FEATURED AUTHOR: PACO CHIERICI

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the world of fighter pilots, the most alpha of the alpha, competition is everything and the stakes are impossibly high. A Top Gun for the new millennium, Lions of the Sky propels us into a realm in which friendship, loyalty, and skill are tested, battles won and lost in an instant, and lives irrevocably changed in the time it takes to plug in your afterburners.

Sam Richardson is a fighter pilot’s pilot, a reluctant legend with a gut-eating secret. He is in the last span of his tour as an instructor, yearning to get back to the real action of the Fleet, when he is ordered to take on one last class—a class that will force him to confront his carefully quarantined demons.

Brash, carefree, and naturally gifted, Keely Silvers is the embodiment of all that grates on him. After years of single-minded dedication, she and her classmates can see the finish line. They are months away from achieving their life-long dream, flying Navy F/A-18 fighters. They are smart and hard-working, but they’re just kids with expensive new toys. They’re eager to rush through training and escape to the freedom of the world beyond, a world they view as a playground full of fast jets and exotic locales.

But Sam knows there is a darker side to the profession he loves. There is trouble brewing in the East with global implications. If they make it past him they will be cast into a dangerous world where enemy planes cruise the skies over the South China Sea like sharks, loaded with real weapons and hidden intentions.

Book Details:


Title: Lions of the Sky


Author: Paco Chierici


Genre: military thriller   


Publisher: Braveship Books (April 12, 2019)


Page count: 292 pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH PACO CHIERICI

A few of your favorite things: the laughter of my family, the sound of an airplane engine, a basketball swishing through the net, a good book (series), movie night, a good cocktail.
Things you need to throw out: procrastination, taxes, any paperwork, politics, nagging home repair items, putting away my laundry.


Things you need in order to write: an organized desktop. I can’t compose a sentence if there’s clutter.
Things that hamper your writing: the f^[£!ng internet. It’s so compelling!


Things you love about writing: I love reading yesterday’s work and being pleasantly surprised.
Things you hate about writing: my first drafts. God they suck.

Easiest thing about being a writer:  coming up with a thrilling story idea. Ideas are easy!

Hardest thing about being a writer: taking that amazing concept and outline and putting the words to page. And the marketing. I’m glad I was never told how difficult it is to break through the noise. 


Things you love about where you live: NorCal is an amazing place. We have sea and snow, vineyards, and Silicon Valley, all within a tight radius. San Francisco is a world class city with amazing food, though not without its problems. And you can’t beat the weather.
Things that make you want to move: did I mention taxes!? I do miss the diversity of the east coast. 


Things you never want to run out of: good French and Italian red wine. Admittedly, it’s difficult to find a bad one, especially over there. 
Things you wish you’d never bought: anything with Styrofoam. I feel as if the cockroaches will be climbing around mountains of it after we’re all gone.  


Words that describe you: tall, gray, loving husband and father, forward looking, adrenaline junkie, competitive, pilot, writer.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: forward looking, dad bod, professional procrastinator, middle aged.

Favorite foods: anything Italian. Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, Saltinbocca alla Romana, Caprese, gelato.
Things that make you want to throw up: beets, radicchio, internal organs. 

Favorite music or song: I love music of most flavors, though it needs to have a good energy.  I like to listen to music as I write, and when I write action sequences I crank electronic music. 
Music that make your ears bleed: opera.

Favorite beverage: I may have mentioned French and Italian red wines. I also love a good Scotch.  
Something that gives you a pickle face: sweet cocktails. 

Something you’re really good at: I’m a pretty good pilot, though there’s a lot of potential hubris in that statement. I’ve known many pilots who crashed, and many were better than me. Fate is fickle.  I’m fairly good at being a dad, regardless of what my kids will tell you. I’m a good writer, but I have so much yet to learn. 
Something you’re really bad at: routines. My nature and my life have never allowed for a regular schedule. I can’t remember any more if that’s how I liked it or if I evolved to fit the demands.  


Something you wish you could do: I’ve always been jealous of people who can play an instrument.  Also, a New York Times bestseller would be nice. Not sure which is more unreasonable. 
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: watch sports on TV.

