October 2023 Chapter Meeting

On Sunday, October 1st, our speaker was Adam Sikes who talked about CIA: Fiction vs. Reality. Carl Vonderau read from his book,Saving Myles.

The CIA makes for great fiction both as the hero and the villain. But have you ever been curious about what the CIA actually does versus how it’s portrayed in books and on the screen? Have you ever thought about covert action and whether it’s effective? And what about the moral aspects of espionage–are spies justified in what they do? Join us October 1 for a presentation and discussion with Adam Sikes, a spy novelist and a former intelligence officer with the CIA.

Adam Sikes is the author of the international espionage thriller, Landslide, and the forthcoming international thriller, The Underhanded. Prior to taking up the pen, Adam spent twenty-five years serving in national security both in the US Marines and then with the CIA as a paramilitary officer conducting covert action. Adam has lived and worked in Central Asia, East Africa, Europe, and Russia, and now resides in Southern California reading and writing, enjoying good food, and trail running on SoCal’s foothills.

Carl Vonderau grew up in Cleveland in a religious family that believed God could heal all illness. Maybe that’s why he went to college in California. After majoring in economics and dabbling in classical guitar, he ended up with a career in banking. Carl has lived and worked internationally and has managed to put his foot in his mouth in several languages. He brought his banking expertise to his debut thriller, Murderabilia, which won a Lefty, as well as to his just-published novel, Saving Myles. Carl is president of the San Diego chapter of Sisters in Crime and also helps nonprofits through San Diego Venture Partners.

In Saving Myles: A respected banker and his estranged wife have to make the unbearable choice to send their son to an expensive treatment center for behavioral problems. But after he returns home, he seems to have changed and become responsible. Then the son sneaks off to Tijuana to score drugs and is kidnapped. To save him, Wade makes a dangerous bargain with a bank secretly owned by a Mexican cartel. But his whole family is in danger now. The only way they can survive is for Wade to unite with his family and partner with the FBI.