Body Man
Description
Body Man is a taut, terrifying, terrific political thriller that cuts to the bone of the devastating divide roiling America today. Drawing on his insider experience as a former member of the White House press corps, Al Pessin paints an all-too-credible portrait of a democracy on the brink--where patriotism and extremism blur, and every truth is weaponized. Body Man is both a propulsive psychological thriller and a sobering cautionary tale, a pulse-pounding story ripped from tomorrow's headlines."
--Jon Land, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
Steve Berry says Body Man is "crisply plotted, thought-provoking and troubling in its take on our new reality."
Two Patriots Trying to Save America From Each Other
A new president, an Alt-Right rebellion, an assassination attempt gone horribly wrong. Body Man is a deep dive into both sides of the American political divide, a chilling cautionary tale for our times. This character-driven political/psychological thriller from a former member of the White House press corps is a cold look at the hot mess of today's America and shows how much worse things could get if we let them. Spencer is the Body Man, close personal aide to a senator who catapults to the presidency on a strong gun control platform. Carl is a body man of a different sort, a marine corps sniper with a bad conduct discharge who gets drawn into the Alt-Right movement and recruited to assassinate the new president. When the attempt goes horribly wrong, sparking mutinies in the military and riots in the streets, the president spirals into depression, giving Spencer more power than a body man should ever have. If you've lived through America's turmoil, or watched it from afar, Body Man will take you on an unforgettable and all too-realistic journey into a frighteningly near future where remaining norms are shattered, familiar lines are blurred, and more than ever, heroes and villains are defined in the eye of the beholder.
More details
Person
Al Pessin is a former member of the White House and Pentagon press corps, a 15-year foreign correspondent, and author of the forthcoming political thriller Body Man from Amphorae Publishing.
Al's previous books, all award winners, are international military spy thrillers Sandblast, Blowback, and Shock Wave from Kensington Publishing.
All his books build on Al's decades of experience covering the highest echelons of Washington as well as some of the world's most desperate conflicts and most hopeful and inspiring moments. Al was on the scene in Afghanistan and Iraq, at Southeast Asian refugee camps, the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, the rally where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, and along streets devastated by terrorist bombs.
He also reported to the world about uprisings in Beijing, Kyiv, Cairo, and Manila, as well as hope-filled elections in Egypt, Gaza, and Libya, among other places, indeed including the United States. Al was expelled from China for his coverage of the Tiananmen Massacre, accused of "illegal news gathering" and "fomenting counterrevolutionary rebellion."
Among other honors, he was named Communicator of the Year for that coverage. His novels have won a Florida Book Award and several Royal Palm Literary Awards, as well as other recognition.
Al has led writing seminars for Writers Digest and at many other online and in person events, and taught graduate-level journalism as an adjunct at Northwestern University, his alma mater.
He has published commentaries in several outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Politico, and DefenseOne.
His blogs on writing for the Florida Writers Association are at https: //floridawriters.blog/author/alpessi/. More on Al at https: //www.AlPessin.com. Contact: alpessinauthor@gmail.com.