Our guest today is Allan Topol, a national bestselling author of 17 novels of International Intrigue. Including his newest novel, “The Chinese Agent.” His novels have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Hebrew. He graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, majored in chemistry, abandoned science, and obtained a law degree from Yale University. A partner in a major Washington law firm and an avid wine collector, he has traveled extensively, researching dramatic locations for his novels.
In “The Chinese Agent,” Jim Forester, the FBI Director, is assassinated in Mexico City. When President Braddock appoints Kelly Cameron, a rising FBI agent and Director of the Bureau’s China Section, to take charge of the investigation, Kelly is forced to overcome her grief for Forester, her friend, and mentor. In unraveling the riddle of Forester’s murder, Kelly uncovers Operation Chameleon, a bold and daring plot by the Chinese government that would put the United States at tremendous risk. Kelly proceeds with dogged persistence despite personal danger and repeated attacks on her life and those helping her. The espionage landscape is constantly shifting around Kelly. Agents may have become double agents. She doesn’t know whom to trust. The non-stop action moves from Washington to Mexico to Rome to Hong Kong. Forester’s murder blossoms into an electrifying international crisis with monumental stakes for the United States. Full of dazzling international locations and furious action, “The Chinese Agent” is a thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. For more information on purchasing “The Chinese Agent,” please visit Amazon or purchase from any bookstore; for more information on all of Mr. Topol’s books, go to www.allantopol.com.
Our second guest today is Desmond Astaire, the grand prize winner in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, earning him the Golden Pen Award trophy and a cash prize of $5,000 in addition to having his story, “Gallows,” published in the international bestselling anthology, L. Ron Hubbard
Presents Writers of the Future Volume 38. The Publisher is Galaxy Press.The trade paperback was released on June 28th in stores everywhere, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million.
The awards event at the Taglyan Complex on April 8th was a black-tie gala honoring all the writer and illustrator winners and announcing the grand prize writer and illustrator winners. In his acceptance speech, Desmond relayed to the nearly five hundred attendees, “Short story anthologies are such a beautiful piece of speculative fiction culture, and for L. Ron Hubbard’s estate to continue nurturing emerging writers is a truly special gift. Desmond Astaire is a speculative fiction storyteller from Central Illinois, where he navigates the journey of life alongside a devoted wife and forever-loved son. In his other life, Astaire’s lifelong obsession with science fiction and fantasy was forged as a child in the halls of local public libraries. The addiction was enabled by reading programs like Accelerated Reader and BOOK IT! 
The book L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 38 with Desmond Astair winning short story the Gallows is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million, and everywhere books are sold. If you want more information about or are interested in entering the contest go to www.writersofthefuture.com.