Book Details:
Book Title: Drone Strike: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano
Category: Adult Fiction, 290 pages
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press
Release date: April 15, 2019
Format available for review: ebook (mobi, ePub, PDF)
Tour dates: April 15 to 26, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (for graphic violent terrorist scenes, no sex, no f-words.)
Book Description:
Karim’s family is killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, collateral damage. The Islamic State in the Levant exploits his rage, recruiting him for a terrorist attack on the U.S., and only Anthony Provati can stop him. Drone Strike takes you on a fast-paced adventure across the Mediterranean, into Mexico, finally arriving in the States. Drone Strike explores the psychological realities that seduce Karim to commit an act of terror, includes a love story between Moslem Karim and Miriam, a Christian woman he defends in Turkey and highlights the plight of Middle Eastern and Central American refugees.
To read reviews, please follow Joe Giordano’s page on Italy Book Tours.
As a former International Executive Vice President of 3M, Joe Giordano’s experience included running a business in the Middle East out of Athens, Greece. Born in New York, he’s had first-hand experience with the cultures and most of the locations in Drone Strike.
Joe’s stories have appeared in more than one hundred magazines including The Saturday Evening Post and Shenandoah. His novels, Birds of Passage: An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story (2015) and Appointment with ISIL: An Anthony Provati Thriller (2017) were published by Harvard Square Editions. Read the first chapters and sign up for his blog at http://joe-giordano.com/
Joe was among one hundred Italian-American authors honored by Barnes & Noble Chairman Len Riggio to march in the 2017 Manhattan, Columbus Day Parade.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest
Guest Post
You’ve had three novels published. Please talk about the publication process. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Major publishers can only be approached through agents. Landing an agent is more difficult than attracting an independent publisher, which is more difficult than writing a novel.
Kirkus Reviews called my first novel Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story, a “riveting debut novel” that was “a refreshing rethink of the archetypal mafia novel.” The agency that represents Mario Puzo’s estate, one of many literary representatives I approached, said that anything in the genre without Puzo or Corleone attached was a tough sell. Agents will read a chapter or two before rejecting or requesting the manuscript. Writers must compose an opening section that sings on the page. Invest in professional editing. You’ll only get one shot to impress.
Kirkus Reviews featured my second novel, Appointment with ISIL, An Anthony Provati Thriller in their January 2017 newsletter calling the novel “a roller-coaster ride to the finish, this book confirms Giordano as a writer to eagerly watch.” I approached another slew of literary agents. Half never responded.
For Drone Strike, I changed tactics, attending Thrillerfest in New York and pitching agents face-to-face. For many of my fellow attending authors, they found this a nerve-racking experience. A few agents requested the manuscript and although none accepted my work, the personal approach proved to be my best shot, and I’ll pitch at Thrillerfest again when my fourth book is ready.
Birds of Passage required two years from start to publication in October 2015. Following a professional critique and multiple rewrites, Harvard Square Editions expressed interest but requested another edit and rewrite before they accepted the novel. Both Appointment with ISIL, and Drone Strike, my just-published second book in the Anthony Provati series, went through a similar process.
While many writers pursue the self-publish route, I prefer to run the independent publishing gauntlet both to confirm the quality of my work and for the prestige of being published.
My advice for writers is to read a lot and write a lot. Criticism comes by the barrelful. Self-doubt is your enemy. Don’t be deterred. Use rejection to incentivize improvement. Persistence is an underappreciated success factor. Recognize that most writers take an unintended vow of poverty, you’ll spend hours isolated, reading and writing, and you’ll pray that your work will be appreciated and accepted. These life-style descriptors also apply to cloistered nuns and monks.
Karim loves his family and is doing everything to keep them safe in Iraq. But an American drone strike kills them and he if full of hatred. The Islamic State in the Levant convince him that the best way to get revenge is to perform a terrorist attack on American soil. This begins a long journey for Karim to revenge for the loss of his family.
Karim then meets Miriam, a woman that has lost her family to the same men encouraging him to attack the Americans. He does doubt his mission since his shared pain and loss brings him closer to Miriam. But he is still going through with the plan. Anthony Provati is called in to stop Karim which starts a chase that will cross the globe.
This is an action packed thriller that makes you think. Karim is not your typical bad guy. He has lost his family and consumed by grief. Then someone comes along and sounds like they care but all they are doing is twisting his pain into their agenda. I liked his relationship with Miriam and thought this was a great addition to this story.
I did read Appointment with ISIL and really liked Anthony. Unfortunately he doesn’t really make much of an appearance until the middle of the story then things really take off. It makes the beginning of the book not really feel like an Anthony Provati story.
Now, having said that this is a great book and one that I recommend checking out. It makes a great point that not all bad guys are your classic movie bad guy. There are shades of grey in this world and people that are not really your friend but just using you for their gains.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
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I would like to thank Italy Book Tours and the Author for the opportunity to read and share this book.
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Thanks for your strong support and for reading and reviewing my book. Joe.
You are very welcome. Thank you for the amazing read!!