given the keys to. For example, how do we really know who a company located in Eastern Europe that is designing an online video game for a U.S. based company has actually hired to complete software that will be utilized in the United States? We don't. Nor do we know if and what dormant malicious viruses they have installed. This is a very serious problem, and one that will manifest itself as individuals become more connected via the Internet.

5. Russia?

An extraordinarily dangerous country no matter what title Putin gives himself within the pseudo-democracy he controls. Combining the former KGB officers monger-like mentality with the facts that prior to 1991 the Soviet's Bioprepreat had an anticipated 200,000 scientist working in their illegal biological and chemical warfare division - a unit that surely has not disappeared in the wake of genetic advancement, Russia's extraordinary oil reserves, and similar to China, a great desire to remove the U.S. currency as the world's primary currency ... Russia has as it has in the past, its own agenda, and that agenda typically does not line up with the intended policies of the United States.

6. The Arab Spring?

It was one of the most spectacular uprisings by an oppressed people at any given time in history. Clearly, the remarkable use of the Internet to educate, communicate, and mobilize others in the name of freedom and liberty accomplished what outside governments spent incredible resources unsuccessfully doing: planting sustainable seeds of democracy. I think we're only seeing the beginning of true reform in the Middle East and I anticipate that democracy and freedom's light will shine through the oppressive darkness created by dictators.

7. North Korea?
 

North Korea remains a serious problem in part due to its close relationship to China, a psychopathic ruler who has propped himself to be viewed as a God by the country's citizens, substantial warfare capability coupled with its close proximity to South Korea. In its delicate balance, the world's leading countries continue to be in a quagmire on how to deal with North Korea. Though China has come out on occasion condemning North Korea's actions or policies, in my view, Beijing's still very deeply connected to North Korea and the rest of the world knows it. Economic sanctions utilized to protest that country’s various policies have not truly worked because at the end of the day, the troll has such complete power over the nation's citizens that those who suffer most are the nation's neediest citizens.

And this gives the troll even more power because he is able to point to the west and say to his loyal followers that their nation's difficulties are due to the policies of foreign governments intent to take over North Korea.

Which has lead to that country developing a very dangerous arsenal of tactical weapon capabilities - including the creation of a cyber-warfare division that has been in existence for nearly 25 years - when they created the 'Kim II Political Military University', which is also known as the 'secret college' that enrolls over 100 world-class computer hackers, who after graduation, are assigned to the 'General Bureau of Reconnaissance of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces'.

And with South Korea its neighbor, any type of military conflict with North Korea will cause massive loss of life - so in a certain sense, and due to China's protective eye, the world can do very little other than hope that perhaps we see something similar to the Arab Spring.

8. China?

China is deeply connected to the world economy, which is a safeguard against modern warfare. However, in my opinion two of China's primary political and economic agendas to which they appear to be hell-bent on achieving include removing the U.S. dollar as the world currency standard, and, they're continued investment and creation of infrastructure into Africa. Their activity in Africa, though extremely helpful for many African nations, appears to be taking place in order to mobilize the nation-states of Africa for China's own purposes. Previously, these nations initially became highly instable after the Cold War presumably ended. Combining these goals with China's extreme military build-up - for example their creation of anti-aircraft carrier missiles possibly capable of taking out a nuclear-powered aircraft is in fact changing the way the United States military and in particular our navy prepares for future combat. And China has formed the ‘Blue Army': a very unique team of cyber-warfare computer experts that makes the North Korean's 'Kim II Political Military University' look like a Montessori school for young children. We're talking about a very serious threat, though the size and capability of the Blue Army is not fully understood. What we do know is that they do exist and that they have tremendous resources at their disposal so they may implement their project goals and expand their capabilities.

9. In 'The Den Of The Assassin', the story's protagonist is a Wall Street banker who unexpectedly gets caught in the cross-hairs of a psychopathic former Soviet Union war monger's sight and evil intent to cause grave destruction against America and the free world. Why did you choose to use a banker as the story's protagonist?

 There are many reasons why Tyler Boxter's profession is that of an investment banker. First, the complex story that is 'The Den Of The Assassin' has a very realistic and fungible set of scenarios that require the insight and expertise of a Wall Street insider. And as much as this story takes place on capitalism's Wall Street, the little-often spoken political side of Wall Street was a critical symbol that underscored the antagonist's intent: to destroy all things American and our way of living, including our grasp on liberty and capitalism. And in my mind, Wall Street was America's cradle for both our democratic and capitalistic way of life. So inevitably the story's protagonist needed to be a part of the street - and so Tyler Boxter - the most unsuspecting of individuals soon realizes that the Wall Street he knows is 'The Den Of The Assassin'.

