Tom Carroll, owner of Tiburon Systems and retired Navy captain with the highest security clearance the United States offers, just received approval from the Department of Defense to release his new book “Colt’s Crisis” to the public.
“Colt’s Crisis” is a techy military spy thriller unlike any other. After the untimely death of U.S. Secretary of Defense, the President sends Colt Garrett, the undersecretary of defense, on a mission to quell tensions and maintain peace within the Western Pacific Ocean. Onboard the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, Colt must acquire biological warheads that suddenly have gone missing, while rekindling a tensely strained relationship with his son who serves as a Navy pilot. Filled with conspiracy and struggle, Colt must navigate a world of attempted assassinations, espionage, romance and betrayal in a mystery that is almost too realistic for people to read.
Coupled with a lifetime of experience in technology communications and governmental work, Carroll spent six months intensively researching the contents of “Colt’s Crisis.” “Today, people know a lot about everything,” admits Carroll. With such an abundant access to knowledge in this day and age, if somebody is going to write a technical novel, you better get it right, he adds.
“I had no idea that I could even do this,” continues Carroll, as he reflects upon writing a full-length novel. Up until he was inspired by a friend to write a book of his own, he had never attempted writing a story of any kind in his life. Recalling college life in the late 1970s Carroll chuckles, “The thought of writing a 20-page paper just freaked me out.” But he supposes his experience as an intelligence analyst in the Navy, which required lots of technical writing, prepared him for the challenge.
Backed by experience and international research, Carroll wanted to bring something new to readers. “I think a lot of people don’t really understand how some of this stuff works, between nations,” Carroll shares, referring to “Colt’s Crisis” in which national and international relationships must be carefully navigated.
As an intelligence analyst, you train your brain to recognize patterns,” says Carroll. Decades after the Navy, he has realized how this experience influenced his work with national and local governmental leaders, and recognizes that many people don’t understand what is going on behind the scenes in some of the world’s largest governmental organizations.
In his work today, Carroll’s company, Tiburon Systems, assists state and local governments and education institutions with information technology challenges. One of Tiburon’s largest clients, the University of Washington, operates the massive state-owned K-20 Education Network. School districts, community and technical colleges, and universities are all connected by this fiber optics, business-class network. “Without K-20, no one would be going to school right now,” Carroll states matter-of-factly.
“Colt’s Crisis” is the first novel in the Colt Garrett series. “Colt’s Cross,” its sequel, is scheduled for release next December. By writing this series, Carroll hopes that his novels will help people discover parts of history they may not yet have learned, and shed a fresh light on contemporary politics and governmental organizations.
Referring to how some people may think of the armed forces, Carroll points out: “One of the mistakes that people make is the role of women in the military. I got commissioned in 1981, there were women admirals in the Navy then.”
Alongside other powerful female figures in the military and government, Carroll tries to incorporate the women who have inspired and taught him in life, explaining, “I wanted to make sure that there were strong female characters in the book.”
Carroll hopes that his book will shed a different light on the moralistic identity of people in government. Recalling an interview he conducted with a Montana State Senator, Carroll asked why the Senator chose that job. The senator replied, “I’m here so that for part of my life, I can do something for somebody else.” Carroll says that throughout his entire career, experience has taught him that this is almost always the case.
“I just wanted to show an example where somebody was in a position of authority trying to do the right thing,” says Carrol on why he wrote the book. “A lot of the time, people are bombarded by the press and media where you see public officials doing the wrong thing.” Almost all of the time, at the core of their decisions, Carroll believes people try to do what is right.
Delve into Tom Carroll’s world by checking out the Tom Carroll Books website.
