“Impact in thirty seconds!” shouted someone.
“Oh God — brace for impact!”
From the Authors
Miranda and I hope you enjoyed The Gotland Deception and the beginning of our newest thriller series. If you’re ready to continue the story, you can pick up The Suwałki Crisis, Book Two in the series.
I want to share something personal — something that may sound strange to some. I felt a calling to write this series. A pull. A quiet, persistent voice inside telling me this story needed to be told.
That inner voice — some might call it instinct, others faith — has saved my life more than once. It guided me through harrowing moments during my time in Iraq, and again during tense situations while working across Europe. I’ve learned to trust it.
So why this story? Why now?
Because I believe we’re living at a turning point. Our nation, our world is standing at the edge of the greatest industrial and technological revolution since the dawn of electricity: the rise of Artificial General Intelligence. While our political and corporate leaders debate how to wield it, our adversaries are already preparing to weaponize it.
And that’s why I felt compelled to write this story.
If you truly value something — your family, your freedom, your homeland — you should be willing to protect it, to fight for it. Ask any parent what they’d do to protect their children, and you’ll understand what I mean. It’s no different at the national level.
Yes, every country — whether in Europe, Asia, or here in America — has its flaws. But those flaws don’t define us. What does define us is how we rise to defend what matters most.
Captain Alex Mercer’s story is one of honor and sacrifice. He’s a man who began his service as an enlisted soldier before earning his commission. He represents the warrior-scholar — someone who leads from the front and never forgets where he came from.
Sergeant First Class Ramon Torres reflects my own upbringing — a man who didn’t come from much but used military service as a way to provide for his family, improve himself, and continue a legacy of service to his country.
As this series unfolds, you’ll meet other characters like Alex and Ramon — men and women who understand the cost of freedom, who know that service matters, and that allies matter. And that, sometimes, war must be fought — not out of hatred, but out of love for what we refuse to lose.
As a veteran of the Iraq War, I understand war in ways I wish I didn’t. I’ve lost more friends to suicide than to bullets. I carry the physical and emotional scars of that war, as does Miranda — and even our children. But despite everything we’ve endured, I would answer the call again in a heartbeat if my country needed me. Not because I believe it’s perfect. But because I believe it’s worth it.
As we step into an uncertain future, I want to ask something of you — something hard. Show patience. Show kindness when you can. Show resolve when you must.
We can’t control the world around us, but we can control how we respond to it. If I choose to respond with grace, and you do the same, that ripple effect — small at first — can change lives.
As a wise man once said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
If you are ready for the next chapter in this World on Fire series, you can purchase your pre-order copy here. It’s our goal to release our books ahead of schedule, but every now and then you have to allow for a little “kid” factor with a young family. The Suwalki Crisis is set to release on December 23, 2025, right before Christmas. If we finish it early, we’ll release it early. If you pre-order your copy now, it’ll appear on your Kindle the moment it’s released.
Thank you again for all your support over the years. It’s meant a lot to Miranda and me, and our three kids. In the meantime, we are down to the final book in our Rise of the Republic series, Into the Schism, that will end this incredible series. To our pleasant surprise, this series and the Monroe Doctrine series have both achieved Amazon KDP All-Star status for quite some time, ranking among the Top 100 most-read series in the science fiction and thriller genres for thirty-four consecutive months. If you haven’t tried this series yet, you’re missing out on one of the most-read series of the 2020s.
We also launched the start a new sci-fi spinoff series within the Rise of the Republic universe called Battles of the Republic — starting with The Intus Invasion. You can purchase your copy here. In this series, we will follow the career progression of several characters we began introducing in books ten, eleven, and twelve of the main Rise of the Republic series. Battles of the Republic will allow us to explore the untold campaigns and the stories of the men and women who fought them.
As always, we appreciate each and every one of you that take the time to read our books. We definitely couldn’t do this without you. If you’ve enjoyed The Gotland Deception, we would love it if you could take a moment and write a review on Amazon and Goodreads for us. Early reviews make a huge difference in the success or failure of a new book or series, and it’s how new readers discover our books. As full-time writers, we do live on the sales of our books. For us to continue writing full-time and bringing you the stories you love, we will need your continued support. We hope we have earned it through the years and countless books and stories we’ve given you.
All our best,
James Rosone and Miranda Watson
Abbreviation Key
1MC — 1 Main Circuit (Shipboard Public Address)
A3 — Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations for the Air Force
AAR — After-Action Review
ABV — Assault Breacher Vehicle
ACV — Amphibious Combat Vehicle
ADA — Air Defense Artillery
ADIZ — Air Defense Identification Zones
AEGIS — Advanced Electronic Guided Interceptor System
AESA — Active Electronically Scanned Array
AIP — Air-Independent Propulsion
AIS — Automatic Identification System
AMP — Advanced Multi-Purpose
AMRAAM — Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile
APC — Armored Personnel Carrier
APOBS — Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching Systems
AR-HUD — Augmented Reality Heads Up Display
ASVAB — Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
ASW — Anti-submarine Warfare
AT — Anti-Tank
ATGM — Anti-tank Guided Missile
AUV — Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
AWOL — Absent Without Leave
AWACS — Airborne Warning and Control System
BMC-R — Battle Management Control Room
BMP — Russian infantry fighting vehicles
BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa
BTR — Russian armored personnel carrier
CAP — Combat Air Patrol
CCP — Chinese Communist Party
CCTV–Closed-Circuit Television
CHIMERA — Common High-Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperable Manager for Efficient Remote Administration
CIA — Central Intelligence Agency
CIC–Combat Information Center
CITV–Commander’s Independent Thermal Viewer
CIWS — Close in Weapons System
CMC–Central Military Commission
COSCO — China Ocean Shipping (Group)
CRI — Refers to the MIM-104C PAC-2 CRI interceptor (a modernized version of the original PAC-2 Patriot missile)
CSM — Command Sergeant Major
DEAC — Drug Enforcement Act of China
DEFCON — Defense Readiness Condition
DHS — Department of Homeland Security