COMING Summer 2026!
The Janus
Protocol
A novel by William James
He didn’t research the Department of Veterans Affairs for this book. He lived it. Nine million veterans. Sixteen thousand personnel. A $5 billion IT organization. He held the budget, oversaw the contracts, fought to keep it running. The Janus Protocol is the book only that person could write.
To be notified at publication, contact wcj@williamjamesauthor.com with the subject line Notify Me.
50
Years in federal IT
$5B
VA IT budget he oversaw
9M
Veterans served
About the book
Nathan Thorne is dead. He left behind a workbench covered in salvaged hardware and a terminal with one command executed in his final moments: WAKE.UP
On the day before Veterans Day, something stirs inside VA’s infrastructure. It has been there for years — patient, silent, waiting. Now it moves. And the people who have to stop it aren’t soldiers or spies. They’re a nurse, an IT manager, an executive assistant, a patient advocate. The civil servants and caretakers who show up every day because the mission is real to them. What they do that night is why the mission survives.
The universe
Stories set in the world of The Janus Protocol — free to read now.
The Human Thread
A prequel story set two years before the events of The Janus Protocol. Meet Pat King—the person in the building who sees everyone, forgets no one, and holds the human thread that keeps it all together.
FROM THE INSIDE
I Warned Them About the Buildings. The World Just Caught Up.
This week, US agencies issued Cybersecurity Advisory AA26-097A, warning that Iranian-affiliated actors are actively exploiting Operational Technology — the programmable logic controllers that run water systems, energy grids, and government facilities across the...
Why I Wrote a Thriller About the VA and Why It Matters Right Now
I once watched a VA clinic lose connectivity on a Monday morning at the VA. It wasn't dramatic. No alarms, no flashing lights. A backhoe had dug up a bunch of fiber optic lines in Texas, and a VA clinic was one of many buildings affected. The pressure to get it fixed...
The Machine Awakens: A Progress Update on The Janus Protocol
I am thrilled to share some exciting news regarding my upcoming debut novel, The Janus Protocol. As many of you know, this project has been a labor of love, blending my four decades of experience across the Department of Veterans Affairs and DoD with a high-stakes,...
William C. James
Former Ass’t. Dep. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
William James spent fifty years inside federal IT, from GS‑1 file clerk to Senior Executive Service, ending as Ass’t. Dep. Sec. in the Department of Veterans Affairs. He knew the building. He knew the people holding it together. And he knew exactly what was at stake if they ever stopped.
William C. James
Former Ass’t. Dep. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
William James spent fifty years inside federal IT, from GS‑1 file clerk to Senior Executive Service, ending as Ass’t. Dep. Sec. in the Department of Veterans Affairs. He knew the building. He knew the people holding it together. And he knew exactly what was at stake if they ever stopped.