Introducing Austin Camacho
Where did the idea for the story come from?
This story grew from two separate ideas. First, what if someone tried to pull all the big gangs together today? What could stop them? Then, I had the idea to explore the mind of a professional assassin who was not a thug but more like a samurai or a ninja. It occurred to me that I had stumbled on the answer to “who could stop them” and it would be fun to watch that battle.
Give a quote from the books, one that says little but speaks volumes.
“The first rule of the assassin’s doctrine. The target has got to deserve it.”
Give a short summary of what the book is about.
When a revenge job drags Professional assassin Skye Maddox into a web of dirty judges, gang killers, and a shadow cartel, the hunter ecomes the hunted. Detective Orson Rissik wants her behind bars, but he may need her to expose the rot crawling through the city’s power brokers, in a world ruled by greed and payback.
What genre is it?
Action thriller
How many pages is it?
298 pages
Why do you think the readers will want to read it?
In addition to non-stop action and suspense, the book introduces a character you will come to care about. Skye is conflicted – she knows something is broken inside her, but she continues her work as a professional in a world of amateurs.
Where are you located?
I live and write in Maryland, about 15 miles outside of Skye’s stomping grounds, Washington DC.
Description
Skye is a contract killer with her own moral code—she only takes out those who truly deserve it. But when her latest job exposes a network of corruption stretching from street thugs to powerful judges, Skye becomes both hunter and hunted. As Detective Orson Rissik closes in, their uneasy alliance could uncover the truth—or get them both killed. Justice has a new weapon, and her name is Skye.
Excerpt
“For all I know the clumsy local police sent you. I can use more good-looking whores though, and you are an attractive package. You looking for a job, Cloudy?”
Skye didn’t respond. She was surveying the territory. The women were clearly not fighters. The one they called Brandon looked like a personal assistant, not a shooter. The two men at the table and maybe the bartender were thugs. The men flanking her were muscle. So the real opposition was five strong.
“Nothing to say, girl?” Chen asked. He reached behind him into a pocket on the right side of the chair and withdrew a miniature axe, like a tomahawk but with a longer blade. “Things not going exactly as you planned? Well I think we’ll put you to work anyway. But of course, you must be tested. So, my friends, who wants the Haitian girl?”
Chen started laughing. The girl beside him joined in. The men all grinned except for Brandon who looked a bit uncomfortable. When Skye didn’t respond Chen pointed his weapon at her. “Or we could have some fun persuading you to comply.”
“So you think one of you is going to get lucky?” Skye asked the room. “Well, in a way you’re right.” Then she turned to the man on her left, dropped the accent and said in a low tone, “You get to live.”
A lot can happen in one second.
Skye stamped down on her left escort’s right foot. The silver paper sheath on her heel fell away, allowing the steel spike of the shoe’s heel to slice through the man’s instep and into the floor. Her left hand was already pulling her star-shaped belt buckle free as she stamped out to her right, dislocating the other man’s knee. Her left arm arced out, flipping the buckle forward fast enough that Chen had no chance to move before it sliced deep into his throat. One spike of the star sliced his carotid sending arterial spray into the blonde’s face, The blonde’s horrified scream was louder than those of the two injured men.
Everyone in the room was frozen in shock for two seconds except Skye. She reached across the black boxer type. Her hand darted under his jacket to grasp his pistol. She spun back quickly, firing twice as she kicked off her shoes. The two men at the table fell before they even knew they were under attack. She ran forward but looking left. The bartender had produced a shotgun from beneath the bar so she put a bullet in his right arm.
Chen had fallen back into his chair, his eyes glassy, staring at nothing. Skye’s forward momentum put her left foot on the cushion at Chen’s crotch. Her right foot hit the top of the back of the chair and then she was behind him, yanking a window open and slipping through it.
World of Stories 
Thank you for featuring Austin Camacho today.
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