IMMER ETWAS (It’s always something…)
Friday, August 1, 2025
This is the first entry for the Jonathan Burke blog. I’ll use it to post longer answers to questions or to fill in the details of life as a debut author. The blog title is taken from the book. “Immer etwas” is the beginning of statement regularly uttered by Hildie during Jonathan’s childhood when she encountered a new problem. As an adult, he often had reason to repeat it to himself.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
The question I am asked frequently by friends and readers is whether I have based the site of the kills on places that I have visited. The answer is often--Barcelona, Lyon, Monte Carlo, St. Paul de Vence, Washington DC. The Gstaad kill is based on a trip to Zermatt in the Swiss alps, site of the Matterhorn. I haven’t traveled to Asia, but Florida’s climate in the summer is much like southeast Asia—very, very hot and very humid with “feels like” temperatures of 100 degrees plus for many days in a row. So, I did not exaggerate Jonathan’s experience in the jungle kill.
The setting for the Barcelona kill was discovered on a walk after lunch at El Nacional restaurant just a couple of blocks off the Ramba. My wife and I were ended up strolling down a short street of shops which dead-ended at the restaurant of a boutique hotel. Above the outdoor tables, we could see the windows of hotel rooms. Directly above the tables was a room with open curtains. A huge man, dressed stylishly in a suit and tie, was drinking a glass of wine as he looked out down the street. We were surprised not just by his size, but the fact that he was so formally dressed with siesta hours approaching. I’m not sure why the image stayed with me, but now—years later—it struck me as the locale for one of Jonathan’s carefully engineered kills. I’ll try to visit other kill sites in future posts.
Thursday, April 9, 2026
It’s now been six months since the release of Jonathan Burke. I’m very grateful for the book’s success so far: good sales, high ratings (4.8 on Amazon, 4.6 on Goodreads, and over 30 very positive reviews. With all that, I’ve been motivated to work hard on the second book of the Jonathan Burke MI6 Espionage Thriller Series. As of today, Jackal’s Shadow is in copy editing, and the cover design is completed. It looks like the release will be in late June. And, I have made a good start on the third book of the series, The Fourth Traitor, so it looks like it will be a busy summer.
On a more personal note, I’ve just returned from a short stay in New Orleans. I’ve been there many times and never hesitate to go back. Most people associate the city with its French Quarter, but the Quarter is largely a tourist attraction, except for a few classic restaurants like Galatoire’s and Arnaud’s. The real city exists in its neighborhoods, with a mix of renovated shotgun houses and mansions, dozens of small parks, Audubon and City Parks, and an uncountable number of top-rated restaurants offering regional cuisine as well as French and Italian fare. In my opinion, the trolley car route running from Canal Street and going out St. Charles Street provides an excellent look at the true city.
During my recent trip, it occurred to me that it is the perfect setting for a noir novel. Will that happen? It could, we’ll see…
