If you knew more about people than what they know about themselves, you could control what they think and how they act and vote. You could dominate U.S. politics and the emerging metaverse. Who could possibly stop you?
Sexy digital artist and venture capitalist Eva Johnson is back, in another prophetic conspiracy thriller about real-world technology, politics and cultural change that weaves fact and fiction so tightly you’ll wonder where the facts end and the fiction begins.
Think Dan Brown meets Michael Crichton in an exciting psychological mystery thriller.
After Eva’s boyfriend, investigative reporter Andy Baker, ignores her warnings that his latest whistleblower exposé could get them both killed, metaverse billionaire Steve Miller shows up at Eva’s gallery reception and takes an unexpected interest in her work. As Eva struggles to assess her feelings for the two men, she finds herself and Andy targeted by the leaders of a daring NSA technology conspiracy backed by U.S. politicians and wealthy businesspeople with help from the Chinese. It's an audacious, dangerous scheme to take control of the next presidential election and dominate the emerging metaverse.
Amid political intrigue, betrayals, deadly shoot-outs, Chinese espionage and her own personal challenges, Eva pursues the conspiracy to the highest levels of American business and government. Fighting to fuel her own confidence and stay alive, she uses psychology, technology and kinetic force to unravel the conspiracy and craft the revenge she wants so desperately to achieve.
This is a contemporary story about the emergence of the metaverse in our society, not a sci-fi story set inside the metaverse. Regardless of whether you are into the metaverse yet, the book will tell you all you need to know to enjoy the story and worry about the issues.
Virtual Control is an intellectual thriller packaged in a prescient story about contemporary politics, technology and the evolving metaverse.
This book is for you if you enjoy sophisticated, action-packed fiction: Set in the context of real-world issues. Where psychology and technology are as important as firefights and bloodshed. Where politics are part of the story but the book is not a screed for one side or the other. That explores the hazy psychological links between truth and lies, anxiety and fear, confidence and control and wealth and power.
Virtual Control will make you think, both as you read and long after you turn the last page.
If you like thrillers by authors like Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, Ken Follett, Stieg Larsson, John le Carré, Robert Ludlam and Daniel Silva, you will be glad you read Virtual Control. Includes interesting discussion questions for book clubs.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s reality coming fast.
I strive to write vivid real-world fiction that unleashes the characters into the emerging social, political and technological changes that are altering who we are and how we live.
Realistic characters and details matter to me. I use my experience as a business lawyer, professor, investment banker and CEO of publicly traded technology and financial companies and a lot of additional research to bring my characters and settings to life and create action-packed plot twists and suspense. I use real places, product names and public figures in my stories to add context.
I have a degree in Political Science from the University of Florida and a law degree from the Harvard Law School. I've written or co-authored several books on business negotiating as well as articles on technology, banking and the law. I live in Florida with my wife, Jeannie.
First and foremost, I write to communicate. I write to engage and connect with my readers, clearly and convincingly, whatever the content and whatever the purpose.
For nonfiction, I write to help the reader gain knowledge about something the reader cares about, whether that’s a new company policy about health insurance or how to sell their business.
For fiction, I write to educate as well as entertain. I want my readers to take away something to think about, and perhaps talk about, long after they close the book. I want my work to stimulate engagement, not only between me and my readers, but between my readers and their friends and colleagues.
When I use the word engagement, I don’t necessarily mean agreement. I want to encourage reader reaction and thoughtful discussion, pro and con, favorable and unfavorable. Sometimes that means baiting my readers to react to tropes or clichés, or having my characters do the baiting for me. Sometimes it means using dark characters who may not appear to be the nicest people (initially and maybe even later). Sometimes it means loading in more factual background about technology, politics or social issues than some readers may find comfortable learning about.
The novels in my Eva Johnson Series are thrillers based on real-world issues at the intersection of politics, technology and social and cultural change.
Although filled with action and surprises that drive the plot forward like any good thriller, the books are more sophisticated than typical thrillers. They are psychological mystery thrillers that foreshadow and explore current and emerging topics. Set in or near the present, the books blend fact and fiction. I want readers to wonder where the facts end and the fiction begins. I also want the books to be prescient, sometimes in suggesting outcomes and more often in identifying and assessing issues that are speeding toward us—issues that will become even more challenging in the years ahead.
Each book in the series crafts an exciting story around an important current event or subject. In Intentional Consequences, it’s national politics and the pending presidential primaries for the 2020 election. In Revenge Matters, it’s biotechnology and the microbiome. In Virtual Control, it’s artificial intelligence, personal data and the metaverse. You don’t need to be an expert in any of these areas to enjoy the rapidly evolving story. Each book will pull you along with what you need to know. If you are already an expert, you will appreciate the research and attention to detail and enjoy the nuances between what is true and what is almost true.