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

Mike Maden
Born1960 (age 63–64)
Antioch, California, U.S.
OccupationWriter
Alma materUniversity of California, Davis
Genre
Years active2013–present
Notable works
Website
mikemaden.com

Early life

edit

Maden was born and raised in California’s San Joaquin Valley, where he later worked in the food packaging department for years.[1] He graduated from the University of California in Davis with a doctorate degree in political science, majoring in international relations and comparative politics.

Maden lived in Dallas, Texas from 1995 to 2014, where he worked for Common Grace Ministries.[2] 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.[3]

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,[4] Continuum (2012), and the movie Sunny in the Dark (2015).[5]

Career

edit

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).[6]

Maden is a Tom Clancy fan from reading The Hunt for Red October 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."[7] On February 20, 2017, The Real Book Spy announced that Grant Blackwood, as well as Mark Greaney, 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."[8]

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.'"[9] His first contribution to the series, Tom Clancy: Point of Contact (2017), debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list, making it his first and highest charting work on the list.[10] It was followed by sequels Tom Clancy: Line of Sight, released on June 12, 2018,[11] and Tom Clancy: Enemy Contact, released on June 11, 2019.[12]

Bibliography

edit

Troy Pearce / Drone series

edit
  • Drone (2013)
  • Blue Warrior (2014)
  • Drone Command (2015)
  • Drone Threat (2016)

Jack Ryan Jr. series

edit

Featuring characters created by Tom Clancy

The Oregon Files

edit

Featuring characters created by Clive Cussler

  • Clive Cussler’s Hellburner (2022)
  • Clive Cussler's Fire Strike (2023)

Filmography

edit

Television

edit

Writer

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

Producer

edit
  • Quantum Dawn (2018)

Film

edit

Writer

edit
  • Sunny in the Dark (2015)

References

edit
  1. ^ "Mike Maden (Author Webpage of Official Website)". Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Martindale, David (June 8, 2018). "Former Dallasite Mike Maden used to read Tom Clancy novels; now he writes them". Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "Mike Maden". PenguinRandomHouse.com. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Powell, Jenni (September 8, 2009). "'Pink' Anniversary, Interview With Streamy-Winning Director Blake Calhoun (Part 1)". Tubefilter. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  5. ^ "Mike Maden". IMDb.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Mike Maden - Book Series in Order". September 8, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Tom Clancy - Posts". Facebook. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Steck, Ryan (February 20, 2017). "Exclusive: Big Changes Coming To The Tom Clancy Universe In 2017". TheRealBookSpy.com. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  9. ^ Martindale, David (June 8, 2018). "Former Dallasite Mike Maden used to read Tom Clancy novels; now he writes them". Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  10. ^ "Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Books - Best Sellers - July 2, 2017 - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  11. ^ Amazon.com: Tom Clancy Line of Sight (A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel). ISBN 0735215928.
  12. ^ Maden, Mike (2019). Tom Clancy Enemy Contact (A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel). ISBN 978-0525541691.
edit