Aloha to Karna Small Bodman and CASTLE BRAVO

Black Friday - you can brave the frenzied crowds, watch the bleak news, or enjoy an interview with thriller author Karna Small Bodman.   From her bio (at this link),

Karna began her career in San Francisco as a TV news reporter and anchor first for KRON-TV and then KGO-TV. She later moved to Washington, DC to anchor the Ten O’clock news on Channel 5, host a nationally syndicated program on business and economic issues as well as a three-hour news/talk radio show.

When Ronald Reagan was elected President, he stood in front of Blair House and named Jim Brady as his Press Secretary with Karna as Jim’s Deputy. She had almost daily meetings with the President and traveled on Air Force One. She was also sent to South America and the Far East to give speeches to government, business and student groups on the President’s economic priorities.

Next, she was named Senior Director and spokesman for the National Security Council. She attended arms control talks with the Soviets and traveled with the team that briefed the leaders of Great Britain, France and Italy as well as Pope John Paul II. Those were “evil empire” days, so it was a unique experience to chat with the Soviet Union’s General Secretary Gorbachev at that first Summit meeting in Geneva.

When Karna left The White House to become Senior Vice President of a Public Affairs firm, she was the highest ranking woman on The White House staff.

The White House
Image by Matt H. Wade
(Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0)

Kim:  San Francisco, CA - Washington, DC - Naples, FL. In between, you have traveled around the world. Can you share a favorite sight, sound, and smell from your travels? 

Karna:  When I worked in The White House, I was sent to a number of rather exotic places to give speeches on behalf of the President. I’ll never forget the beauty of the night time lights of Hong Kong, the crowds and incredible deals in the ‘Itaewon” market in Seoul, as well as the brilliant colors, and heavy scent of spices amidst the warm, moist air in the city of Salvador, Brazil.

My husband's picture from Korea.
He's taking a "Black Friday" tour of Seoul!

Kim:  Reporter - Anchor - Press Secretary - National Security Council.  Wow, you have an inspiring resume! What were the challenges and rewards of working in the public spotlight?

Karna:  Working as a TV news anchor in San Francisco and Washington, DC, the first challenge is the clock! You’re constantly trying to reach sources before deadline, racing to finish a script, checking last minute updates and finally, glancing in a mirror to see if you look half-way decent before that red light goes on and the floor director shouts “And we are on in 3-2-1.” Rewards? That rush of adrenaline when you nail a scoop or broadcast a last minute development that could be important to viewers. I remember one particular series we did on “hard-to-adopt” children (many with a disability and a few who were deemed “too old”) By the end of that week, every single child was adopted into a loving family. It doesn’t get any better than that. Then, on a personal level – my husband says he first saw me on the air, though we actually met several years later!

In The White House, I arranged a lot of ‘background briefings” for reporters and columnists, gathered “non-classified” information and met with the President on a regular basis – especially during “murder board” sessions before any news conference. Being one of three staffers who wrote and asked him the toughest questions we thought The White House Press Corps would hit him with was, well – you can imagine the challenge (and the fun) as he “rehearsed” in the Family Theater. The best reward though was the sense of sharing a tiny part of history -- working for a President (Reagan) whom I deeply admired!

Check out Karna's gallery with "celebrities" at this link.
Here's my claim to fame with President Bush.

Kim:  What authors do you admire? Did any influence your writing?

Karna:  When it comes to thriller writers, I enjoy novels by Nelson DeMille, Vince Flynn, Gayle Lynds and Steve Berry, among others. And I remember reading books by (former spy) Charles McCarry that were most intriguing. In fact, I got the idea of listing the major characters in the front of the book from McCarry, and my readers often remark that they really like having that list as a reference. For the romance genre, I always read Lisa Kleypas’ stories – both historical and contemporary.

Presidential moment on Hickam - Air Force One!

Kim:  Tell us about your books - are they based on personal experience?

Karna:  I have four novels out now, and yes, each one focuses on a different threat to our national security, at least the way I see them. I feature scenes in the Situation Room, the Oval Office, Roosevelt Room as well as DC restaurants and hotspots overseas – so yes, I absolutely draw on my experiences working there. I want my readers to feel like “insiders” when they read them. My heroines are all strong women who get involved with smart guys – so there is a love story woven into each story. (But you don’t “marry them off” – you have to keep the “sexual tension” going in sequels, of course). My new thriller, Castle Bravo is about a very real threat – the idea that “bad guys” could actually knock out all of our electronics which means we would have no communications, internet, computers, transportation, aviation, sanitation – it would set us back to the year 1910! I’m trying to call attention to this incredible threat – I recall a quote from George Bernard Shaw, “The best way to get your point across is to entertain.” The book just won an award at the Paris Book Festival and I’m currently scheduled to do dozens of events/speeches/signings/radio interviews – all the things that an author must do to promote a new novel….and I’m having a wonderful time in the process.

Mahalo, Karna, for serving in the public sector!   I am giving away a Kindle copy of Karna's latest book, CASTLE BRAVO:

White House Director of Homeland security, Samantha Reid, receives intelligence about a possible new threat to the country’s national security. The idea is staggering. What if a hostile country or group gets hold of a small nuclear device and then, instead of aiming it at one of our cities, they intend to detonate it high in the atmosphere? The result would be the creation of an Electro-Magnetic Pulse or “EMP” sending shock waves that would “fry” all electronics on the ground in its line of sight. There would be no electricity, no internet, no computers…communications…transportation…refrigeration…ATMs…it would set us back to the year 1910!

Could it happen here? White House officials are too skeptical and too focused on other threats to pay attention to Samantha’s warnings. The love of her life, Tripp Adams is sent on a business trip to a foreign country where just such a plot is simmering. Will Tripp become embroiled? Will he be trapped overseas while Samantha races to pull a team together to foil a sinister plot?

This gripping tale spans the globe and is filled with international action and political intrigue at the highest levels, made all too real by the author’s “inside The White House” details. It gives the reader a seat at the table in the Situation Room, the meetings in the Oval Office, and the frantic search for a way out. It’s a trip on a wild ride of an all-too-real scenario for the future of our country.

President Obama in the Oval Office
Per Wikipedia, image is Public Domain

To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about women breaking the glass ceiling in male dominated careers.  Do you admire any women in top places?   The recent election broke the glass ceiling in Hawaii.  From the Daily Beat (at this link),

In an an all-women Senate square-off in Hawaii, Democrat Mazie Hirono defeated Republican Linda Lingle, becoming the state’s first-ever female U.S. senator. Hirono is also the country’s first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate.

Hawaii also elected the country's first Hindu-American to Congress, with Democrat Tulsi Gabbard winning a House seat.

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, December 1, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, December 2.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

To learn more about Karna Small Bodman, check out her website at karnabodman.com.