Martin Balome

Martin Balome writes in two directions. The nonfiction comes out of his Christian faith and a long interest in what people actually need when life goes wrong. The thrillers come from somewhere else — two decades in jobs where failure had consequences.

Breaking for Rainbows: Hope for the Long Night is written for the season when hope isn’t a feeling you can summon. Sixty-two reflections across five movements, and it doesn’t rush the reader toward morning. CLEAVE: Temperament, Sex, Betrayal, and What Christ Asks of Us takes up marriage and goes where a good deal of Christian writing on the subject would rather not.

Vector Strike opens The CRITICOM Files, a series about covert operatives defending American critical infrastructure against threats that fall between the cracks of existing agencies. Book one is available now; the others are in progress. Readers who like Daniel Suarez, Mark Greaney, or Jack Carr will recognize the territory.

The operational detail holds up because Martin spent twelve years as an air traffic controller, where the margin for error was measured in seconds, and then moved into cybersecurity. He holds Security+, CySA+, PenTest+, SSCP, and CCSP, and works in identity and access management. He began as a teacher and still writes like one — the vulnerabilities in his novels are the ones he has spent a career defending against, explained rather than gestured at.

Martin is the founder of Caliana, LLC, which operates three divisions: Caliana Press for publishing, Caliana Academy for cybersecurity education, and BalomeTech for technology consulting. He is based in Washington State, where the rain gives him plenty of practice waiting for the sun.

Martin also writes under pen names across multiple genres published by Caliana Press.

Works by Martin Balome

Fiction

The CRITICOM Files

A Daniel Ochieng Thriller

A five-book techno-thriller saga that takes readers inside the high-stakes world where technology, national security, and human ambition collide. Follow Daniel Omondi Ochieng—former FAA air traffic controller turned CRITICOM operative—as he protects America’s critical infrastructure from sophisticated threats. The first book, Vector Strike, is available now; the rest are in progress.

1. Vector Strike
2. Radar Shadow
3. Dark Current
4. Splitwire
5. Terminal Approach

The ALARIS Protocol

A Kael & Elara Thriller

A five-book saga following former CIA operative Kaelen Vance and AI architect Dr. Elara Hayes as they confront escalating artificial intelligence threats that blur the line between human and machine.

1. The Alaris Vector
2. The Alaris Directive
3. The Hephaestus Directive
4. The Panoptic Array
5. Cipherfall

The BLACKWOOD Dossier

An Amara Chen & Grant Blackwood Thriller

A five-book thriller series following elite operatives navigating the shadows of international security, corporate espionage, and digital warfare.

1. Blackwood Rising
2. The Exploit Bazaar
3. Shadowmesh
4. The Phantom Ledger
5. The Lighthouse Files

The OBSIDIAN Line

A Jayden Thomas Michael Thriller

A ten-book crime thriller series set in Kampala, Uganda. Former Delta Force operative Jayden Thomas Michael and investigative journalist Sharon Nakimuli Nalwanga are drawn into a web of crime, corruption, and conspiracy that stretches from the streets of Kampala to the halls of international power.

1. The Kampala Extraction
2. (Books 2-10 titles forthcoming)

Standalone Thrillers

• The Chimera Conspiracy: A CEO’s Darkest Secret — An investigative journalist receives an anonymous tip about Seattle’s most celebrated CEO—and discovers that exposing her secrets might destroy them both.

• The Drowning Papers — A dark academia thriller following Dr. Delilah Crane, a Shakespeare scholar who discovers she’s being drugged and manipulated by a celebrated academic with a history of destroying brilliant women.

• A Forbidden Love — A romantic thriller about Dr. Evelyn Martin, a therapist whose forbidden connection with a billionaire heir fleeing his father’s criminal empire leads to devastating consequences.

Writing as Daniel K. Wanyama

The Blood Unbroken

A 20-Book Historical Fiction Saga

An epic saga spanning five centuries and two continents, tracing the Nyamweza/Colvin family from pre-colonial East Africa through the Middle Passage, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement to modern America.

• Series I: Sons of KITARA (Books 1-5) — Pre-Colonial East Africa
• Series II: The IRON Crossing (Books 6-10) — Slavery & the Middle Passage
• Series III: The SUNDERED Root (Books 11-15) — Jim Crow & the Great Migration
• Series IV: The LONG Reckoning (Books 16-20) — Civil Rights to Modern America

Writing as Evelyn Martinez

The MERCER Legacy

A Literary Family Saga

A four-book literary saga following Evelyn Grace Mercer, a nineteen-year-old woman who—after being expelled from her childhood home by her stepmother just days after her father’s death—discovers she is the sole heir to a house containing a century of family secrets, war crimes evidence, and a promise made by a dying French officer in 1918.

1. The Crane Documents
2. What Samuel Built
3. Margaret’s Silence
4. The Mercer Women

Non-Fiction

Test Preparation Guides

• Digital SAT Mastery: The Complete Digital SAT Preparation Guide (650 pages, $54.99 — not yet released) — A premium guide featuring the exclusive Mistake Pattern Recognition System, the Score Improvement System with personalized study plans, and three complete practice tests with detailed explanations.

• The AMERICAN Promise: Complete U.S. Citizenship Test Preparation Guide (~600 pages, $59.99 — not yet released) — Covers both the 2008 and 2025 test versions with all 128 civics questions.

Devotional & Christian Living

• Breaking for Rainbows: Hope for the Long Night — Sixty-two reflections across five movements, written for the season when hope isn’t a feeling you can summon. It doesn’t rush the reader toward morning. 160 pages.

• CLEAVE: Temperament, Sex, Betrayal, and What Christ Asks of Us — Marriage, taken up where a good deal of Christian writing on the subject would rather not go.

• The Psalm 23 Collection — A four-book devotional series exploring the depths of Psalm 23 through reflection, prayer, and practical application for modern life.

Cybersecurity Certification Textbooks

Through Caliana Academy

• Master Cybersecurity Analysis: The Complete CySA+ Certification Guide (~1,200 pages) — The definitive guide for CompTIA CySA+ (CS0-003) certification and real-world cybersecurity analyst skills. Features 80+ hands-on labs, 40+ case studies, and complete MITRE ATT&CK integration.

• Penetration Testing Mastery: The Complete PenTest+ Certification Guide (~850-900 pages) — Comprehensive preparation for CompTIA PenTest+ (PT0-002) with tool documentation, command cheat sheets, and practical exploitation exercises.

• Security+ Mastery: The Complete Security+ Certification Guide — Full preparation for CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701).

• SSCP Mastery: The Complete SSCP Certification Guide — Comprehensive preparation for (ISC)² Systems Security Certified Practitioner certification.

• CCSP Mastery: The Complete CCSP Certification Guide — A practitioner’s approach to (ISC)² Certified Cloud Security Professional certification.

• SecurityX Mastery: The Complete CASP+ Certification Guide — Advanced preparation for CompTIA CASP+ (CAS-005).

Specialized Technical Textbooks

• Zero Trust Security & AI Defense — Comprehensive guide to modern security architecture combining Zero Trust implementation with AI-enhanced detection and response.

• Zero Trust Network Access: The Complete Professional Guide — Enterprise deployment strategies, lab specifications, and practical implementation guidance for ZTNA.

• Intrusion Detection Systems — Technical academic textbook featuring hands-on lab exercises using Suricata, pfSense, and the Elastic Stack.

Certification Study Guides

Quick Reference & Brain Dump Series

Focused study guides designed for exam-day cognitive performance with spaced repetition systems, mnemonics, and physical memory drills.

• Security+ SY0-701 Study Guide (4-week system)
• CySA+ CS0-003 Study Guide (4-week system)
• PenTest+ PT0-002 Study Guide (4-week system)
• CCSP Study Guide (5-week system)
• SSCP Study Guide (4-week system)

Cross-Certification Bridge Courses

• SOC Analyst Accelerator: Security+ to CySA+ Bridge Course (40-50 hours) — For Security+ certified professionals seeking CySA+ certification. Skips redundant foundational content and focuses on SOC operations, SIEM, and incident response. Features 15+ hands-on labs and personalized study paths. Target: 92% first-time pass rate.

• Offensive Security Accelerator: Security+/CySA+ to PenTest+ Bridge Course — For Security+ and CySA+ holders ready to shift from defense to offense. You understand security principles and threat detection—now learn to execute attacks. Covers exploitation techniques, scripting for pen testing, and post-exploitation methodology that defensive certs don’t touch.

Business & Entrepreneurship

• The High-Net-Worth Entrepreneur and Investor’s Guide to Tax Efficiency — Comprehensive tax strategy and wealth-building guide from $0 to $20M+.

And more on the way!