Summary:
JET – Outbreak is the continuing story of Maya, the Mossad operative who would become Jet, who finds herself in the midst of a terrifying epidemic in Tel Aviv, battling hordes of infected humans and fighting time itself in a nail-biting race to contain and stop this deadly plague before it spreads any further.
Russell: How did you come to be interested in the JET Series Kindle World?
Malcolm: I write action/adventure so I have been following Russell Blake since I first read about him in a Kindle newsletter sometime last year. I noticed that with the Jet books he created a fully developed character and has had amazing success with gaining so many fans of the series. I figured this guy knows what the heck he is doing, so I have been following his sage advice ever since. I am a relatively new author and just happened to be looking through the Kindle World choices last month and thinking about writing a KW book when Russell posted he was opening up Jet to KW. I am so very grateful to him for giving me a chance to explore his world.
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?
Malcolm: Jet: Outbreak takes place shortly after the events in Terror Alert and several years before the first Jet novel. She is on a new mission for the Mossad but soon a deadly outbreak unleashes hordes of infected innocents. She crosses paths with two of my characters during the chaos that ensues.
Russell: The JET Series books are fast-paced action and adventure stories. What genre(s) do you explore in your story?
Malcolm: The books that I read are usually thrillers and action/adventure stories, so those are the genres I usually explore. But in Jet: Outbreak I venture a bit into the sci-fi and horror areas. I love The Walking Dead, so I thought I would like to incorporate some of that into this book.
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?
Malcolm: Jet: Outbreak takes place in several different parts of the world. It starts out with a confrontation between Maya and one of my characters on an exotic island. Then they go to Paris, where my character, the French spy Josette Perot, is from. They run into another one of my characters there and eventually end up in Israel where they have to dish out the pain.
Russell: Tell us a little about your main character(s). Why do you think readers will like him or her?
Malcolm: Well, besides Maya/Jet, she recruits a character from my upcoming series The Specialists to help out; computer genius and outlaw hacker Chase Thompson. Chase is a good looking guy about the same age as Maya. He’s from Texas, laid back and funny, and of course, brilliant. I think readers will find it easy to connect with him. He also appears in my latest book, the novella prequel to The Specialists called Dunn’s Revenge, which just came out for Kindle on July 11th.
Russell: Did you decide to include any of the main characters from JET (Jet / Maya, Matt or Hannah?) If so, Why?
Malcolm: Yes, I included Maya/Jet, she is the main protag, and a few others play minor roles. This story takes place before Hannah comes along or she meets Matt. Maya is about twenty-one years old in Jet: Outbreak and she meets up with Chase in Paris. Did I mention these two crazy kids are in Paris?
Russell: What major theme comes across the clearest in your story? Is this a theme found consistently in your other works?
Malcolm: I usually stick with themes about overcoming odds to succeed at something or finding something out about yourself you didn’t expect. In Jet: Outbreak I would say the major theme is the latter, where the protag has doubts about what they can feel or not feel. By the end they discover that they might just be wrong.
Russell: Share some of your story about becoming a writer.
Malcolm: I am just starting out in my adventure of self-publishing but I have always had a firm love of reading and books since I first learned how to read. I had written quite a few songs and had dabbled in writing some novels over the years but life always seemed to get in the way. After raising my kids and accomplishing some other goals I had set, I turned my attention to writing. I started writing a few short stories and just fell in love with the written word all over again. Something just clicked in my head that told me this is what I should have been doing with my life all along, whether I am successful at it or not. I just really felt the need to just write. It really helped to all of a sudden wake up one day and find I had all these stories and ideas swirling around in my head that seemed to be screaming at me to let them out and tell them. That almost makes it easy, but not really. Writing is hard. But it is an extremely enjoyable hard, if that makes any sense.
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.
Malcolm: I love to try new things, mainly because I get bored very easily. I have been a musician most of my life, playing lead guitar and singing in various bands, writing and recording songs. I study Martial Arts and I am fascinated by and have looked at about every fighting discipline known to man. I love working out and I try to inspire people who have Type 2 diabetes to work hard so they can eradicate all the effects of that disease like I did. My first non-fiction book, How I Kicked Type 2 Diabetes Butt is available for Kindle and in print. It chronicles how I went from having a blood sugar level in excess of 400 and being out of shape several years ago to a normal blood sugar level of 90-100 and in reasonably good shape. I obviously highly recommend it for anyone or a loved one that has been diagnosed with Type 2.
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?
Malcolm: Oh, yes. Big Brother is alive and well and is certainly listening. (He is probably recording my keystrokes as I type.) Being a student of history, I can easily see that this has always been the case since the beginning of civilization. Man is inherently flawed, corrupt and easily swayed. As Russell and I can readily attest to, but the swaying usually involves Tequila with him and Cinnamon Whiskey with me.
What are my thoughts on the future? Stock up on ammo and Cinnamon Whiskey (and/or Tequila). And remember the immortal words of Bruce Lee… Be water, my friend.
Russell: What are you working on next, aside from the novella in the JET Series Kindle World?
Malcolm: I just finished the novella prequel Dunn’s Revenge for Kindle, a work of fiction that is available right now on Amazon.com. Right after Jet: Outbreak is released I will be working on another KW novella for the J.A. Konrath’s Codename:Chandler series. Then I will be completing the first Specialists full-length novel featuring Major John Dunn from Dunn’s Revenge. On the back-burner I have been working on a screenplay/novel for an action/sci-fi/thriller story that I am really excited about.
So, yes, my dance card is very full! My only regret is that I should have started doing this four years ago. I have some serious catching up to do. Cheers!
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