Two decades inside, one thing that is not real.

James D. May spent two decades in the intelligence community, nine of them as a Navy Intelligence Specialist and Chief Petty Officer, then a civilian career supporting DIA, ONI, NCIS, AFOSI, and NGA. He left in 2018 to build a federal contracting business and now runs several companies in Northern Virginia.

Oracle Veil is his first novel. It is an espionage thriller built on real tradecraft, with one thing in it that is not real, and the people who have to work around that.

He lives in Loudoun County, VA. He and his wife share five children.

How I write

I write in a way that makes sense to me, and probably only me. I do a great amount of planning. Oracle Veil is already planned for six more books: what is going to happen, how, why, and when. Who lives, who dies, it is all there. Detailed in-universe worldbuilding, character images I can use for reference and inspiration.

Then I start writing, and none of that means a thing. I write the book as the events unfold, as they come to me. For Oracle Veil, I wrote the epilogue before chapter two.

After all of that, I connect it all, deconflict, make sure it makes sense, and send it off to my editor before I decide it sucks and start over.

Interview requests, review copies, and a downloadable press kit with the cover art, author photograph, and short and long bios.

Nothing scheduled yet. Signings and panels around the October 2026 release go here.

For anything else, the form is the fastest route.