A bit about me.

I spent 50 years flying to and from over 30 countries around the world, and to save myself from inflight boredom, I read thrillers. And so, when I retired, I wrote one of my own at age 73.

I've lived in a lot of very different places: USA, England, Scotland, India, and France. Those stops, along with my work in a lot of other countries, have given me some unique insights, but two things are certain - we are all pretty much the same, and there are good and bad people everywhere. So when I hear about hatred, or fears, or sweeping generalizations about people, I know they're unfounded. I think you'll see those beliefs reflected in my books.

I'd love to hear from anyone interested in my books, what makes me write, and if you're a new author, I'd be happy to help you with the process. Just don't ask me about commas.

In the next section, you can check out a few of my works-in-progress.

Van and his favorite son, Yogi.

My first book, Final Notice, is a near-future political, medical, psychological thriller. It asks the question, "If you knew you had 10 days to live, what would you do?" If you read it, you'll see that some people might be tempted to kill, with impunity.

Final Act - book two of the Trilogy - takes it another step. What might someone who knew you were going to die, do?

And finally, Final Chance jumps a few decades ahead to consider our fragile environment and the desperate measures some people or entities might take to derail progress.

The three books are shown here with brief intros of each. You can also click on each book to read the first chapter and see buying options. All three are available as paperbacks, e-books, Kindle Unlimited, and audio books. The Trilogy is available as an e-book, KU, and Audible.

A bit further down you can check out a few of my works-in-progress.

FINAL NOTICE is sporting a new-look cover. The other books are also undergoing a facelift. In addition to my inclusive views on age, nationalities, race, and gender, you'll find that I'm also concerned about gun control and the availability of assault style weaponry. Those views play a big role in my books, so bear that in mind. In addition, I've been a runner for a good part of my life, so I've always had the latest version of a sports watch. As the watches got smarter, I began to muse that one day it would announce, "You have 10 days to live." What would I do? Here's a clue: I wrote this during and immediately after the 2016 presidential election. So, although I doubt I could ever shoot someone in cold blood, I could write about it!

Here's a synopsis and if you want to read the first chapter, just click on the book cover.

The year is the very near future. Vince and Trudi, recently retired, live happily in their “California bubble” with Miles, their Corgi, until Vince is knocked down by a young punk in a parking lot. His sense of shame and rage, resulting from feelings of age-related vulnerability, triggers a first-time interest in guns. Trudi resists, but later, an unprovoked attack on Miles and Vince – and a growing friendship with two courageous Syrian refugees – makes her question her reality.

Meanwhile, a brilliant young doctor/mathematician, Vijay Patel, has invented a new health/sports watch that monitors blood chemistry so accurately, it can actually predict when someone will die – within 10, 20, or 30 days. The intention of this “Final Notice,” is to allow people to get their affairs in order and reach out to loved ones before it’s too late. But when those notified have easy access to a gun, the result is sometimes lethal for more than just the watch-owner.

These are the stories of several people who receive their Final Notice and their very different reactions ...

FINAL ACT - a perfect recipe for a thriller. Mix together: Knowing when you are going to die ...Guns ... and an Election. Add Russians and stir.

In this fast-paced sequel to Final Notice, the plot is simultaneously realistic and surrealistic ... and totally engrossing. Once again, it is set in today’s chaotic political climate and gun-crazy culture; and once again, it features the “only slightly” sci-fi watch – the VT2 – that monitors blood chemistry so accurately that it can predict the wearer’s death within 10, 20 or 30 days.

But while Final Notice asked the question: “What would you do if you knew – for certain – that you had a couple weeks to live?” ... Final Act asks: “What might others do if they knew that you only had a couple weeks to live?” And when those “others” include Bratva (the Russian Mafia) and the SVR (formerly the KGB), you have a page-turner that turns “what if” into “what is.”

Final Act picks up the VT2 story during a presidential election year. Dr. Vijay Patel, the watch’s inventor, is stunned and horrified by the havoc his creation has brought about and works in cooperation with Zoe Brouet of the FBI to stem the violence associated with the VT2. The danger to everyone – especially the presidential candidates – is palpable. Crafted with suspense, dark humor, irony, and a dash of romance, Final Act casts a clear light on the deep divisions within our country, divisions that have been widened and exploited by a malignant foreign power.

To read Chapter one of Final Act, click the cover.

To see buying options, click HERE.

FINAL CHANCE - Science Fiction or Future History?

The not-so-distant future: The climate-change tipping point has been breached faster than expected. Seas are rising and are more acidic, greatly affecting the health of our oceans and dramatically reducing our supply of seafood. Temperatures are rising along with humidity, creating a deadly combination of environmental conditions resulting in deaths and destruction. Outbreaks of diseases as a result of glacier melt, anthrax, mosquitos, and ticks. Agriculture and our entire food chains are breaking down as rising CO2 in the atmosphere are affecting plant nutrition and animal stocks. Crops are failing as they struggle to survive in new environments and more frequent and intense weather patterns.

Fortunately, a progressive government had been elected, and a large majority of Americans finally realized that climate change was real, needed to be urgently addressed and that working together with our heretofore enemies carried with it a huge peace dividend. As a result, the United States had been able to fund huge projects to fend off the effects of global warming as well as develop a stopgap or fallback position – the FINAL CHANCE – in case those efforts would not be enough to sustain life.

The United States was leading the way, and countries around the world had joined in with all-out efforts to sustain life and revitalize the environment. It was, indeed, everyone’s Final Chance, so why was someone trying to sabotage these efforts?

To read Chapter one of Final Chance, click the cover.

To see buying options, click HERE.

including a desire to get revenge with impunity. They range from an 89-year-old resident in a retirement home to a U.S. Senator ... from a benevolent widow, to a crass tycoon, to a noted climate change scientist.

But in this fresh, fast-paced page-turner, their stories are all set against the all-too-recognizable backdrop of a guns-gone-wild America, and the relentless push by the NRA and their surrogate politicians to make guns even easier to acquire.

There is plenty of dark humor and political satire in FINAL NOTICE, as well as touching scenes and outright suspense. So expect to laugh out loud, dry some tears, and bite your nails (not necessarily in that order).

To read Chapter one of Final Notice, click the cover.

To see buying options, click HERE.

Works in Progress!

Hopefully, fiction, this is a new thriller idea, but if I don't hurry up, it could become old news!

These are some of the things rattling around in my brain.

This isn't fiction, although there are a number of CEOs who wish that some of the examples I cite, were. It's based on my 50+ years of business experience, working with hundreds of companies around the world. Almost as scary as my fiction work.

Hernando'sWish

Another fiction work, it tells the story of a young boy's wish.

Get in touch

Van Fleisher

van@vanfleisher.com