Secrets are revealed here in the Andrew Warren Dossier -

Andrew Warren
Tokyo Black

Tokyo Black is a high-octane thrill-ride packed with gun battles, car chases, fascinating characters and exotic locations. Reviews say “Up there with Lee Child and Vince Flynn! A heart stopping roller-coaster ride! Move over Jason Bourne… Here comes Thomas Caine!”

The Writer’s Dossier 5/5/2025 – The Andrew Warren interview

DOSSIER: One of the most classic movie lines from the James Bond franchise is from Goldfinger when Bond is trapped on a table facing a laser and says, “Do you expect me to talk?” and Goldfinger says, “No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!” What other things about Goldfinger made you stop and think, “I wanna do stories that well.”?

WARREN: You won’t need a giant laser to get me talking! I saw Goldfinger on TV as a kid, and for me, the answer boils down to just two words: Aston Martin. A super cool car with machine guns, smokescreen, oil slick, and an ejector seat?!? Sign me up! And then once I saw The Spy Who Loved Me, with the Lotus that turned into a submarine, I was hooked for life. But later on, those movies led me to discover Ian Fleming’s novels, and I fell in love with his prose style. The way he used little details to bring a location to vivid life, or the brief but meaningful insights he gave into Bond’s character, his thought process… Those things really stuck with me, and were a huge influence on my writing.

What are you waiting for?

DOSSIER: Your first book in the Thomas Caine thriller series, TOKYO BLACK, is out on May 6, 2025 from Boldwood Books, and it already has thousands of 4-star reviews! What’s the history behind this series, and what are you planning next for Caine?

WARREN: You know the famous line in The Shawshank Redemption? “Get busy living or get busy dying?” Well for me, Thomas Caine was born in a moment like that. I was recently divorced, stuck in a job I hated, and one night, I just sat up in bed and said “I’ve always wanted to write a book. What am I waiting for?”

I outlined the basic plot right then, everything from Caine’s character to the title, all on a single piece of paper. It just came to me at once, like a fever dream. I had visited Japan years earlier, and I really wanted to go back, so I figured if I set the book there, it would be like taking a “virtual vacation”. I originally self published the book on Amazon. It did well enough for me to write another, and that one really took off. I became an Amazon bestselling author in multiple countries, and the reviews were really positive.

I kept on writing, and now, Boldwood Books have taken me on as one of their authors. We’re relaunching the original series, with new covers and new edits. And its all leading up to a brand new Caine novel later this year.

Writing with Loki

DOSSIER: Where and when do you like to write? Some cool SoCal beach? You hanging at a surf shack or a fishing pier?

WARREN: Man, I’ve written in all kinds of places, from tiny cafe’s in Mexico City, to a penthouse suite in China. But honestly, my favorite spot to write is in my home office, with my dachshund, Loki, snoozing on my lap. He keeps me from getting up and getting distracted – that’s an important job! (Don’t tell him, or he might demand a bigger cut in treats.)

International locations

DOSSIER: One of the things you do with your thrillers is taking people on what you call a “virtual vacation” and paint an exciting story picture with sizzling international locations, suspense, and action. How do you decide on going with either a domestic or international location? Is it a desire to teach people about places they may not know about or something else?

WARREN: So far all of my thrillers have taken place in international locations, mostly because I love to travel. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Japan, China, Vietnam, etc, and I’ve set books in all those countries. But I also love researching places I haven’t visited as well, like Africa, Russia, and Eastern Europe.

The world is such a fascinating place, and there aren’t enough days in the year to travel everywhere I would like to. I want my books to give readers the experience of visiting someplace exciting and new, the sense of really immersing themselves in another culture. The sights, the sounds, the food, those cool hidden spots only the locals know about… That’s what Ian Fleming’s Bond novels did for me, and that’s the way I feel when I’m writing Caine. I think that’s really the power of a great book. Because books live in your imagination, they can transport you in a way movies, TV, and other media just can’t.

Now, all that being said, there are tons of fantastic locations in the U.S. as well. And I have big plans for a Caine thriller set right here at home, in the near future…

The Last Word

DOSSIER: Is there anything else you’d like to reveal in your Dossier today? (We like headline-making breaking news and it gives our graphics department something to do other than play video games all day.)

WARREN: If you know any producers, give them my number! All joking aide, I’ve been approached a number of times over the years about movies, TV, etc. I’m in talks, but those things can take forever to pan out, and most projects never come to fruition. If you put all your eggs in that basket, it can be really easy to get disappointed and lose momentum.

The most exciting thing for me is, I’m more than halfway through writing the next Caine novel! This one has been a blast to write, because it sees Caine return to Japan to settle a debt of honor with an old friend. It’s kind of like going back to the beginning for me, revisiting old characters, seeing how some have stayed the same and others have changed. And of course, all that is mixed in with plot twists, brutal fight scenes, frenetic gun battles, and a car chase that I think is one for the record books…