Something you like to do: I’ve always loved to travel. I enjoy the feeling of returning to a favorite haunt, but I relish discovering new places. 
Something you wish you’d never done: I’ve been fortunate in my life. There are definitely mistakes that I’ve made, but I feel as if I am better for them.  I am firmly in the camp that we are shaped by what we do after we fall down. 

People you consider as heroes: those who put the needs of others ahead of themselves (and especially their political parties)!

People with a big L on their foreheads: almost all politicians.



Last best thing you ate: my wife makes the most amazing soups.

Last thing you regret eating: a bad oyster in Hong Kong. Almost killed me.

Things you’d walk a mile for: my family.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: honestly, it’s politics these days.  I can no longer watch any of them on TV.  “How can you tell when a politician is lying…?”

Things you always put in your books: I love descriptions that pull readers into the action, so they feel as if they are participants rather than observers. Full, rich characters are a must, even though I write thrillers. 
Things you never put in your books: minutia and extraneous jargon. The world I write about, Naval Aviation, is full of details and acronyms. The challenge I love is to relay the essence of that world without burying the reader in stifling accuracy. 

Things to say to an author: “Loved it! Can’t wait for the next one. I’ve told all my friends.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I loved your book, but I would have done it this way…”

People you’d like to invite to dinner: Daniel Silva and Michael Connelly. I love their books!  
People you’d cancel dinner on: lobbyists and politicians. 

Favorite things to do: I love to read what I wrote yesterday. I love flying my planes. I love playing basketball and skiing. I love a good night at home for family movie night. I love going out to dinner with friends. 

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: organizing the garage, my office, any room in the house.

Things that make you happy: genuine laughter. A great meal. A wonderful gathering with friends. Finishing a chapter.  

Things that drive you crazy: the screech of Styrofoam rubbing together. A messy desk.  Succumbing to procrastination. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Francesco “Paco” Chierici is the author of Lions of the Sky. During his active duty career in the US Navy, Chierici flew A-6E Intruders and F-14A Tomcats, deployed to conflict zones from Somalia to Iraq and was stationed aboard carriers including the USS Ranger, Nimitz, and Kitty Hawk. Unable to give up dogfighting, he flew the F-5 Tiger II for a further ten years as a Bandit concurrent with his employment as a commercial pilot. Throughout his military career, Paco accumulated nearly 3,000 tactical hours, 400 carrier landings, a Southwest Asia Service Medal with Bronze Star, and three Strike/Flight Air Medals. Chierici’s writing has appeared in Aviation Classics magazine, AOPA magazine, and Fighter Sweep. He also created and produced the award-winning naval aviation documentary, Speed and Angels. Currently a 737 captain, Chierici can often be found in the skies above California flying a Yak-50 with a group of like-minded G-hounds to get his dogfighting fix. He lives in Northern California with his wife Hillary and two children.



Connect with Paco:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

Featured Author: Ty Patterson

He's finally here. After gentle reminders became shameless pleading and shameless pleading became undecorous begging, Ty Patterson finally relented and agreed to an interview. Ty's book The Warrior, is a thriller that takes us from the Congo to New York. Mystery, adventure, action...it's got it all. And good news, y'all--it's the first in a series. Even better news is the book is on special sale on Smashwords for just $1.50 until March 9. Check it out here, and as Ty says, "Let the stampede begin."

About the book:

Zeb Carter is almost your average Private Military Contractor.

When working for a WDE (We Don't Exist) Agency, Zeb witnesses a gruesome crime in the Congo and tracks the perpetrators down to New York. Only to discover that not only are they protected by the FBI, but also are closely connected to a very high profile politician.

Zeb can walk away from his hunt, or pursue with it and put those close to him in the sights of the killers.

A thriller that spans Congo and New York, The Warrior is dotted with gritty action, a central character that fuels imagination, and is also about the brotherhood of warriors.

Talking with Ty

Ty, you published your first book in December 2012. How long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I have been writing since my formative years. Initially it was short stories that I wrote for myself, some of which got published in a few magazines. When I grew up, I spent a few years as freelance copywriter and learnt the art of packing a punch in as few words as possible.

I started writing as a novelist quite recently, in 2011, when my better half kicked me out of my comfort zone.

What do you like best about writing? What’s your least favorite thing?

A writer creates worlds and with that comes enormous freedom and that’s the best thing about writing. Making your stories heard? Now that is a different story! The promoting is probably something I could do without.
 
