Market First Publishing Announces Upcoming Release of 'Are You a Patriot?' by Donald Thompson and Bob Batchelor

The political thriller marks the debut of the Xander Hale series and is scheduled for publication on September 15, 2026

RALEIGH, NC, UNITED STATES, July 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, millions of Americans are wrestling with a complex question: What does it mean to be a patriot today? That question sits at the heart of "Are You a Patriot?," the debut thriller from award-winning entrepreneur Donald Thompson and acclaimed cultural historian Bob Batchelor, publishing September 15. The cover is revealed today. The novel asks: Would you save a country that never loved you?

Overview
Xander Hale, a man who built an empire telling the truths the powerful would rather bury. He is self-made, and he is Black in an America that has never quite decided where he belongs. Then the nation crosses a line it can’t walk back. As a result, Xander is pulled into the one fight he swore he’d never take — defending the system that has spent his whole life trying to contain him. Refuse, and the country burns. Agree, and it will cost him someone he loves.

"Are You a Patriot?" moves with the propulsion of Mark Greaney and Lee Child and carries the moral weight of S.A. Cosby and Walter Mosley — a thriller for readers who want the adrenaline of a spy novel and the substance of a great drama.

“I wanted to write the hero I kept looking for and never found: a Black corporate titan asked to defend a system that was built to break him,” said Donald Thompson, an EY Entrepreneur of the Year honoree and author of "Underestimated." “This is much more than a plot device. Millions of Americans are living it.”

“Our novel revolves around a central question that we all face: would you risk all you have to save the nation?” said Bob Batchelor, a three-time IPA Book Award winner and author of "Stan Lee: A Life." “Fans of Brad Thor, David Baldacci, and Gayle Lynds will find a fellow-traveler in Xander Hale, a hero on an action-packed collision course with history.

“Market First Publishing was built to redefine how stories find their audience, and launching our fiction imprint with "Are You a Patriot?" sets a high bar for what we intend to achieve,” said Josh Schwartz, CEO of Market First Publishing. “Donald and Bob have delivered a provocative novel: a political thriller that matches high-octane pacing with genuine cultural substance. This is the benchmark for the kind of fiction MFP will publish.”

The book cover, designed by the eminent artist Brad Norr, debuts today. "Are You a Patriot?" has a Facebook Group community with more than 21,000 members. You can find out more, as well as join the AYAP Street Team, at areyouapatriot.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: "Are You a Patriot?"
Series: Book One of the Xander Hale Series
Authors: Donald Thompson and Bob Batchelor
Publisher: Market First Publishing
On Sale: September 15, 2026
Website: www.areyouapatriot.com

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Donald Thompson is an award-winning CEO, multi-exit entrepreneur, and investor. An EY Entrepreneur of the Year honoree and Managing Director of the Workplace Options Center for Organizational Effectiveness, he is the author of the award-winning leadership memoir "Underestimated: A CEO’s Unlikely Path to Success" and "The Employee Engagement Handbook," among others.

Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and biographer whose 35+ books include "Stan Lee: A Life," "The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius," and "Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties." A three-time IPA Book Award winner, he has been an on-air commentator or featured in the New York Times, the BBC, Time, PBS NewsHour, and NPR. He is an Assistant Professor of Communication, Media, & Culture at Coastal Carolina University.

ABOUT MARKET FIRST PUBLISHING
Market First Publishing is an independent book publisher built on a single principle: a book's audience should be built before publication, not chased after it. Most publishers sign a title and hope readers turn up. MFP reverses the order — find the audience first, then acquire and shape the books that reach it.
MFP brings full editorial care to every title and backs it with marketing built into the process from day one — data pointing the way, story doing the work. Its authors don't hand a finished manuscript into a void and wait. They get a publisher that has already found their readers. MFP publishes across nonfiction and fiction — business and leadership, biography and memoir, history, literary fiction, and more. Based in Charleston, South Carolina, MFP was built for a simple outcome: books that reach the people who want them.

Josh Schwartz
Market First Publishing
press@marketfirstpublishing.com
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