10. How vulnerable are our financial markets to a cyber-attack and how would other nations, including Russia or China benefit if our national grid and computer infrastructure were compromised?

I think any country which had a partial or complete shutdown due to an unspoken declaration of cyber-war would have serious and long-ranging difficulties. Our nation's various national defense agencies spend enormous resources and place mind-boggling effort into ensuring that we detect and isolate cyber-attacks before they spread and cause great damage to our way of living. These individuals are truly our nation's unseen, unspoken, and undetected heroes. And their important role in our nation's homeland defense continues to grow. As for other nations and their potential benefits of having our economy under attack, I think the one nation that would benefit most from this is China, particularly since China desires to remove the U.S. Dollar from the world stage.

11.You romance Wall Street's political history. Can you provide some insight about your love affair with the physical and metaphorical 'Wall Street'?

Before Wall Street was the world's financial market epicenter, it was the nation's first capitol. One of the most important words ever spoken by our nation's first president, the remarkable hero President George Washington, was that 'liberty was an experiment entrusted to the American people'. Those words were said by Washington the night of his inauguration, on April 30th, 1789. Over the years we have witnessed how liberty and freedom changed and expanded in our nation from a time when only white land owners had the right to vote to where we are today ... and our role in spreading liberty throughout the world. And that - liberty - is what Wall Street is about, and it is a romantic, enticing, and most beautiful of concepts and ideals.

12. New York City is clearly a character in its own right in 'The Den Of The Assassin'. Can you provide us with some insight on your New York City?

I think I can speak endlessly about New York City in the most positive of positive ways. I consider myself a New Yorker no matter where in the world I am. I believe New York has its own heart. It is a living, breathing, feeling, and thinking entity unlike any other place in the world. Though not perfect - the New York City I know is one that celebrates our differences, and that, particularly with millions and millions of people living here, is remarkable.

13. Ten words to describe 'The Den Of The Assassin'?

Fast-paced, eye-opening, educational, intriguing, magnetic, accurate, entertaining, current, historical, human.

14. Can you share a personal story about 'The Den Of The Assassin'?

Tragically, during the time of my research dealing with Russia's oligarch system, Paul Klebnikov, the editor of Forbes Magazine Russia was murdered gangland-style in Moscow. Paul died on July 9th, 2004: he was a great journalist and a great family man who was trying to bring to light the massive corruption of the new Russian nation due to the misdeeds of the oligarch system. There were also 21 presidents of banks in and around Moscow alone that were murdered during the time I was researching and writing this story.
15. Did you feel there was a risk associated with releasing 'The Den Of The Assassin'?

 Yes.

16. What's next for Peter Thomas Senese?

I am busy. In the short-term future I will finally release 'Chasing The Cyclone', while also releasing 'The Den Of The Assassin' in both paperback and multiple-language E-book. 'Cloning Christ' will be released later this year in multiple-languages on E-book, and the sequel to 'The Den Of The Assassin', titled 'Predator's Games' will be released at the end of the year. So from a writing standpoint, I'm busy. I am also involved in some very important volunteer work in the area of child abduction prevention, including the upcoming worldwide release of a research project that I am highly involved with, and, seeking additional abduction prevention laws at a national level. Then there are certain film and television projects that I am substantially involved with that are extremely exciting. But most of all, I'm a father to a really great young son and a partner to an amazing woman - so my life is full, content, and meaningful. It is dramatically different than the times to which I was unexpectedly forced to chase the cyclone!

17. You volunteer a great deal of time supporting literacy programs for kids and are a visible international child abduction prevention activist. Why do you advocate for children's interests the way you do?

Reading and writing changed my life forever in the most positive of ways, so how could I not help support literacy programs or simply take the time on occasion and help a child understand the wonderment of reading - that's one of my favorite things to do - to spend time with one or a few children - and get into their heads - because somehow, I connect with them - and they eventually get it – they understand that reading is the key to everything in life. And as for my work in international child abduction prevention - well, read 'Chasing The Cyclone'.


18. Who did you dedicate 'The Den Of The Assassin' to?

Similar to each of my books, I write for one person: my son

Critically Acclaimed 'The Den of the Assassin' by Best-selling Author Peter Thomas Senese To Be Released On E-Book

Author Peter Thomas Senese is pleased to announce his international espionage thriller titled The Den Of The Assassin will be released in e-book worldwide on July 14th, 2011 and will be available on all e-book platforms.

Critics have praised The Den Of The Assassin as an international financial espionage thriller steeped in the modern-day realities of our world, providing the story a visceral prescience teeming with realism and frightful possibilities of global terrorism, and Senese as a masterful writer of international intrigue.

