Stephen McGuire. PROVIDED

The next Meet the Author event at the Alliance for the Arts is Friday, March 8 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and will feature retired Federal Trade Commission Chief Judge Stephen McGuire.

McGuire, now an author, has published three political thrillers, Prior Restraint, Fractured Power and recently, Secret Deceit, is bringing his Washington insider’s perspective to the Fould’s Stage. Although his books are fiction, many readers have commented that the storylines seem so real. Could they be?

In this event, Steve will talk about his experience as a judge, transition to author and how he develops his storyline and characters.

Light refreshments and gallery reception will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Meet the Author with McGuire from 6 to 7 p.m. and a Q&A with the Author from 7 to 7:30 p.m.

Cost is free for Alliance members and $10 for non-members. For more information and for tickets, click HERE.

Stephen McGuire's three books. PROVIDED

About the books

Secret Deceit is a pulsating thriller about a coup to assassinate President David Edwards whose aggressive legislative agenda, backed by broad popular support, poses an ominous threat to the corporate greed of a major American industry. Secret Service agent Anthony Russo, a Special Forces veteran assigned to the President’s protection detail, unknowingly puts his life in jeopardy when his own investigation into the President’s death implicates a corrupt U.S. Senator and other White House officials in a twisted, devious plot to preserve billions of dollars in unfettered greed.

Fractured Power is a dark and haunting psychological thriller about Aiden Fletcher; a young man who came from humble origins and uses his extraordinary ambition and devious ingenuity to fulfill his inevitable destiny and reach the pinnacle of power in Washington, DC. As a newly elected District Attorney whose office investigates a rash of murders in Knoxville, Tennessee, he uses his position to manipulate the evidence while pursuing a serial killer whose arrest and trial puts Fletcher in the public limelight and forever changes the trajectory of his extraordinarily treacherous life.

Prior Restraint is about terrorism and the media and begins when America’s most famous TV news anchor is brutally murdered in the streets of Washington DC… seemingly by terrorists. Overnight the entire media establishment goes into a panic. Just a few days later in New York, a leading newspaper columnist and her editor are also murdered and the media becomes paralyzed by the fear of who may be next. Seemingly overnight, a wave of self-censorship grips the airwaves and no one dares to criticize religious fanaticism. Behind the scenes, a corrupt US Senator who chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security who is intoxicated by ambition and greed, exploits the ensuing chaos while a tenacious young reporter risks her career and ultimately her life to uncover the truth.

About Alliance for the Arts

The Alliance for the Arts is a nonprofit community visual and performing arts center located in the heart of Fort Myers. Since 1975, the Alliance has been committed to transforming lives and improving community through the arts. The Alliance campus and galleries are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Located at 10091 McGregor Blvd. just south of Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers. For more information, call 239-939-2787, visit ArtInLee.org, find them on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM.