Market First Publishing releases political thriller Are You a Patriot?

Market First Publishing has released Are You a Patriot?, the first book in the Xander Hale series by Donald Thompson and Bob Batchelor. The paperback and eBook are on sale now as the novel taps a national debate about patriotism during America’s 250th year.

Why it matters: - The release adds a politically charged thriller to a crowded book market during America’s 250th year. - The novel centers on questions about power, loyalty, and belonging that mirror current national debates. - Market First Publishing is using the launch to showcase its pre-publication audience-building model.

What happened: - Market First Publishing released Are You a Patriot?, the first novel in the Xander Hale Series. - Donald Thompson and Bob Batchelor wrote the book. - The paperback is priced at $17.99. - The eBook is priced at $9.99. - The book is available now and can be ordered through any bookstore. - The release date is Oct. 6, 2026.

The details: - The story follows Xander Hale, a media mogul who built an empire by exposing power. - Three weeks after federal troops open fire on families in Detroit, Hale speaks in a Washington ballroom and challenges powerful people who want the truth buried. - By morning, Hale is in the custody of a covert unit that officially does not exist. - Hale is forced to choose between infiltrating a plot by his lifelong friend and business partner to assassinate the president or watching the country burn. - The assassination scheme is only part of a wider conspiracy involving military, financial and intelligence elites. - The secret network is provoking instability to consolidate control under the banner of national security. - The book frames its central question around what Americans would do for a country that has never fully accepted them. - Michael Laurence called the novel “a fast-paced tour de force” and said Thompson and Batchelor captured the current political climate. - Josh Schwartz said more than 80,000 people joined the conversation about the novel before publication. - Schwartz said the early audience growth reflects Market First Publishing’s “Platform Publishing” approach. - Thompson said the novel reflects his own experience being underestimated in business and his question of what people owe a country that doubts them. - Batchelor said thrillers have long been a way for Americans to work through fears about power. - Batchelor said the book puts a Black media mogul at the center of a conspiracy thriller and forces a choice between a friend and a country that has not fully accepted him. - The book’s website is areyouapatriot.com. - Market First Publishing’s website is www.marketfirstpublishing.com.

Between the lines: - The publisher is positioning the novel as both entertainment and commentary on political legitimacy. - The pre-sale audience figure suggests Market First Publishing is treating community building as part of the product, not just the promotion. - The choice of a Black media mogul as the lead character broadens the book’s lens on patriotism and power.

What's next: - Market First Publishing is likely to use the book’s launch momentum to build interest in the rest of the Xander Hale series. - Reader response to the first installment will help signal whether the publisher’s early-audience strategy scales to future titles. - Thompson’s fiction debut and Batchelor’s next book keep both authors active beyond this launch.

The bottom line: - Are You a Patriot? arrives as a thriller about conspiracy and loyalty, but Market First Publishing is also using it as proof that an audience can be built before a book hits shelves.