J.A. Cipriano Does JET Kindle Worlds!

Summary: What if elite Mossad agent Jet had a brother? What if someone was stupid enough to try and murder him?

Rudy just wanted one last spring break hurrah before his final semester at college, but when one of his friends betrays him to the most powerful drug dealer in Jamaica, he knows he’s in trouble.

Rudy’s only chance at survival is in the hands of his sister, an elite Mossad assassin codenamed Jet. If she wants to keep Rudy alive, she’ll have to pull out all the stops. Even if it means taking down Jamaica’s top drug kingpin all by herself.

Russell: How did you come to be interested in the JET Series Kindle World?

J.A.: Admittedly, I’d only read the first Jet Ops Files book when I heard about the kindle world, but I was a fan of Russell’s Blog. I’d read a number of his posts on Kboards too. As soon as he announced the world, I picked up a copy of Jet which I read simultaneously while writing my story. I mostly wanted to join the world because of Russell. It had absolutely nothing to do with me being a fledgling author and knowing he’d probably promote my book to his massive audience… nope, nothing at all.

Russell: Tell us how your story links to the JET Series. Characters, setting, specific event? Is there any crossover or meetings between your characters and any of the original characters?

J.A.: The story is set during Jet’s Mossad days, and Jet is a major character. I also mentioned David from time to time, but not very much.

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

J.A.: I tried to stay close to the pace and action of the original stories. I love high-octane action so it was fun to write about a girl in a Jet Ski battle, taking down a tank with a knife, stopping a helicopter with a katana a thousand feet in the air, etc. When writing the story my motto was “why not?” and “would this make Michael Bay proud?”

Russell: 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?

J.A.: I set my book in Jamaica because I wanted it to be a sort of tropical spring break esque escapade. (say that three times fast.) I was also reasonably familiar with the location because my wife and I vacationed there before.

Russell: Tell us a little about your main characters. Why do you think readers will like them?

J.A.: There are two main characters in the story, Jet and her younger brother Rudy. I’m sort of banking on people already liking Jet.

Her brother Rudy is sort of a tossup, though I’m a huge fan of how he acts in the last chapter of the book. He’s this rich kid in over his head and his big sister has to save him from the big bad drug dealers. It was fun because normally it’s a story where the guy is saving the girl, but in this one it’s very much not.

Russell: Did you decide to include any of the main characters from JET (Jet / Maya, Matt or Hannah?) If so, Why?

J.A.: I included Maya because how could I not? I mentioned David, but as this was set in her Mossad days, the other characters didn’t really exist.

7. What major theme comes across the clearest in your story? Is this a theme found consistently in your other works? Please market those works here!

J.A.: My story is about a girl who kicks ass and is tough but desperately wants to make a family connection. This is a theme prevalent in my Meet Abby Banks Spy thriller series and my Lillim Callina Chronicles Urban Fantasy series.

I love to write stories about girls who are bad ass or becoming bad ass. My female characters often have to overcome extreme circumstances just to survive in a world where everyone is plotting to get them. They all have unique family situations that make their stories as much about defying the odds as it does about making those familial connections.

That said, I took a lot of inspiration for this story from my second Meet Abby Banks book, The Spy Within, which launches July 20.

Russell: Share some of your story about becoming a writer. Long version or short version. You decide.

J.A.: I’m a writer? That’s cool. When I was little my mom asked me if I thought I was a writer because I used words like reverberate in sentences.

I wrote my first novel in ninth grade. By senior year I’d written three. I wrote another one my first year of college before getting heavily invested in fan fiction where I wrote just over 850k words before getting kicked out of the group after a year. Me and cliques don’t fit, who knew?

After that, I rewrote my original novel and wrote another book which would become the basis of my second Lillim novel The Hatter is Mad. Then I wrote my first Lillim novel, Kill it with Magic. I sat in critique groups with it until people started telling me I should submit it to a publisher. (Keep in mind I’d written something like 2 million words at this point, 90% of which was rubbish)

Starting in 2011, I sent it out for two years, amassing over 150 rejections. (I kept a spreadsheet.) Then I stuck it in a drawer for two years and wrote Hatter is Mad and the beginning of Fairy Tale. I gave up on Fairy Tale and wrote half of what would be my first Abby Banks book, mostly as an exercise to tease one of my critique partners who went on to become a huge selling author for Penguin.

Keep in mind, since 2011 I’d been following the rise of self-publishing and had actually formatted Kill it with Magic for kindle way back then, but felt like I was giving up by not seeking a traditional publisher and also being overwhelmed by trying to find a cover artist and such.

So in 2014, I was looking through my old stuff and decided to give Kill it with Magic a try in the self-publishing world because it wasn’t doing anything in my drawer. I got two new critique partners and went to work on it and Hatter is Mad. By this time there was a lot of information out there, and I spent nearly all of 2014 getting ready for my launch. I failed miserably.

But I decided I’d be successful even if I had to write a million damn books. I was going to write them anyway, after all. I’m still not successful by any means, but my sales are increasing now that I have put out a novel a month since January and gotten a better editor.

This brings us to now, I guess.

Russell: Do you have a background related to your writing? Interests? What makes you interesting outside of your books…Authors are often some of the most interesting people I’ve met, although admittedly I don’t get out much.

J.A.: I’m an engineer by trade and have a degree in chemistry. Those are super interesting facts. I’m one of those weird people with the uncanny ability to focus on a task until it’s done.

I wish I could say I’m interesting, but really, I’m not. Although I did get both Stan Lee and Dean Koontz to sign my cast when I broke my arm in seventh grade.

I did spend most of my high school career playing pen and paper RPG games, but I didn’t run many of them. I was more the player everyone hates. You know, the one who has read all the rulebooks and actively tries to cheese the system.

Russell: JET is set in a world where many governments including Israel and the U.S. have covert operations including false flag and assassinations. Do you believe this is really the world we live in? If so, what are your thoughts on the future?

J.A.: I believe people lie to get what they want, and the less consequences someone has for his actions, the worse those actions would be. I find it incredibly naive to think people with billions of dollars and no consequences act in a way that would be in my best interest.

Hell, even people I directly influence don’t act in a way that is positive for me most of the time. It’s silly to think that someone who regards me as less than the amoeba under the toenails of an ant would act in a positive way toward me.

Russell: What are you working on next, aside from the novella in the JET Series Kindle World?

J.A.: I just finished my ninth novel Death’s Mantle which is about the four horsemen of the apocalypse trying to stop Ragnarok. I just wrote up the outline for the book I’m going to write next which is All Wrapped Up. It’s the sequel to the book I just put out in June titled Under Wraps which is about a time traveling werewolf stuck in ancient Egypt. After that, I’ll write the third Abby Banks book, Spy for the Spiers.

I was sad the other day because I had an idea for a super hero series and wrote out a series outline, and the outlines for the first of seven books. Then I realized I won’t be able to fit it in until sometime next year…

How to get in touch with J.A.:

Also, my first book, Kill it with Magic, is currently permafree on Amazon. My website is http://www.jacipriano.com/. My facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JACiprianoAuthor. My mailing list where people can sign up to get a free short story: http://eepurl.com/bj7_8f.