Ex FBI Director James Comey has inked a multi-million dollar deal to write two fictional crime thriller novels, two years after the release of his last nonfiction book.
The first book, ‘Central Park West,’ is described by Comey as a ‘legal thriller’ and is scheduled to release in spring of 2023.
The book, announced by Comey and Mysterious Press publishers Tuesday, follows an assistant U.S. attorney whose case against the mafia unfolds after the murder of a local politician.
The former FBI director surely pulled from his own experience as both Deputy Attorney General under President George W. Bush, as well as his previous time as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Richmond Division of the United States Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
But he is best known for being fired as Director of the FBI by Donald Trump in 2017, allegedly for refusing to end a federal probe into the former president’s alleged ties to Russia.
Comey subsequently released a memoir blasting Trump called A Higher Loyalty, which was dismissed as a tissue of lies by the 45th President.
Former FBI Director James Comey set to release two fictional crime thrillers
‘A Higher Loyalty,’ was released in April of 2018, one year after Comey was fired by Trump
As for how much Comey is making in the deal, the exact figure is unknown.
It’s speculated, however, that due to the massive success of Comey’s first two books, this new deal could be well into the millions.
And while the father of six is a controversial figure, his tenure at the top of the FBI means he’s enjoyed an exciting career at the very pinnacle of power, with publishers likely hopeful this will inspire exciting fiction.
Comey’s debut autobiography, ‘A Higher Loyalty,’ released in April 2018, just one year shy of his dismissal as the director of the FBI by then-President Donald Trump.
Within the first week of the book’s release, it sold more than 600,000 copies, according to the New York Times.
The Financial Times reported that Comey signed an estimated $2 million deal to publish ‘A Higher Loyalty’ with a division of Macmillan, FlatIron Books.
Months before the ex-FBI official’s book launched in 2018, FlatIron officials described the book as a discussion of ‘what good, ethical leadership looks like and how it drives sound decisions.
‘I´m excited to take readers inside fascinating worlds I´ve come to know from my time in government and the private sector,’ Comey said in a statement released Tuesday. ‘These stories are fiction, but, inspired by real work I´ve done, they will offer a rarely-seen view of interesting people and institutions.’
The former government official came back from a five month break from Twitter Monday to tease his excitement over the upcoming project.
Former President Donald Trump and ex-FBI Director James Comey during a 2017 meeting
His 1.3 million twitter followers were not able to engage as much as they typically would, though.
Sometime between when he left the social media app in April and when he returned Monday, Comey turned off replies to his tweets, only allowing those who he follows or mentions to reply.
‘I hope you’re all well. I’ve been doing a lot of writing while away from this website. Very excited for tomorrow’s announcement about that. And I’m sorry for blocking comments. It’s just I’m told some unpleasant people have joined Twitter since I was last here. I know, right?’ Comey wrote on Twitter Monday.
Comey is just one of the latest former government workers who have moved into fiction writing.
Most recently, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both penned fictional novels following the release of their autobiographies.
Hillary and Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City on September 19
Mr. Clinton co-authored ‘The President Is Missing’ alongside longtime successful thriller novelist James Patterson, while Mrs. Clinton recently worked on ‘State of Terror’ with Louise Penny.
In February, Madison Wells Media purchased the movie rights to Penny and Mrs. Clinton’s novel, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list in 2021.
The media company has been behind some of the hottest movies of the past few years, including ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ which won Jessica Chastain her 2021 Oscar, and Hell or High Water with Jeff Bridges.