Peter Thomas Senese commented, “For reader who enjoy fast-paced, multi-dimensional plots based upon historical events and plausible possibilities relevant to the world we live in today, The Den Of The Assassin takes audiences on a thrilling global geopolitical journey that evolves around New York City’s Wall Street.”

The Den Of The Assassin opens in New York City, where an unassuming investment banker, Tyler Boxter, is preoccupied with his all-consuming career that acts as a personal shield against the trappings of life that hide guilt and pain and memories he doesn't want.

A mysterious theft leads Boxter from the sanctity of his Wall Street office and thrusts him into the dark world of international terrorism -- where zealots stir in the brutal desserts of the Middle East, where dark, sunken eyes look into the abyss of Siberia's desolate terrains, where prisoners -citizens- who live on a remote peninsula in Asia would rather submit to isolationist cleansing than feel the wrath of a deceitful troll intent on destroying the ideals of the West. 



Unknown to Boxter, he is about to play a sophisticated but explosive game against a madman who is more savage and merciless than the winds of an atomic holocaust. From the current resurgence of former-KGB hard-liners in Russia and the corrupt oligarchs who control the black-market of the weapons trade, from the isolationist mountains of North Korea to the sweeping deserts of the Middle East, from the looming specter of biological warfare to the ways in which terrorists hide and wash their money, from the arcane methods by which corporate America funds itself to the inner workings of Wall Street's war rooms, to the secrets hidden behind the walls in Beijing, to the unthinkable intent of the once mighty Persian Empire, 'Den Of The Assassin' is an informative, compelling, spin-tingling international espionage thriller that will keep readers turning through the pages.

The Den Of The Assassin will be released in e-book on July 14th, 2011 and is presently available in hardcover form from traditional retailers and online merchants. The Den Of The Assassin was initially released in hardcover prior to the author’s unexpected race into the cyclones of international child abduction. Chasing The Cyclone, inspired by Peter Thomas Senese’s experiences in this area, will be released in hardcover later this summer.


Peter Thomas Senese in the author of numerous historical fiction novels. For more information on The Den Of The Assassin or Peter Thomas Senese, please visit http://www.petersenese.com/.

Geopolitical Best-selling Author Peter Thomas Senese Announces E-Book Series Launch

Peter Thomas Senese

Best-Selling author Peter Thomas Senese is pleased to announce the upcoming E-book series launch of selected publications from the novelist's previously released and upcoming international geopolitical thriller genre' publications. The initial launch over a six month period will include a total of five E-book format releases that are intended to be translated and made available in multiple languages, allowing the growing number of readers who enjoy Peter Senese's novels immediate and affordable access to his written works.

The writer, filmmaker, and dedicated child advocate will commence his E-book launch by releasing 'The Den of the Assassin', the highly praised, spine-tingling Post 9-11 financial espionage and geopolitical thriller that catapults an unsuspecting young Wall Street banker, Tyler Boxter, into a world of incomprehensible possibilities and insane apocalyptic challenges. Peter Thomas Senese's intense, page-turning 'The Den of the Assassin' will be released in E-book format on July 14th, 2011.

                                                 
                   The Den of the Assassin Book Trailer

The gut-wrenching, inspirational theological thriller 'Cloning Christ' that jettisons readers to the spiritual and physical battlefront of good vs. evil in Peter Senese's electrifying, bone-chilling story of faith evolves around the global manhunt for Dr. Max Train, a once-devout, now faithless genomic scientist who may be in possession of the True Cross of  Jesus of Nazareth. Cloning Christ will cause heart-racing readers to contemplate the challenges between science and faith while contemplating physical and spiritual issues we all face today in our pursuit to enrich the human condition and experience.'Cloning Christ' will be released in E-book on August 15th, 2011.  

Peter Thomas Senese's deeply personal novel, 'Chasing The Cyclone', the critically acclaimed heart-pounding international legal thriller of a father and son's unbowed and unbreakable love and belief in one another in lieu of a wicked international child abduction as told in a way very few writers ever could, and that was inspired by Peter Thomas Senese's unimaginable experiences as a parent chasing the cyclone of international child abduction, will released in hardcover and E-book in mid-August, 2011.

                                             

  Peter Thomas Senese Is A Child Abduction Prevention Advocat
 'Chasing The Cyclone' Is Inspired By The Author's Experiences

                                     

Peter Thomas Senese's e-book series continues with the worldwide E-book release of 'The Production', a hilarious satire about the artful, zany, and often colliding storytelling worlds of filmmaking and publishing that has lovers of good storytelling laughing hysterically. 'The Production' by Peter Thomas Senese will be released on September 29th, 2011.

Soviet Scorpion Nuclear Submarine

'Predator's Games' the riveting sequel of 'The Den of the Assassin', that propels readers into the shocking and deadly world of alternative energy speculation and depicts the world's power-nations conspiring against one another in an extremely dangerous and potentially cataclysmic quest to control what was once the unthinkable unfolds as unique characters initially introduced in 'The Den of the Assassin' race into real and startling possibilities evolving around advances in alternative energy and mankind's greed. 'Predator's Games' by Peter Thomas Senese will be released during the Thanksgiving Holiday Season.

Peter Thomas Senese commented, “I am extremely pleased to announce the E-book publications of selected novels that readers from all over the world have embraced. It is indeed a very humbling experience to have such a large and diverse number of book lovers from Anchorage to Los Angeles to Christ Church to Beijing to St. Petersburg to Athens to Oslo to The Isle of Skye to New York, and from Anchorage to Cape Town and places in between have interest in my novels.

Peter & Tyler at the Algonquin 

“I am, as I will continue to be, extremely grateful for the worldwide reception my stories have received. This interest and appreciation supports my strong belief that society continues to evolve into global citizens, and with each and every passing day, the concerns or interests that one person shares in one part of the world has relevance to another person living on the other side of the planet. I think this is truly remarkable, particularly since one of the primary undercurrents of each of my books is the value of global citizenship. The other undercurrent - and I once thought this was a secret only a few readers realized, but in time I came to know how much I have been mistaken - is that if you hear the voice attached to the words in my novels, you will hear the voice of a parent who deeply loves his child. As I now have come to understand, a substantial number of my readers have heard and indentified with that voice. So perhaps these are two of the reasons why my writing continues to be embraced and evolve onto the global stage."

Peter Thomas Senese's E-book series launch will initially release each title in English. However, 'The Den of the Assassin', 'Predator's Games', and 'The Production' will each be released in Spanish, German, and French within eight weeks of their e-book publication date. 'Cloning Christ' and 'Chasing The Cyclone' will be released in English as well as in Spanish, German, French, Italian, Mandarin (Chinese), Hindi, Russian, Portuguese, and Greek. With the expansive growth of consumers turning to e-book readers, the traditional distribution and delivery of an author's written works has vastly changed.

Geopolitical Novelist
Peter Thomas Senese
Sitting Above The Clouds

"As an author who embraces my publishing independence, and having had considerable success, including having several of my books hit and stay on various publishing-industry best-seller lists, the ever-expanding use of e-book readers will allow for good writers with important issues that they desire to share with worldwide opportunity to reach audiences via e-book publications. Over the course of the past years, I have purposefully delayed the electronic release of my novels until I felt comfortable with the evolution of electronic distribution of my writings, and that my readership audience, who was accustomed to reading my books in hardcover format, would support my E-book publication. After receiving an incredible number of inquiries from book lovers all over the world expressing their desire to have my novels made available in E-book format and in multiple languages, I have become extremely comfortable that now is the time to launch selected books I have written on E-book format. This is very exciting!

According to the Association of American Publishers, E-book sales represent the largest single format for book sales in the United States. Paperback sales is considered second, followed by hardcover book sales, both of which sales figures continue to decline. Mike Shatzkin, the founder and chief executive of the Idea Logical Company, which advertises book publishers on digital change said referring to the expansive growth of consumer demand for E-books, "This was a day that was going to come, a day that had to come." Shatzkin predicts that within a decade, fewer than 25% of all books sold will be print versions. Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon's chief executive previously commented on how the E-book has overtaken both hardcover and paperback sales on the online retailer's website when he said it is "Astonishing when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months."

The Pelican Inn
Muir Woods
Surrounded by giant redwoods
Sitting next to the Pacific Ocean

Peter Thomas Senese is a storyteller focusing on messages in all formats that bespeak global connectivity. He is a writer of habit: each of his stories are written in part at the New York City Public Library's 'Great Reading Room' and 'Map Room', Butler Library at Columbia University, the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, the Student Union at the University of Wiscnsin in Madison, The Pelican Inn located in Muir Woods, Paradise Cove in Malibu, and the Los Angeles Central Library. 


Commenting on his writing locations, Peter Senese added, "If you're going to do something, do something you relly love at places that you really enjoy. The diversity of my own writing settings allows for me to think carefully and clearly when creating what I consider to be rather complex storylines filled with an enourmous amount of relevant and accurate information. When I write, I literally and figutively go on an amazing journey. And God knows I love it!"

New York City Public Library
The Great Reading Room

He is actively involved in supporting issues that impact the lives of children, including demonstrative support to keep our nation's public libraries open seven days a week; and, actively engaged in numerous and extensive activities surrounding international child abduction prevention; and, actively advocating for new legislation that will protect children and others from malicious online impersonation. 

Paradise Cove
Malibu

To learn more about Peter Thomas Senese, please visit his official website or Peter's Official blogsite.