Gun Kiss
by Khaled
Talib
GENRE: Thriller
BLURB:
The United States media is abuzz with news of the mysterious
disappearance of Hollywood movie star, Goldie St. Helen.
Ex-Delta Force Blake Deco receives a tip from a Mexican friend that a drug lord, obsessed with the beautiful actress, is holding her captive in Tijuana.
With the help of a reluctant army friend, Blake mounts a daring rescue.
What he doesn’t expect is to have feelings for Goldie—or that a killer is hunting them.
Ex-Delta Force Blake Deco receives a tip from a Mexican friend that a drug lord, obsessed with the beautiful actress, is holding her captive in Tijuana.
With the help of a reluctant army friend, Blake mounts a daring rescue.
What he doesn’t expect is to have feelings for Goldie—or that a killer is hunting them.
Excerpt:
Clad
in tactical black, Blake rested on his chest in the dark chaparral. He watched
his curly-haired friend beside him maneuver the tiny dragonfly drone with his
phone. The luminous screen showed its flight path toward Dai Lo’s hacienda in
the northeastern outskirts of Tijuana, nothing around it for miles.
The
drone sent back images of the 375,000 square feet compound, including some of
Dai Lo's men patrolling. It hovered in front of the three-floor mansion built
with stacked balconies and double-hung windows. It then swooped down to a porch
with three tall columns under a pediment. Finding no entry point, Jack raised
it up again.
“I’m
going to circle behind,” Jack said.
“Do
that,” Blake responded.
“You
going to kill Dai Lo?” Jack asked.
“Not
unless I have to. I’m not an assassin,” Blake said.
“So
why did you give Chavez the impression you will?”
“If
Chavez knew what I was thinking, he wouldn’t give me the weapons. Then how are
we going to save the actress?”
“You
better know what you’re doing, Blake.”
“If
you still want to go on that European tour, start thinking positive.”
The
tiny drone went around the mansion and flew past a lit pool, buffeting over a
garden and an annex connected by a sheltered catwalk. It moved sideways until
it came to a lit corner window on the third level. The visual zoomed closer to
the windowsill and sent back an image that left both men recoiling with gasps.
Gun Kiss Book Trailer:
Interview with Khaled Talib
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Gun Kiss?
The protagonist is Blake Deco. He
is someone who wears many hats. A former Delta-Force soldier who toured Iraq
before returning to set up a restaurant in Sunset Boulevard. Worried about his
finances, Blake also moonlights as a relic hunter for Homeland Security and the FBI. At one point
of his life, he struggled to be a screenwriter.
Goldie St. Helen is the famous
Hollywood actress whom Blake rescues from an obsessed drug lord in Tijuana. She feels pressured to get married but could
never find the right person. Her glamorous life is repeatedly interrupted by
the drug lord.
Jack Rowan is Blake’s army buddy.
He works for Blake as a surveillance and drone expert. He resides in the
basement of the restaurant at Sunset Boulevard. Though he is laid back, Jack is
more cautious than Blake.
Dai Lo is the antagonist. He is a
Mexican drug lord obsessed with Goldie and will do whatever to get her. He is
ruthless, conniving and cold.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have
planned for the future?
I’ve just finished writing Spiral, a mystery-thriller set in South Australia. It’s a story that begins at a winery after a dead body is found. I’ve been to the region several times in the past, so I’m acquainted with everything.
How long would you say it takes you to write a book?
It took me six months to finish writing Gun Kiss, but it took me years to complete my debut, Smokescreen. It depends, I guess, on the novel itself; the amount of research that needs to be done. In the case of Gun Kiss, I guess experience counts, so I did away with all the hiccups that I initially faced when I wrote my first novel.
What is your favorite childhood book?
The Mystery of the Green Ghost: Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators. Jupiter Jones and friends, with their secret headquarters in the junkyard—exciting!
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Gun Kiss who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
I’d spend the day with Goldie St. Helen, the movie star. I’ll hang out with her at a café in Los Feliz, maybe catch a movie nearby later. She’s a nice and fun character. Sometimes I forget she’s not real. I feel like she is. I think many readers also feel the same way about her that they’ve asked me to write a sequel. And I will…
What was the hardest scene from Gun Kiss to write?
