Anthony Tata
The Phalanx Code
DOSSIER: Publisher’s Weekly named your book BESIEGED a Top 10 Mystery/Thriller in 2017. Which achievement was more satisfying: the success of BESIEGED, your assignment as Deputy Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division, or hanging out with Steve Stratton and Joe Goldberg at Bouchercon when I got you to sign Ward Larsen’s book because he wasn’t around to do it himself?
TATA: Being a stunt signer on Ward’s book was a highlight of my career. Everyone wants to be more like Ward Larsen. When Publisher’s Weekly picked Besieged as a Top 10 thriller of 2017 right next to the likes of Nelson Demille’s Cuban Affair, it was a proud moment to have that critical acclaim but still pales in comparison to signing Deep Fake and hanging out with you and Joe.
DOSSIER: Your novels have been called everything from “The Next Tom Clancy,” to “This generations Jason Bourne.” You’ve always wanted to be a writer, but after 28-years in the military, how did you avoid the trappings of a deep sea fishing boat vs writing novels that earn praise from people like Jack Carr, Mark Greaney, and more?
TATA: I surf every wave I can find instead of being trapped on boats. Surfing centers me in addition to being a great workout. I’m probably in the ocean over 50 times a year. My February-March 2024 book tour for Phalanx Code is hitting Palm Beach, Vero Beach, and Neptune Beach, FL; Virginia Beach, VA; Coronado, San Clemente, and Newport Beach, CA. There’s a theme hidden in there somewhere. My wetsuit is making the trip with me. I love the thriller community because guys like Brad Thor, Jack, Mark, Simon and so many others are quick to help. It’s a great team effort celebrating everyone’s success.
DOSSIER: Which of your book characters don’t I want to be on the wrong side of most when someone doesn’t get his coffee right? Former Delta Captain Jake Mahegan, CIA badass Matt Garrett from your Threat series, Vick Harwood from your Reaper series, or JSOC Commander General Garrett Sinclair?
TATA: I think everyone fears Jake. He scares me when I’m writing him because he’s so unpredictable. To be fair, the Reaper series is Nick Irving’s but I enjoyed helping him write those novels.
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Music/silence/the middle of the Sicily Drop Zone on Ft. Liberty (Bragg) at 0600?)
TATA: I write wherever I am with my MacBook. Airplanes, my balcony, my office. I typically have Les Miserable playing in my air pods, or maybe Bow Wow. They’re very similar.
DOSSIER: You’ve been able to crank out some captivating stories in relatively quick bursts, but you’ve also been involved in some pretty high-level government work since your days in uniform. Do you plan on continuing to shock your readers with more compelling scenarios or do you have other missions ahead you want to accomplish? These Garrett Sinclair thrillers aren’t going to write themselves.
TATA: At my heart I am two things: a public servant and a creative. I enjoy serving to make other people’s lives better and I enjoy channeling my creative energy into writing. Having served 28 years in uniform, much of it in combat, I chose not to pursue the defense contractor route. Instead, I spent five years as an education leader serving over 200,000 students and families, about 40% of them underserved, and leading them to new opportunities and life paths; almost three years in state government moving goods and connecting people with employment and education opportunities as North Carolina’s Secretary of Transportation; and nearly a year at the highest levels of our Defense Department during a critical time.
Now as a businessman creating jobs, I take great satisfaction in all that my teams and I have contributed to improving our national fabric. It saddens me, though, to see the divisions we have today continue to widen and ossify. In my estimation, we are close to being a broken nation and that’s Garrett Sinclair’s cross to bear. He and his team have fought hard, some paying the ultimate sacrifice, and they are confronted with corruption and division on the home front as they protect and defend. Does Sinclair continue to send his team into the fray for what appears to be an ungrateful nation filled with self-serving idealogues or does he focus on his family and team? Having given so much of my life in service to this nation, it’s not a stretch to assume that much of Sinclair’s first-person narrative is my own expression of the challenges we face. Ultimately, he concludes, as do I, that family and unit have the highest priority in his world. Regardless, we must find a path forward to preserve the ideals of our great country. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps we’ve been down this road before. I’m not sure what the future holds, but in the meantime, I’ll serve again if asked and I’ll continue to write if the privilege continues to be extended to me. Peace.
Website: Author Page | Amazon author page
Jeff Circle 