Mike Maden (born 1960) is an American novelist. He is well known for the Jack Ryan Jr. novels, which are part of the

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

universe, as well as for the ''Drone'' series of techno-thrillers.

Early life

Maden was born and raised in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

’s

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

, where he later worked in the food packaging department for years. He graduated from the University of California in Davis with a doctorate degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, majoring in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...

. Maden lived in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

from 1995 to 2014, where he worked for Common Grace Ministries. He served as a political consultant and campaign manager in state and national elections, and also hosted his own local weekly radio show for a year. Maden also worked as a screenwriter and producer for TV shows and films in Hollywood. His works included the web TV series ''Pink'' (2007–2009), which won a Streamy Award, ''Continuum'' (2012), and the movie ''Sunny in the Dark'' (2015).

Career

Maden made his literary debut with ''Drone'' in 2014, which was initially the outcome of a challenge posed to him by his friends who are authors. A techno-thriller featuring protagonist Troy Pearce, its relative national success spawned three more sequels: '' Blue Warrior'' (2015), ''Drone Command'' (2015), and ''Drone Threat'' (2016). Maden is a

fan from reading ''

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...

'' back in graduate school. He elaborated that "Tom Clancy’s genius was to bring current technology into stories in a powerful and entertaining way, but he also created some of the most compelling characters in the genre—a genre he essentially invented. No one can ever replace him or even imitate him." On February 20, 2017, The Real Book Spy announced that

Grant Blackwood Grant Blackwood (born June 7, 1964) is an American thriller writer and ghostwriter. He wrote the Briggs Tanner series. He co-authored with Clive Cussler ''Spartan Gold'' which reached number 10 on the ''New York Times'' Hardcover Fiction Best Sel ...

, as well as

Mark Greaney Mark Greaney (born 23 June 1980) is an Irish musician. He is best known as the singer and guitarist in the alternative rock band JJ72, which he fronted from 1996 until 2006. He was later the frontman of Concerto for Constantine and describes ...

, is leaving the Tom Clancy franchise. Blackwood was replaced by Maden for the Jack Ryan Jr. novels slated for release in the summer. Speaking of Maden's inclusion into the franchise, longtime Tom Clancy editor Tom Colgan, who is also Maden's editor, stated: “I had read and loved Mike Maden’s Troy Pearce series, so he was the first person I thought of for the Jack Jr. books and I have to say that it’s been a blast working with him on ''Tom Clancy Point of Contact''." Speaking about his inclusion into the Tom Clancy universe, Maden remarked: "It was the probably the greatest literary moment of my life. It was also the most terrifying, because basically I was told, 'Feel free to add to the canon — just don't mess it up.'" His first contribution to the series, '' Tom Clancy: Point of Contact'' (2017), debuted at number three on

the New York Times bestseller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

, making it his first and highest charting work on the list. It was followed by sequels '' Tom Clancy: Line of Sight'', released on June 12, 2018, and '' Tom Clancy: Enemy Contact'', released on June 11, 2019.

Bibliography

Troy Pearce / ''Drone'' series

* ''Drone'' (2013) * '' Blue Warrior'' (2014) * ''Drone Command'' (2015) * ''Drone Threat'' (2016)

Jack Ryan Jr. series

Featuring characters created by

* '' Tom Clancy: Point of Contact'' (2017) * '' Tom Clancy: Line of Sight'' (2018) * '' Tom Clancy: Enemy Contact'' (2019) * '' Tom Clancy: Firing Point'' (2020)

The Oregon Files

Featuring characters created by

Clive Cussler Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list m ...

* ''Clive Cussler’s Hellburner'' (2022)

Filmography

Television

Writer

* ''Pink'' (2007–2009) * ''Exposed'' (2010) * ''Raspberry Jam'' (2011 short) * ''Continuum'' (2012) * ''Quantum Dawn'' (2018)

Producer

* ''Quantum Dawn'' (2018)

Film

Writer

* ''Sunny in the Dark'' (2015)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maden, Mike Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American military writers American thriller writers University of California, Davis alumni Techno-thriller writers Novelists from California 1960 births 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers