Two Navy Guys
Discover the co-writers who bring these National Security Thrillers to Life
The Bruns-Olson writing team writes contemporary national security thrillers drawn from today’s headlines. JR, a CIA-trained case officer and 21-year naval intelligence officer, uses his background to develop complex (sometimes terrifying) plots for their books. David, a former submarine officer and corporate exec turned full time writer, is the writing muscle that brings JR’s vision to life.
In 2015, they co-wrote, crowdfunded, and published Weapons of Mass Deception, a novel about nuclear terrorism by non-state actors. A year later, they repeated the process with Jihadi Apprentice, a novel about homegrown terrorism.
In 2017, they signed a two-book contract with St Martins Press. Rules of Engagement, a cyberwarfare thriller, was released in June 2019, and The Pandora Deception, which tackles the threat of bioweapons, released in September 2020....during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In late 2020, Bruns and Olson signed with Severn River Publishing to write a spin-off series of their first four books. Their flagship 7-book Command and Control series launched in January 2022 and gone on to sell nearly a quarter-million copies. A new series, The Third Option, is under development and will release in early 2026.
David Bruns
David earned a Bachelor of Science in Honors English from the United States Naval Academy. (That’s not a typo. He’s probably the only English major you’ll ever meet who took multiple semesters of calculus, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, naval architecture, and weapons systems just so he could read some Shakespeare. It was totally worth it.)
After meeting Tom Clancy and reading The Hunt for Red October as a midshipman at the Naval Academy, he served six years as a commissioned officer in the nuclear-powered submarine force chasing the Russians in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. When the Soviet Union collapsed, David left the Navy for corporate life. For two decades, he schlepped his way around the globe as an itinerant executive in the high-tech sector, and did a stint with a Silicon Valley startup.
David is the author of more than twenty novels, including the six-book SynCorp Saga series about a corporate takeover of the solar system with co-creator Chris Pourteau. His short fiction has appeared in dozens of magazines and anthologies.
With retired naval intel officer JR Olson, he writes contemporary national security thrillers that look less like fiction every time he checks the news.
Jon R. Olson
Jon was commissioned in May 1990 from the US Naval Academy with a BS in History. He spent 21 years on active duty with over three years at sea aboard aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious assault ships. He served in Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, Operation RESTORE HOPE, Operation JOINT FORGE, supported UNAMET in East Timor, and deployed in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM—Afghanistan. Along the way, he earned an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies at the US Naval War College, as well as logged 35 jumps as a US Navy Parachutist. His final assignment before retirement was as the US Naval Attaché at the US Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. During his career, Jon was trained by the CIA to serve as a case officer for the Department of Defense, recruiting spies for America through strategic-level clandestine human intelligence (HUMINT) operations. He served a pivotal role in rebuilding Navy HUMINT.
After retiring from the navy in 2011 earned a Master of Public Affairs at the Humphrey School while also teaching national security courses at Carleton College and Metropolitan State University. His core courses include: The US Intelligence Community, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, Studies in Weapons of Mass Destruction, Intelligence Methods in National Security, and the team-taught course Statecraft: The Tools of National Power. Jon also leads the annual International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (ISCNE), supported by the US Army War College, at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
