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Mark Gilroy September 9, 2016

Seahawks to Protest the National Anthem?

Will the Seahawks protest the National Anthem on Sunday?

Will the Seattle Seahawks protest the National Anthem? The Huffington Post reports that in a not-very-carefully-guarded secret that, indeed, this Sunday, September 11, 2016, (which just so happens to be the 15th Anniversary of 9/11).

As is the case with Colin Kaepernick’s sit-down turned kneel-down protest of the anthem, members of the Seahawks obviously have the right to peacefully protest the flag, the anthem or anything else they find offensive or lacking as a group or individually. After all, people have died to protect the freedom of speech, which includes freedom of expression.

That said, if the Seahawks follow through with a protest that is divisive and out of proportion and context – I think much special interest dissatisfaction today is myopic and misinformed and malignant – I will exercise my right to not watch a further second of the Seahawks in 2016!

“But Mark, what If the Seahawks make the Super Bowl? You’ve been watching that every year since you were a kid.”

Then February 5, 2017, will be my first year not to watch America’s biggest spectacle since 1969 when Joe Namath and the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts.

Let me throw in one caveat. The Huffington Post headlines the story as a total team protest. But throughout the article, there are indications that it is not a negative protest at all. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin Jr. says in a tweet, “To express a desire to bring people together, our team will honor the country and flag in a pregame demonstration of unity.”

Does that sound like a protest?

Linebacker Bobby Wagner told the Seattle Times that whatever the team decides to do, “it’s not going to be individual. It’s going to be a team thing. That’s what the world needs to see. The world needs to see people coming together versus being individuals.”

Wagner added that it would be “a big surprise.”

So, if the team’s “surprise” group action ends up honoring flag and country, then the report and my response to the report is much ado about nothing and I will call of my protest that has the NFL and Seattle Seahawks sitting on the edge of the proverbial seat.

Mark Gilroy August 25, 2016

Midwest Review of Books: Rise of the Beast

Rise of the Beast
The Patmos Conspiracy
Book 1

Midwest Review of Books just posted a new review of Rise of the Beast.

M.K. Gilroy, publishing veteran, author, consultant and blogger, opens “The Patmos Conspiracy,” his exciting new five-book series, with Rise of the Beast that released in April. “Voice of the Dragon,” book two, is scheduled for release in the fall.

“Rise of the Beast” is a multi-layered, action-packed thriller about a disillusioned ex-Army Ranger turned black-ops private contractor named Burke who was once a man of great faith. Perhaps that’s why hiring the alluring and naive Pauline to spy on Jonathan Alexander, a maniacal billionaire bothered him. She would be killed if Jonathan knew what she was up to.

However, Pauline, who looked like a tall, statuesque beauty queen, “was perfect for what needed to be done,” he thought. She had agreed to play the part of a greedy, superficial mistress to gain Jonathan’s trust and he had been completely honest with her about the danger. Yet Burke liked her and suspected she didn’t understand how cunning, dangerous and ruthless Alexander would be if he caught her betraying him.

Add naive country preacher Dwight Garrison, dedicated research doctor and scientist, Dr. Claire Stevens, an intimidating bodyguard named Jules and an assortment of other fascinating characters and you have a story that demands to be read in one sitting.

My one small criticism is with the overly long prologue that would be better understood once the first book is read.

Reviewed by Gail Welborn, Midwest Review of Books, August 16, 20016.

Mark Gilroy July 28, 2016

USA TODAY Review: Cuts Like a Knife

Mystery, suspense, touches of romance and a hearty dose of wry humor fill the action-packed pages of M.K. Gilroy’s debut novel, Cuts Like a Knife.

A look back at the first national review of my debut novel!

Review: ‘Cuts Like a Knife’ by M.K. Gilroy

By Serena Chase, USA TODAY [LINKED TO USA TODAY]

The sitch: Kristen Conner is a tough police detective who coaches her niece’s soccer team, spends a lot of time with her family – even when things are tense, which is most of the time – and goes to church on Sunday – except when family things are tense or she’s busy with work, which is a lot of the time, lately. She’s a good cop who has risen through the ranks quickly – too quickly some think, crediting her dad’s legacy in the department more than her skill set.
Though she can’t hit the proverbial barn with a bullet, she’s got great detective instincts and is all aces in hand-to-hand combat, a skill that protects her in the field but garners the attention of Internal Affairs when a knife-wielding punk cries “excessive force” upon his arrest.
Narrowly avoiding a suspension, Kristen is assigned to a hush-hush joint task force of the Chicago P.D. and the FBI to catch the serial killer known as the Cutter Shark. Desperate to catch the killer before he does his grisly work on another young Chicago woman, Kristen goes undercover in hopes of drawing him out. But the Cutter Shark has had Detective Conner in his sights all along … and he’s closer than she thinks. [Read more…]