Would a Former NSA Agent turned Educator/Author really try to capitalize on the publicity surrounding Edward Snowden for Personal Gain?

He would. Because, after years of selling just random copies of my novels, I've come to the conclusion that I'm just too timid when it comes to self-promotion.  

So here I go. And I'm going all in. (And I don't like this, this isn't me.)

Greetings, I'm Keith Massey, former Arabic linguist at the National Security Agency. If you hate the NSA, please don't hold that against me. I went to work there after 9/11 with patriotic intentions because people with my linguistic skills were needed.

I worked at the NSA from 2002 to 2006, during which time I earned the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal for service performed in Iraq in 2004.

I left the Agency in 2006 to become a public high school teacher, but also because I wanted to pursue my original life's dream of being a novelist.

Which brings us to today. There will never be a better time

for me to ride this media frenzy about Edward Snowden toward possible financial gain.

I mean, I'm sitting in Romania and even here I daily see Edward Snowden's image on the TV with a discussion of NSA activities. From a publicity standpoint, it's all too good to be true.

Don't hate me. I need to make money, just like you.

So I've launched my publicity campaign in earnest. Toward that end, I'm giving you one of my novels free on Kindle through July 22.

But, I'm going to be completely honest with you. You deserve nothing less.  I'm giving you this novel for free out of the hope that you will then actually purchase other novels I wrote. You see, if no one ever buys my novels, I don't get any money! (I can't believe I just begged perfect strangers to buy my books. Forgive me, people.)The one I'm giving you for free is actually the second in a series of novels following Dr. Andrew Valquist, an academic who goes to work at the NSA. (Write what you know.)

Amor Vincit Omnia: an Andrew Valquist Adventure is the story of Dr. Valquist's early days at the NSA. It picks up the saga immediately after the action of the novel A Place of Brightness.

One reviewer in the US gave it 5 stars and wrote, "Solidly likeable protagonist with good supporting cast of characters. Quick but thoroughly enjoyable read; will read more related books, I think! "  Another 5 star US review says, "It is an interesting and exciting read; the kind of book you can't put down but then you are sorry when you get to the last page and you crave more."

One reviewer in the UK gave it 4 stars, saying that it was "an enjoyable read, with enough twists and turns to keep the plot going and maintain the reader's interest."

But she said she was annoyed by the fact that I advertise my other books within this novel. I fully understand this criticism. But I did this for the simple fact that I need people to buy the other books so I can make some money! (Well, asking for money didn't feel so bad that time. I mean, I did work very hard on these books.)

Her other criticism (despite giving it 4 stars) is that she felt the main character was sent on his first mission  "whisked away with no proper training, forewarning or mission information."
 
She would not have actually felt he was so untrained if she had first read the novel A Place of Brightness, in which she would have learned that Andrew Valquist arrived at the NSA with considerable operational training for the mission he was sent on.

So, the solution is simple. Read all my novels. You're getting one free, so look at it as if they're all kind of on discount. (I'm getting the hang of this "selling myself" stuff.)

Here they are, in the order you should read them. Links to the titles take you to a page where you can learn more details, read excerpts, and then, of course, purchase the books on Kindle or Paperback. 

A Place of Brightness begins the saga. This is the story of a Romanian family who belong to an anti-Communist insurgency during the Cold War. It takes you from 1962 until 2004, when Andrew and Stefan Valquist, sons of one of the insurgents, visit Romania and are pulled into international intrigue.

 

Amor Vincit Omnia: an Andrew Valquist Adventure

describes a young man entering service at the National Security Agency, only to find himself already on a clandestine mission on his second day! Remember, this is the one you can get free on Kindle through July 22! 

Next Stop: Spanish is a unique novel in which a young man needs to learn how to speak that language and will do so in the course of the story. He gets help from his uncle Andrew Valquist, only to—you guessed it—be pulled into international intrigue.

In Saecula Saeculorum is set in 2012, when Andrew Valquist is retired from the NSA and is headmaster at a Classical Academy. Or is he actually under deep cover for an Ultra Secret Mission? Four young people at the school don't know it, but they've actually just been trained for a joint NSA/MI-6 mission to back in time to save the world.

But wait, as long as I have you here, there are other ways you can put money in my pocket that I'd love to tell you about. (I'm just downright shameless at this point!)

You can take one of my online courses hosted at Udemy.com


I have two courses you can explore. As you can see to the right of this post that I offer my courses on a "Pay What You Will" scale, from 29.00 down to free, your choice, no strings attached.

Click on the links to watch a promo video in which, I admit, I will try to talk you into subscribing. So watch the promo videos. If I don't succeed in talking you into taking the course, I do thank you for your time and attention.

Fortune Favors the Brave: Ancient Lessons for Modern Success. You've heard the saying, "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it." But history is not just a series of disasters to avoid. In this course I recount examples from ancient history worth knowing and how they can be applied to achieving whatever you define as success today.

The Massey Method: Learn Spanish from a Former NSA Agent. This is a vocabulary based learning program in which I share a list of vocabulary I developed over the years to focus on all the words you really should have mastered before you continue to more advanced levels of the language.

Wait, there's yet a final way you can help fund me so I don't have to work full time anymore!

If you visit the pages where I describe my novels, you'll see that the novels are accompanied by cheesy merchandise themed to each novel. So after you've read the novels, you can get t-shirts and the like to both continue your enjoyment of my novels and also, as an added bonus, give me more money!

But I have other a lot of other products available on my Zazzle Store, such as shirts with Latin quotes and also my famous "Iguanodon Likes This" product line, that should have made me a million dollars all on its own but somehow hasn't (yet).