Clarity for consequential work.

Dondi M. Day is an executive, author, and speaker who offers leadership coaching, contract and claims management training, and practical risk consulting. With 19+ years leading enterprise transformation across multinational organizations — and two decades in law enforcement — he brings disciplined judgment to the moments when decisions carry the most weight.

His books span contract risk, a law enforcement memoir, first-responder resilience, and coastal fiction. He writes the resilience books and Cedar Shoals thrillers under the pen name Mike Anthony.

Leadership Coaching & Consulting

Leadership coaching, contract and claims management training, risk and accountability consulting, and communication under pressure.

Explore Coaching & Consulting · View the six-module contract and claims management training outline · Request an Introductory Conversation

Betrayal — a Cedar Shoals thriller

Betrayal by Mike Anthony — Book One: A Cedar Shoals Thriller

Book one · Available now · Paperback available on Amazon. Luke sees an unlit plane drop bundles at an island airstrip. Deputies under blackout collect them. Then a forged signature—his—appears on a county cash receipt.

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The Books

Why Good Employees Stay — Why do good employees stay—and what makes them leave? Dr. Dondi M. Day offers practical guidance for leaders who want to earn trust, strengthen employee retention, and build teams people choose to stay on. Explore honest communication, fair decisions, sustainable workloads, and meaningful growth, with self-assessment tools, discussion questions, and actions to put into practice. Kindle and paperback available now
Kindle eBook: $4.99 · Available now · Paperback: $17.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Operational Contract Risk & Claims Management — A complete five-part treatment of the contract lifecycle, from formation through claims and disputes. Written for the professionals who decide an outcome before anyone knows an outcome is at stake — at the moment a contract is formed, drafted, and signed.
Paperback: $28.43 · Available now · Kindle Companion Workbook: $6.99 · Available now · Paperback Companion Workbook: $12.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Stoic in the Storm — Not a memoir, not a clinical text, and not a string of ancient quotations. It is a working philosophy built for the 2 a.m. call — stories from the field, Stoic principles adapted for real crises, and tools you can use in the next five minutes rather than the next five years. Kindle available now · Paperback available now
Kindle: $2.99 · Available now · Paperback: $9.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge — A rookie faces a shotgun on a quiet winter shift. Dr. Dondi M. Day's law enforcement memoir follows more than twenty years on the North Carolina coast, the brotherhood of police work, and the hidden cost of service. Kindle and paperback available now
Kindle: $2.99 · Available now · Paperback: $9.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
The Decisions That Make a Great Leader — A decision is only as good as what reaches the people doing the work. Dr. Dondi M. Day shows leaders how to clarify expectations, delegate authority, surface problems early, and handle hard conversations fairly—so teams can act on decisions with confidence. Kindle pre-order now · Releases November 30, 2026
Kindle eBook: $4.99 · Pre-order; releases November 30, 2026 · Paperback: $12.99 · Scheduled for November 30, 2026
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Calico Creek: The Legend of the Howling Marauder and the Pirate's Secret — A coastal adventure set along the creeks and barrier islands of North Carolina — the legend of Howling Marauder and the pirate's secret, told for readers who like their maps worn at the edges.
Kindle: $2.99 · Available now · Paperback: $9.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
The Summer We Found Everything — A cedar box. A pirate ancestor. A family secret buried for nearly three hundred years. In Morehead City, North Carolina, twelve-year-old Dondi Smythwick finds the box. Kindle available now
Kindle: $2.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Betrayal — At 0152, Luke watches an unlit plane drop bundles on a forgotten island airstrip. Then county deputies roll in under blackout to collect them. He tells one person. By sunrise, the Sheriff's Office knows. Days later, a county cash receipt turns up with his signature forged on the line, and Luke has to prove what he saw before someone else finishes writing his story. Available now · Paperback available on Amazon
Kindle: $2.99 · Available now · Paperback: $9.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Surge — Before Hurricane Imogen hits Merritt County, a grants officer warns Luke Garrison about a suspicious recovery contract. Then she vanishes after a desperate call from a flooded causeway. As federal money starts flowing, Luke follows the paperwork—and the people using the storm to hide the truth. Kindle and paperback available now
Kindle eBook: $4.99 · Available now · Paperback: $12.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Signed — The storm leaves a thirty-year-old secret lying in the marsh. The report that closed the case carries a signature Luke never expected to see. Kindle pre-order now · Releases November 28, 2026
Kindle eBook: $6.99 · Pre-order; releases November 28, 2026
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Privilege — Nora Garrison takes on a case powerful people want buried. The retaliation comes from inside the courthouse. Kindle pre-order now · Releases December 19, 2026
Kindle eBook: $8.99 · Pre-order; releases December 19, 2026
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
Across Bogue Sound — Book One of The Bogue Banks Chronicles, an apocalyptic series by Mike Anthony. In Across Bogue Sound, an overdue fishing boat draws mechanic and former Coast Guardsman Evan Mercer into the first signs of a spreading illness on North Carolina's Crystal Coast. Book 1 · Available now · Paperback available on Amazon
Kindle: $2.99 · Available now · Paperback: $9.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
The Mirador Season — The hurricane is over, but Bogue Banks has only a month of water left. As the Miradors regroup and the Coastal Recovery Authority makes its offers, a weak call from Harkers Island reaches Evan Mercer's community. Kindle and paperback available now
Kindle eBook: $2.99 · Available now · Paperback: $9.99 · Available now
Amazon list prices in USD; prices and availability may change.
The Severed Coast — Food and medicine are running out on Bogue Banks. Evan Mercer and his daughter, Abigail, must leave the island to discover which coastal communities can be trusted—and what each alliance will cost. Coming soon
The Returning Shore — The wells are turning salt, and the island cannot sustain its survivors forever. In the series' final book, Evan Mercer leads a return to a mainland whose people have not forgotten who closed the bridges. Coming soon

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Leadership keynotes and workshops on contract risk, leadership under pressure, and first-responder resilience.

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