NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Former U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Oliver North, who served in the National Security Council during the Ronald Reagan presidency, has signed with Broadman & Holman, trade-publishing division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, to write a series of novels.
North, a decorated Marine and nationally syndicated radio host, will write a series of action thrillers drawing on his life as a Marine, a covert operative, a family man, a born-again Christian and a media personality, Kenneth H. Stephens, B&H president, said. The first book is expected to be released in the fall of 2002, with others to follow at the rate of one per year.
“These will be intensely personal tales of heroes and traitors, of love and hate, of belief and betrayal,” North said. “These will be stories about faith and freedom and the saga of extraordinary human endurance in the face of great adversity and despair. I’ll be writing about things that challenge the very core of a man’s being and beliefs.”
David R. Shepherd, B&H senior vice president and publisher, said, “In Oliver North, you have a man who has actually lived the life that other fiction writers can only imagine.
“He is a faith-and-family values man and a gifted writer,” Shepherd added. “It is an incredible combination of experience, character and skills that we believe will come together to create the next best-selling action thriller series.”
North said the first book of his series, “Mission Compromised,” will introduce fictional character Major Peter J. Newman of the U.S. Marines who is in the White House National Security Council staff position North once held. In the story, Newman discovers secrets never revealed during the Iran-Contra congressional hearings, such as how covert missions were compromised, why high-ranking FBI and CIA spies rarely go on trial and why the United Nations has a military command center.
“My hope is that these stories will thrill, excite and encourage those who read them,” North said. “I’ve wanted to relate this saga for a long time, and Broadman & Holman has made it possible for me to do so.”
B&H President Stephens said, “With this series of faith-based, fast-paced novels of international and political intrigue, Oliver North will set a new standard for the action thriller genre of fiction.”
Today, North is a business owner, newspaper columnist and host of a nationally syndicated program, “Common Sense Radio with Oliver North.”
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: OLIVER NORTH.
