Launch Party Saturday in Old Town for Fictional Thriller Set in Northern Virginia

PHOTOS: Author Jan Gangsei of Fairfax Station; the cover of her novel, “Zero Day,” debuting Jan. 12. Photos courtesy of the publisher

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ALEXANDRIA, VA — Northern Virginia author Jan Gangsei has written a fast-paced political thriller called “Zero Day,” geared for young adults that debuted this week and will launch with a book party Saturday in Old Town Alexandria.

Gangsei, now a resident of Fairfax Station, grew up in the small town of Barre, Vermont, reading Nancy Drew mysteries, putting on backyard shows with her best friend and dreaming about exploring the world. After college, she landed a job as a newspaper reporter covering politics and the police beat—and was astonished to discover she could actually get paid to write and tell stories.

Since then, she’s lived in Key West, New York City, DC and Barbados. She’s now settled with her family in Northern Virginia, where she writes full time with a cup of hazelnut coffee in one hand and a Jack Russell terrier named Watson curled under her legs.

A launch party and book signing is set for Saturday, Jan. 16 from 3-5 p.m. at Hooray for Books! in Old Town Alexandria.

Set in and around the DC metro area, including parts of Northern Virginia, the novel centers on 16-year old Addie Webster, who was the victim of the most notorious kidnapping of the decade. Addie vanished-and her high-profile parents were forced to move on.

The title of the book — “Zero Day” — refers to a security hole in software—such as browser software or operating system software—that is yet unknown to the software maker or to antivirus vendors, according to Wired magazine.

Here’s more about the book from publisher Hyperion:

Addie’s dad, Mark Webster is now president of the United States, fighting to keep the Oval Office after a tumultuous first term. Then the unthinkable happens: the president’s daughter resurfaces. Addie is brought back into her family’s fold, but who is this 16-year-old girl with a quiet, burning intelligence now living in the White House? There are those in the president’s political circle who find her timely return suspicious.

When a national security advisor approaches Darrow Fergusson, Addie’s childhood best friend and the son of the president’s chief of staff, he doesn’t know what to think. How could the girl he’s missed for all these years be a threat to national security? Still, at the risk of having his own secrets exposed, Darrow agrees to spy on Addie.

He soon realizes that his old friend is much more than the traumatized victim of a sick political fringe group. Addie has come home with a mission...but will she choose to complete it?

Folks in the DC metro area will especially enjoy this very current political thriller, as well as its mentions of area landmarks and towns. In addition to Clifton, where the main character’s family has a home when they aren’t living in the White House, other spots Northern Virginians will recognize include:

• Old Town Alexandria (a younger Addie sneaks into a limousine to travel from Richmond to a political fundraiser being held there)
• Georgetown (where Addie’s childhood BFF lives, later in the story)
• George Washington University (where a crucial plot twist takes place)
• The Air & Space Museum (where Addie’s prom is held)
• The White House (where Addie’s Dad later works)

There are also thinly disguised references to other area landmarks in the story such as the Quaker school, “Cabot Friends,” which the main character attends and sounds like Sidwell Friends, attended by the Obama daughters, and other children of high-powered Washingtonians.

Patch devoured an advance copy of the 259-page thriller in a couple of days. Gangsei keeps the action moving, offers realistic descriptions of the area and provides viewpoints from an interesting ensemble cast of characters — we can’t wait to see what the author writes next.