21 September 2015 by Published in: Uncategorized 1 comment

JET FINAL Alex Shaw

ALEX SHAW headshot BW

 

Alex Shaw is a talented author I know from Facebook, as well as through mutual friends. He’s written not just a novella for my JET Series Kindle Worlds, but an entire, full blown novel! That’s exciting, and I hope everyone joins me in supporting his effort – it sounds amazing, and right up fans of the series’ alley. My questions are framed below, in italics, and Alex’s responses in plain text. It’s an interesting interview, so sit back and enjoy!

  1. How did you come to be interested in the JET Series Kindle World?

I’d been contracted by Amazon to write for Steve Konkoly’s ‘Perseid Collapse Kindle World’ and when the same opportunity came up for the JET I couldn’t say no. After reading the JET series I honestly became a fan and knew I’d have fun writing for it, and I did! In fact I enjoyed writing in Jet’s world so much that I ended up writing a novel and not a novella!

  1. Is there any crossover or meetings between your characters and any of the original characters in the JET Series?

Jet and David appear in my novel, COLD SHADOW. As her controller, David sends Jet into rebel controlled eastern Ukraine to assassinate a former Mossad interrogator turned traitor. At the same time Aidan Snow, the MI6 hero of my series (COLD BLOOD, COLD BLACK and COLD EAST) is on a mission to rescue a British hostage held in Donetsk. Unbeknownst to Mossad or MI6, both missions will overlap as the pair of intelligence operatives join forces against the Russian backed insurgents of the Donetsk Peoples Republic.

  1. The JET Series books are fast-paced action and adventure stories. What genre(s) do you explore in your story?

‘Cold Shadow’ is very much in keeping with the JET series. It’s an action and adventure thriller. Jet and Aidan Snow have clear objectives, getting to them involves outwitting and outfighting a force vastly superior in numbers and firepower. Expect firefights, fist fights and explosions.

  1. The JET series has been set all over the world… the Middle East, Asia, South American, the Caribbean, etc. Tell us about where you set your story, and why?

I’ve set Cold Shadow in Ukraine. It’s the largest country in Europe but not many authors, except me, have ever written about it. It’s an area I care about, and I wanted to expose further through my writing Russia’s aggressive actions towards Ukraine; its theft of Crimea and its occupation of the Donbas region.

  1. Tell us a little about your main character(s). Why do you think readers will like him/her/it?

Aidan Snow, is a former member of the SAS turned MI6 operative. Like me he has ties to Ukraine, having been an ex-pat there. He has a strong sense of natural justice, and is more cerebral than most ‘action heroes’ – he’s a thinker as well as a doer. I’d say he shares some character traits with protagonists such as James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher. I hope however he is unique enough to satisfy readers of the Jet series. I’ve included several of my other regular characters such as Vitaly Blazhevich, who is an operator for the SBU (the Ukrainian successor to the KGB). I like the relationship between Snow and Blazhevich, professionally and privately they get on well. There is always an element of jovial banter in their conversations.

  1. What major theme comes across the clearest in your story? Is this a theme found consistently in your other works?

My three Aidan Snow novels – COLD BLOOD, COLD BLACK and COLD EAST deal with terrorism, of one form or another, happening in and around the former Soviet Union.  Most recently this has included the rise of ISIS (some fighters are Chechen) and Russian aggression in Ukraine. COLD SHADOW continues with this theme showing the result of Russia’s actions in Ukraine on the Ukrainian people.

  1. Share some of your story about becoming a writer. 

It took me twelve years on and off to write my first novel. I started it when I was living in Ukraine and reading spy thrillers but finding that Ukraine had been ignored. So I decided to write what I wanted to read, spy thrillers set in and around Ukraine. My books sold well on Kindle when it launched in the UK and US. I happily self-published my work for five years until I was signed in July 2014 by Endeavour Press. This opened up many opportunities for me including the ability to join ITW (The International Thriller Writers organisation) and the CWA (the Crime Writers Association). In 2014 and again in 2015, my novels were nominated in the ITW Awards ‘Best Original ebook category’. I now describe myself as a fulltime stay at home dad and author, I write term time and in between school runs.

  1. What are you working on next, after completing your JET Series Kindle World novel?

I have two more novellas for The Perseid Collapse Kindle Worlds series to write, a sequel to my Delta Force Vampire novel, a Nordic Noir crime thriller and of course the fourth Aidan Snow. Hopefully I’ll get this all done within the next year.

  1. What advice would you give to a new or would be writer?

Never give up. In fact, give up giving up. If you don’t write your story no one will. I read recently that eighty percent of the population wants to write a book, but that only one percent ever does. Be the one percent.

Wise words, Alex. For more of Mr. Shaw, go to Amazon’s author page and check out his offerings: http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Shaw/e/B002EQ6R9G/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

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Comments

  1. Zarayna
    Tue 22nd Sep 2015 at 5:38 pm

    Hello Alex and Russell,

    Please accept my best wishes for this venture – excellent cover obviously reflecting similar content.

    Thanks also for encouragement for the aspirational one per cent.

    Kindest regards,

    Reply

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