Jeffrey Wilson has at one time worked as an actor, a firefighter, a paramedic, a jet pilot, a diving instructor, a Naval Officer, and a Vascular and Trauma Surgeon. He also served numerous tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Navy combat surgeon, deploying with an east coast based SEAL Team as part of a Joint Special Operations Task Force.
He is the co-author, with Brian Andrews, of the Wall Street Journal and Amazon #1 Bestselling TIER ONE series of thrillers from Thomas & Mercer.
Brian is a US Navy veteran, nuclear engineer, and former submarine officer. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in psychology, holds a Master’s in business from Cornell, and is a Park Leadership Fellow. He is a principal contributor at Career Authors, a site dedicated to advancing the careers of aspiring and published writers: www.careerauthors.com.
Q: Are there any plans for a movie, TV, or streaming adaptation of your series?
Brian & Jeffrey: There are half a dozen projects under development and hopefully announcements will be forthcoming in the next six months. The Tier One series and The Four Minutes series are being developed along with a faith-based series we write and some short stories. Sons of Valor is not being developed because it slightly competes with the Tier One series.
Q: Is this book the beginning of a new arc that will set up future books?
Brian & Jeffrey: Yes. What the Chinese have done to the US has been damaging: hacking the infrastructure, stealing secrets, and interfering with trade/monetary policies. We want to show how they are more of a complicated enemy. Our first trilogy had Iran as the enemy, the second trilogy-plus had Russia as the enemy, and now this third trilogy will have China, Ember’s most difficult challenge they have faced.
Q: Can you explain the “Dempsey factor” mentioned in the book?
Brian & Jeffrey: It is mission before self. The idea that adding Dempsey to the team has the success rate go up disproportionately. He is so good at his job that he is worth two or three operators on the team. His philosophy is about the enemy trying to take another chess piece off the board.
Q: What different ethos do you explore in the book?
Brian & Jeffrey: Dempsey has a SEAL’s heart and a warrior’s mind. The politician’s ethos is not the warrior’s ethos that says team before self. Jarvis is conflicted about the warrior ethos versus the politician ethos.
Q: Why did you include the first scene in the book?
Brian & Jeffrey: The opening scene of Ember was pulled directly from Crusader One. The scene in the Iranian Bazaar was from Dempsey’s point of view in Crusader One. Now readers get to see it through Elinor’s eyes. He has a lot of guilt about leaving her behind for 2.5 years.
Q: Does Dempsey struggle with PTSD in this book, as shown through his nightmares?
Brian & Jeffrey: I think it is impossible for a warrior to do the type of jobs he does without having emotional repercussions. The nightmares signal to the readers he is still grappling with his morals and humanity. We give mixed signals because there is a scene in the book where he focuses on his job. His team is not sure if he is suffering from PTS or if he is OK.
Q: Why did you decide to highlight Jake, Dempsey’s son, in the story?
Brian & Jeffrey: He is following in his dad’s footsteps to become a SEAL. We have big plans for him. Someday he will be reunited with his dad. I will not say how and when it will happen.
Q: Why did you introduce a new female character, Wallace, to the team?
Brian & Jeffrey: We changed the chemistry of the Ember team. Grimes is jealous of her since she was accepted outright and has a completely different personality: upbeat and cool. Grimes worked so hard to be accepted and now she sees Wallace is easily accepted by the guys. She feels, ‘are you kidding me, come on.’ Grimes broke the glass ceiling and Wallace comes in to clean it all up. It is so unfair for her.
Q: What are your plans for the Grimes and Munn relationship?
Brian & Jeffrey: Munn and Grimes have feelings for each other and are drawn together. It could happen. But they must be wary of temptation, because what happens if it does not work out? Will it affect the team and the professionalism? How they handle it will be a part of the series going forward.
Q: What can we expect from your upcoming books?
Brian & Jeffrey: The second book in the Tier One next trilogy will continue with the Chinese operative as the villain. No title yet. It will probably come out fall 2025. Lieutenant Commander Keith “Chunk” Redman will make an appearance.
Sons of Valor IV will be a transitional book to the next trilogy in the series. We do not want to ignore the recent events of October 7th so we will be writing a story with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. It will be out next summer. There will be a lot of Petra and Jarvis.
The Clancy book has Katie Ryan back. The setting is the South China Sea with high stakes involving Taiwan and China. The title is Defense Protocol coming out in early December.
Ember by Brian Andrews and Jeff Wilson has Dempsey returning home to the US. After Dempsey’s mission in Russia, the rules of the game have changed. He leads Ember on a mission to protect and avenge a shocking attack on Americans, where Jarvis’s oath to his nation is tested in ways he never imagined. Together, they must determine who is behind this rising threat and stop the mastermind before it’s too late. There will also be a return of a character long thought dead, one who has a complicated past with Dempsey.
If readers want to understand what is going on in the world with nation versus nation, more like a chess game with a lot of action this is the series to read. The characters are acting on their own values and are principled based.
