A Place of Brightness: About Keith Massey

I got my PhD in Biblical Hebrew, with a minor in Arabic from
the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After 9/11 I went to work for the Top Secret National Security Agency, during which time I was the recipient of the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal, for service in Iraq in 2004.

I’m the author of Intermediate Arabic for Dummies, by Wiley Publishing. I’ve drawn upon my stint in the world of Intelligence to pen my motivational/productivity book Top Secrets: Lessons for Success from the World of Espionage.

I left the NSA in 2006 to assume the quieter life of a high school Latin teacher. To make the language come alive for my students, I have made a number of cover versions of popular songs translated into Latin, sung and performed by me. My Latin language music video of Adele’s Hello has 120K views!

I’m an Eastern Orthodox priest. I blend my background in espionage as well as my spiritual foundation to produce what I would term “religion-friendly spy novels.” The Andrew Valquist Series features protagonists unwillingly pulled into international intrigue and adventure, and, while my novels are not preachy, they include characters for whom religion is an important aspect of their life and motivations. Imagine a spy on a dangerous undercover mission who still tries to fit Church into his hectic schedule.

Applying some of the skills I learned at the NSA, I have published proposed solutions to a number of historical and linguistic puzzles, ancient and modern. My research on the Shugborough Inscription was featured in the Birmingham Post.

I consider it one of my life’s missions to promote understanding through second language acquisition. So I’ve made and offer to you free resources to learn basic Spanish, Arabic, Romanian, and Latin.

Thank you for your time and attention. God bless you.

In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!

About Keith Massey

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