Book Promo ~ Empty Quiver

Rival Operatives Unite to Dodge Nuclear Disaster

~by Tom Davis

The U.S. Pershing II and Soviet SS-20 missiles on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., were once at the center of the Cold War chess match that underpins Tom Davis’ suspenseful new book, Empty Quiver. Set against a backdrop of historical figures and actual events, Empty Quiver brings history to life with a riveting tale that reimagines what might have happened behind the scenes as Cold War tensions escalated.

Davis brings back NSC staffer Carter Cardwell and CIA Analyst Katherine O’Connor, whom readers will remember from his previous book, Conclave. Empty Quiver begins in 1983, as the Soviet Union deploys its new SS-20 missile, and the U.S. counters by developing and stationing its new Pershing II missile in West Germany. But many Germans are opposed to having the new weapons on their soil, a resistance the Soviet KGB decides to exploit, no matter who they must team with to halt the U.S. deployment.

In Washington, Carter is sent to find out what forces are at work and what the KGB is up to. He brings with him Katherine, an expert on the Soviet Union with whom he has a personal relationship. Meanwhile, the KGB decides upon a risky and complicated approach to broaden German opposition against the arrival of the new Pershings. The KGB chief responsible for Western Europe, Dimitry Zhukov, takes personal charge of the Soviet effort.

Carter, Katherine and Dimitry have confronted each other before, but now find they must work together before a nuclear confrontation spins out of control. Both sides must confront dark forces from the past in order to create the conditions for a more peaceful future. Will they succeed? Or will nuclear terrorists upset the nuclear balance?

Davis himself once guarded nuclear storage sites in Europe during the Cold War, and he draws upon his experiences to inform his narrative. “The incident with the ‘rabbit hunter’ described in Chapter 5 actually occurred — to me — while the officer of the guard at one such site,” he said. “Fortunately, it was an innocent event that ended with none of the sinister implications described in the book.”

Author Tom Davis is a retired Army officer and senior corporate executive. He holds an undergraduate degree from West Point and a graduate degree from Harvard. He spent 25 years in the Army and then another 16 years in the corporate world. He has written numerous articles on politics and international relations, and a nonfiction assessment of the 1982 Israeli incursion into Lebanon titled 40 Kilometers Into Lebanon. His first novel, Conclave, was a historical novel about the election to the papacy of John Paul II. 

“I’m an old Cold Warrior who spent many years in Germany guarding the Fulda Gap and was there when the wall came down and Germany re-united in 1991,” Davis added.  “Back then, the U.S. and Soviet Union under General Secretary Gorbachev learned the benefits of cooperation. Those days are unfortunately behind us. We are now entering a new Cold War, and I am seriously concerned about the dangerous directions it might travel.”

For more information, please visit 
https://tomdavisauthor.com/, or follow the author on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000901572680.

Empty Quiver

Publisher: Punaro Press
ISBN-13: ‎979-8789110546
Available from
Amazon.com

Book Promo: Conclave by Tom Davis

Theology and Politics Collide in Reality-Inspired Cold War Thriller

When Pope John Paul I died of an apparent heart attack in September 1978—just 33 days after his election—the United States and the Soviet Union went on high alert.

The United States could loosen communism’s stranglehold on Eastern Europe if a non-Italian successor is chosen to lead the Catholic Church. Conversely, the Soviets are determined to keep an Italian in the papacy. A dangerous competition ensues as the two countries aim to further their own interests while limiting those of the other party. CIA and KGB agents infiltrate the Vatican as Cold War tensions mount amid the backdrop of a hastily arranged conclave to elect a successor.

Meanwhile, back in the states, army officer Carter Caldwell is sent to persuade American cardinals to wield their influence in the conclave. He meets beautiful CIA analyst Katherine O’Connor. Carter can’t get her out of his mind, although plenty of problems demand his attention.

Before the conclave is over, the Sistine Chapel will be bugged, a spy in the Vatican’s kitchen will be murdered, and CIA and KGB operatives will exchange gunfire. As the most important figure in the Catholic world is finally chosen, one question remains: Will he survive long enough to become pope?

Conclave from Tom Davis weaves an in-depth thriller where Catholic theology and Cold War politics collide. The result is a gripping, fictionalized retelling of what might have happened as these real-world events unfolded.

Was the election of non-Italian Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II in October 1978 somehow orchestrated through the US’s covert influence on the papal conclave? Today, his election is viewed as a turning point in the Cold War—just 13 years later, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the Warsaw Pact disintegrated.

Author Tom Davis is a retired army officer and corporate executive. After graduating from West Point, he had numerous assignments and experiences in the army, including commanding an artillery battalion in Operation Desert Storm, being a key advisor to a Secretary of the Army and several Army Chiefs of Staff, and serving as an Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at West Point, where he taught International Relations, Political Science, Economics and Middle Eastern Affairs. He served a brief tour in the Department of State as part of the Palestinian Autonomy negotiating team, where he heard a story that inspired Conclave.

After retiring from the army, Davis had a successful career with General Dynamics Corporation. He has written numerous articles and editorials for major newspapers on a wide range of topics, and has published major studies on federal budgeting and the management of the nation’s national security programs. His previous book, 40 Kilometers Into Lebanon, analyzes the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He holds degrees from the US Military Academy at West Point and Harvard University. He retired from General Dynamics in 2013, and is currently the Forrestal-Richardson Industry Chair at Defense Acquisition University and an adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School.

Conclave has captured the attention of an independent film company based in Germany and has been converted into a screenplay for future development into a six-episode mini-series.

For more information, please visit www.tomdavisauthor.com.

Conclave
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN-10: 1534706615
ISBN-13: 978-1534706613
Available
Amazon.com
www.tomdavisauthor.com