The hardest scene would be the story of Torres and Amelia, who live in Tijuana. It’s almost literature. They live in a shanty town and make a living collecting scraps. I won’t go into details because it’ll spoil the story, but it’s a tough scene to write even though it’s not a long page. It’s tough because I as trying to depict life as it is for some people.
The other problem I had was writing about drones. I had to do lots or research about the different kinds of military drones available. I needed to know, for example, how long and how far can they fly. I also had to find out what to do if the FBI interrogates you. Do you talk to them or do you wait for a lawyer? Is a lawyer even allowed to be present and what are the rules involved when the interview takes place?
What made you want to become a writer?
A little voice inside me keeps bugging me to write a book. I was also inspired by the works of other authors, and I wondered if I had it in me to do the same. If you are passionate about something, you will pursue it, whatever it takes. Why do bakers bake? Why do artists paint? Why do race car drivers like speed?
Just for fun
(a Favorite song: Hello by Adele
(b Favorite book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
(c Favorite movie: Neil Simon’s London Suite
(d Favorite tv show: The Six Million Dollar Man
(e Favorite Food: Pasta Aglio Olio
(f Favorite drink: Root Beer
(g Favorite website: www.tmz.com
Thanks so much for visiting with us today!
I’ve just finished writing Spiral, a mystery-thriller set in South Australia. It’s a story that begins at a winery after a dead body is found. I’ve been to the region several times in the past, so I’m acquainted with everything.
How long would you say it takes you to write a book?
It took me six months to finish writing Gun Kiss, but it took me years to complete my debut, Smokescreen. It depends, I guess, on the novel itself; the amount of research that needs to be done. In the case of Gun Kiss, I guess experience counts, so I did away with all the hiccups that I initially faced when I wrote my first novel.
What is your favorite childhood book?
The Mystery of the Green Ghost: Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators. Jupiter Jones and friends, with their secret headquarters in the junkyard—exciting!
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Gun Kiss who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
I’d spend the day with Goldie St. Helen, the movie star. I’ll hang out with her at a café in Los Feliz, maybe catch a movie nearby later. She’s a nice and fun character. Sometimes I forget she’s not real. I feel like she is. I think many readers also feel the same way about her that they’ve asked me to write a sequel. And I will…
What was the hardest scene from Gun Kiss to write?
The hardest scene would be the story of Torres and Amelia, who live in Tijuana. It’s almost literature. They live in a shanty town and make a living collecting scraps. I won’t go into details because it’ll spoil the story, but it’s a tough scene to write even though it’s not a long page. It’s tough because I as trying to depict life as it is for some people.
The other problem I had was writing about drones. I had to do lots or research about the different kinds of military drones available. I needed to know, for example, how long and how far can they fly. I also had to find out what to do if the FBI interrogates you. Do you talk to them or do you wait for a lawyer? Is a lawyer even allowed to be present and what are the rules involved when the interview takes place?
What made you want to become a writer?
A little voice inside me keeps bugging me to write a book. I was also inspired by the works of other authors, and I wondered if I had it in me to do the same. If you are passionate about something, you will pursue it, whatever it takes. Why do bakers bake? Why do artists paint? Why do race car drivers like speed?
Just for fun
(a Favorite song: Hello by Adele
(b Favorite book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
(c Favorite movie: Neil Simon’s London Suite
(d Favorite tv show: The Six Million Dollar Man
(e Favorite Food: Pasta Aglio Olio
(f Favorite drink: Root Beer
(g Favorite website: www.tmz.com
Thanks so much for visiting with us today!
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Khaled Talib is a former journalist with
local and international exposure. He has authored three thrillers since 2014.
The
author's works have been praised by NY Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, NY
Times bestselling author Ruth Harris, USA Today bestselling author Jon Land, NY
Times bestselling author Keith Thomson, K.J. Howe, and Jon McGoran.
His
debut thriller, Smokescreen, was listed as one of the six
"boundary-breaking indies" in 2016 by the IndieReader. His second
novel, Incognito, won the Silver Award for the AuthorsDB Book Cover Contest
2017. Gun Kiss is his third novel.
Khaled,
who is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, resides in
Singapore.
GUN KISS Buy links:
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only $0.99.
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6 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks Nancy for hosting me. Happy New Year.
Is this the longest book that you have ever had published? I hope the book is a success. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
Great post, I enjoyed reading it :)
How many hours a day do you spend writing? Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
How much did the story change from your first to final draft? Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
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