How did you come up with the title of your book?

There is this author I like, Greg Rucka, who wrote a great book titled A Fistful of Rain. I then read Robert Crais’ The Monkey’s Raincoat. Ever since I read those books, I wanted to give mine a great title. I spent days and nights reading up on haiku to come up with that killer title. I filled the wall of my study with permutations and combinations.  I couldn’t decide which title to go with. Till my better half, the anchor in my life, told me to go back to my copywriting days and stick to a simple, direct, message.

I came up with The Warrior.


Do you have another job outside of writing?

In the life where mortgages have to be paid, I am a workaholic and often work 12 hours a day in a job I love. Writing and promoting my work is fast taking over the rest of my life, and I am working towards the day when my writing will pay for my living.

I have yet to see you give that question a straightforward answer. Are you a secret agent? Is that why you're keeping your real job a secret? Do you work for the CIA? The WDE? On second thought, I've only seen you with a green face. Are you a secret Martian? Or is the green a disguise? Okay, okay, next question. How would you describe your book in a tweet? (140 characters or less.)

More Skyfall than Rambo!

Ty, that's the shortest tweet I've ever seen. You have 116 characters left. How about: More Skyfall than Rambo, written by a real spy? Okay, okay, moving on. How did you create the plot for The Warrior?
That’s a very good question. I wanted a plot that spanned different continents and what happened in Luvungi had always stayed in the back of my mind. When I decided to write, I went about marrying the two together and The Warrior was born.

How were you able to write about the military? Are you going on other books and movies, or were you once in the military? Or are you in the military now, and that's your secret job?

My books feature ex soldiers and mercenaries but they're not very big on militarilia. If that isn't a word I just coined and patented it.

So noted.

I studied in a school which was a feeder to the armed forces and grew up with friends who are in the armed forces, so I have experience by association.

My secret job is more like catching 40 winks when on the job!

Still evasive. I'm betting on the spy theory. I heard you say your wife and son encouraged you to write a book. What did they think of The Warrior?

Aha, you have hit on the biggest gripe I have with my wife. Yes, they encouraged me to write it, but she hasn't read it. It isn't her genre she says whenever I ask her, and reaches out for that chicklit next to her! My son has been forbidden to read it. My book isn't gory and mindless action, but I still want him to wait a couple of years to read it.

Does your wife know about the fabulous book Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction? I bet she'd like it. :) What's that look for? Yeah, yeah, moving on. Do you outline, write by the seat of your pants, or let your characters tell you what to write?

Again another interesting question. I have come across authors who say they have voices in their heads that makes them write their stories, or characters who speak in their minds... That hasn’t happened to me. Maybe I should stand in the rain and have lightning strike me to get that kind of creative spark.

I generally write based on a very broad outline and that gets refined as I write. I cannot write on the fly without any outline to guide me. I often go back and re-read my written chapters and might make minor changes to my plot, but in general a broad outline is with me before I put pen to paper. That means banging away on the keyboards; to that generation that doesn’t know pens.

Now that I have written The Warrior, the sequel is coming easier; not writing wise, but plot wise. The writing is still danged hard work.

Yes it is. What about your cover art? How did it come about? Tell us about the artist.

My cover artist is a fantastic author in her own right, the very successful Ros Clarke, author of fresh, fun, modern romances. She can be found here, Ros Clarke, and she designed my cover and also the images on my blog.

I gave her the briefest brief and that was enough for her to make magic. I cannot thank her enough, or mention her enough.

Well, let's mention her one more time: Ros Clarke. There. Now, what books have you read more than once or want to read again?

I re-read many books. Some authors that I read over and over again are James Michener, Robert Crais, Leon Uris, Herman Wouk, and funnily, many books on economics and quantum physics.

Economics? That doesn't sound very funny. Sorry. Please continue.

Electronic readers have made life so easy to read stuff again and again.

Woops, how could I forget. I read Asterix and Obelix again and again and again. I hope I never stop getting pleasure out of reading them.

And here I thought you were going to say you read Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction again and again. Oh well. Tell us your favorite line from a book:

I knew you were going to ask me this. My favorite lines are from Alice in Wonderland. They never fail to inspire me.

“I can’t believe that!” said Alice.

“Can’t you?” the queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath and shut your eyes.”


Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying.” She said: “One can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Good old Alice. Have you ever bought any books just for the cover?

Nope. I unfortunately am a cynic and do not fall for fancy covers.

What do you do to market your book?
I am actively considering selling my soul to market my book.

Yikes.
 
On a serious note, I am trying to use social media as a platform to create a reach which in turn should create a pull for my books. All good in theory. In practice it means hours on FB, Twitter, blogs, sending my book for reviews, interviews, etc.

I am trying to stick to a marketing plan which says ‘x’ many tweets a day, ‘y’ many blog posts a week, and I try to look back and see what worked and what didn’t. What I haven’t done so far is promotions by discounting and that is something I might look into.

Do you have any imaginary friends?

The cynical me is also a very pragmatic, realist me. So no imaginary friends, no voices in the head. I am very unromantic in that sense I am afraid.

When you start writing a new book, do you know what the entire cast will be?

My next few books will be part of a series, The Warrior being the first. So most of the cast is pretty well defined now. What I will be looking to do is flesh out the characters in greater detail in each book of the series.

Sounds good. Which character did you most enjoy writing?

The main character, Zeb Carter, is one I loved fleshing out the most. He is a taciturn person about who not much is known, who hardly speaks. The challenge, the interesting challenge, was to give such a character depth and layers, given his stoic persona.

I’m constantly on the lookout for new names. How do you name your characters?
Naming characters is tough. I wanted character names that would resonate with readers and yet were simple. I think I spent a few weeks researching character names before going with Zebadiah Carter for the main character, Broker for the secondary character. I hope I have succeeded in creating names that suit the characters, but I think it will take a few more books in the series to embed the characters in readers’ minds.

What would your main character say about you?

I would like to think he would thank me for giving him life and then go on using superlatives to describe me! But knowing the guy he is, he would just shrug. His rationale would be that I brought him to life because I wanted to, not because he asked. He isn’t a guy who asks favors of anyone.

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

None of them are inspired by real characters. Whilst I want my books to be as real as possible, I also want them to be worlds to which my readers can escape, so I want to distance the characters from real people.

Are you like any of your characters?

I have Zebadiah Carter’s silences but not much else. The second character, Broker, is handsome, witty, and urbane. Two of that three I am not, and I am not going to tell you which.

Oh come on. Please? Maybe later? What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?

I only read e-books now and am reading Nicholas Taleb’s The Black Swan, a book on macroeconomics.

Once again, I thought you might say you were reading Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction. You're breaking my heart. How do you handle criticism of your work?
I have luckily a thick skin and can take criticism. I have also been lucky enough to receive good reviews. So far I have not been savaged by critics. If it happens, I will shrug and accept it. 

Some are easier to shrug off than others. The way I look at book reviews and criticism is this: criticism is the easiest thing to do in the world. Giving advice, being negative is so easy and all of us do it.

Very true. And we tend to dwell on the negative reviews we get, and not the positive ones. At least, that's what some of my friends tell me.

What takes more courage is to go off the beaten track and do something. What takes more courage is to raise your head above the parapet. That is what us self-published authors have. Courage. We may not have written the world’s greatest book. We may not have written the next best seller. But what we did do was sit our bottoms on the chair, pound away, and write the best story we could write.

If that invites negativity, so be it. But I for one am proud of what I did. And that is how I handle/will handle criticism.

I will try to remember that. 
What are you working on now?

I am now working on the sequel to The Warrior. I hope to finish this by late spring. I hope it stays in readers’ minds.

I think it will. And I hope you'll come back when it's published and tell us more about it. Good luck with The Warrior, Ty. Check it out people.

About the author:

Ty discovered reading at an early age and the backs of cereal cartons were frequently part of his reading diet when nothing else was at hand.

Reading has held him in thrall ever since. Reading takes him to multi-textured worlds and fills his world with visual imagery; all fueled just by the power of the black word on a white page.

He uses his life experiences, of living in a couple of continents, of selling tea to street side stalls, to infuse his writing. And to take his readers on the same flights of visual imagination that his favourite authors take him on.

Ty is privileged that his wife and son shape their lives to accommodate his writing. They also humour his ridiculous belief that he is in charge.


Connect with Ty:
Blog / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

Buy the book!
Amazon / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Barnes and Noble