A No Good Itch
by S.D.
Skye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
IN
THE GAME OF ESPIONAGE, SPY TAKES TRAITOR.
J.J.
MCCALL TAKES OVER.
The
FBI and Italian Mafia make strange bedfellows when a vicious Russian Organized
crime figure, operating at the behest of Russian Intelligence, lands in The Big
Apple. The Russian intelligence hench-man, infamously known as Mashkov, avenges
the death of slain a Russian sleeper agent and accidentally hits the son of an
Italian crime boss, sending J.J. and Task Force Phantom Hunter to the streets
of New York. They are stepping into a possible war between Russian and Italian
organized crime factions, while trying to dismantle the financial hub of the
most insidious Russian illegals network in U.S. History.
Meanwhile,
CIA Case Officer Grayson “Six” Chance is in Moscow trying to capture a fugitive
American who has stolen White House intelligence and is planning to pass it to
the Russians—putting Six in a moral dilemma he may not be prepared to handle.
And
when J.J. finally learns the truth surrounding her mother's death in the line
of duty, her life may never be the same.
If
you enjoy this book, you will love Book 1--The Seven Year Itch (A J.J. McCall
Novel) and Book 2 -- Son of a Itch (A J.J. McCall Novel).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
“THE SUPREME ART OF WAR IS TO SUBDUE THE ENEMY WITHOUT
FIGHTING.” ~ SUN TZU
Fear, failure, and the fear of failure turned enemies into
friends like nothing else in the convoluted world of intelligence and spying.
No doubt the reason FBI representatives had been summoned to the Russian
Embassy in Washington.
"We'll need a dump truck for the BS about to be heaped
on us today," J.J. whispered to her co-case agent, Tony Donato. As the
lead case agent behind the ruckus, she'd been ordered to attend the meeting,
listen, and respond to nothing.
"Shhh," Tony whispered in reply. "The walls
have ears."
Resident Andrei Komarov, the Russian equivalent to the CIA
Station Chief in Moscow, led J.J., Tony, and Assistant Director of
Counterintelligence John Nixon through the hallowed embassy halls until they
reached a well-appointed conference room. It contained mahogany-paneled walls,
large open armchairs, and an oversized table large enough to seat Komarov's ego
and attitude, both massive in her past experience.
Komarov settled in at the head of the table, his face
reddened and contorted. It was as if every word he was about to speak, no doubt
carefully selected by the Foreign Minister, would sear his throat and exit his
lips like sharpened razors carving him from the inside.
"We've all met before and are quite familiar with one
another," Komarov began, shooting a slicing glare through J.J. "So,
I'll feel free to dispense with the introductions and pleasantries since we all
understand why we are here today." Her aggressive targeting of SVR
officers for recruitment was legendary...or infamous, depending on which side
of the table you sat. She suppressed the awe she felt. He was the
personification of the Russian James Bond in looks, dress, and devoid of any
semblance of accent.
J.J., Tony, and Nixon exchanged strained glances before she
took a deep breath to brace herself. Komarov was about to progress through the
four steps of surviving a massive operational failure.
Step 1: Admit nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
S.D. Skye is
a former FBI Counterintelligence Analyst in the Russia program and supported
cases during her 12-year tenure at the Bureau. She has personally witnessed the
blowback the Intelligence Community suffered due to the most significant
compromises in U.S. history, including the arrests of former CIA Case Officer
Aldrich Ames and two of the Bureau's own—FBI Agents Earl Pitts and Robert
Hansen. She has spent 20 years in the U.S. Intelligence Community.
Skye is a
member of the Maryland Writer’s Association, Romance Writers of America, and
International Thriller Writers. She’s addicted to writing and chocolate—not
necessarily in that order—and currently lives in the Washington D.C. area with
her son. Skye is hard at work on several projects, including the next
installment of the series.
Web Links
Blog:
www.authorsdskye.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/authorsdskye
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/sdskye1
Buy Links
My Review:
This is a great book for readers that love spy novels. It has all the makings of a great thriller and I felt like I was counting down to the end with the characters, Would they make it in time? I loved the cast of characters listed in the beginning so I could remember who was who and from what branch they were from. The abbreviated terms were all through the book, and I was glad they were listed as well. It made the book a lot easier to concentrate in the plot, rather than the terminology. J.J. and Six were fun characters and I just know that there will be more interference from the bad guys in their future. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.
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Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading today's excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting this stop today and the review! Glad you enjoyed it. I'll be around today if anyone has questions.
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take to write the book?
ReplyDeleteAll tolled, it took about a year to write, mostly because I was still in a funk after my mother's passing. So, this book really helped me dig myself out of a bit of a depression. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to enter to win!
DeleteHow long did it take to write the book?
ReplyDeleteHow do you choose your character names?
ReplyDeleteI really do have a hard time selecting names because to me it's like naming babies. You have to pick names that fit the feel of the character. I've gotten some names from my readers--the character "Six" got his name from my readers. I get some from a name generator on my writing software. And I get some from baby name lists from Russia and the U.S.
DeleteWhat inspired this story line?
ReplyDeleteMy career in the FBI. As someone who spent her life in the shadows of counterintelligence, I told myself I was not going to write about my career, but when the name J.J. McCall came to me in a dream and I linked that name with an agent I worked with at the FBI, "the Force" was too strong with the story. I had to tell it. I wanted people to know there were people like J.J. McCall out there, true patriots who want to keep the country safe.
DeleteWhy the use of 'itch' in every title? I thought it might've been a name, but I don't see that. Is it just like hunch in this case?
ReplyDeleteGreat question! J.J. McCall is a born lie detector. Her roots are from New Orleans and it's a generational curse. So, anytime someone lies to her she feels a sensation akin to an itch. So the "Itch" in the titles refers to lie detector capability. In the world of spies, having the ability to detect lies gives her insight others don't have, but it doesn't always help her cases. For example, whether people are telling little white lies to protect someone--or whether they are stone guilty--a lie registers the same with her. So, she has to dig deeper to figure out what the lies mean. It's an interesting twist to the spy story, I think, but they aren't written as fantasy. It's more of a genetic intuition.
DeleteCongrats on the new book! I enjoyed reading the excerpt! This sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read! My question is: How do you start developing the story? Like for instance, how do you get inspired for it? Do you already know how your story is going to end before you even start writing it?
ReplyDeleteThank you! When I started the series, I had planned a 5 book series and the cases were all based on agencies that I'd worked with in my past. The cases are all interconnected even though there is only one major case/plot per book. So, when one book leaves off, it finishes off the major case for that book and starts with the hook for the next one. So, there's something of a plan which is career based to kind of hop through the big 3-letter agencies in the beltway. FBI, CIA, DIA, NSA, etc. I thought it would be cool to give readers a tiny glimpse into how they work. Each agency kind of has it's own culture so things work differently in each one. The missions are different...yet the same. So, I thought that material would make for some good stories. The series is inspired by the spying activities that go on every day inside the Beltway.
ReplyDeleteGreat post all around including the questions and answers in the comments! Thank you everyone!
ReplyDeleteS.D. Skye is a new author to me. Did you always want to be a writer even while you worked for the FBI? Thank you.
ReplyDelete