Author Interview "MC Fox"
New York resident and accountant by day, MC Fox began the journey of writing her first novel, Countdown America, shortly after some unsettling news made headlines in the US. Making time to complete the fictional story of CIA Agent Isabella Bendel whenever she could, MC Fox became dedicated to underscoring the growing threat of cyber-attacks. She hopes her readers will heed the warning embedded in Countdown America.
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Can you briefly describe the premise of Countdown America?
Countdown America is about a single mom who is newly promoted to Chief Supervisor of the Cyber Division in the CIA.
While on her Sunday morning jog in a Washington, DC park, Isabella survives a brutal assassination attempt. Later that day she survives another assassination attempt. Someone was gunning for her, and gunning hard. During the first attack, armed men invaded her home and took that which is nearest and dearest to her heart, her twins and her mom.
Isabella knows that not just one, but two attempts on her life in one day are not coincidental. She also doesn’t think it is a coincidence that both hitmen were Russian. With vague chatter about a mover and shaker in Russia planning an attack on American soil, Isabella believes the attempted attacks on her and whatever this mover and shaker is planning are related.
With the window of time to find her family alive and safe shortening, Isabella needs information fast. With both gunmen now dead, the first by suicide, or so she was told. The second one she bested, killing him in her hotel suite he entered in the middle of the night thinking she was asleep. She has no way of getting the information she sorely needs to try and figure out the plot against America and find her family. With every person available working the case, this mover and shaker remains elusive.
Pushed to the brink of what any mother can endure, Isabella calls on all of her training and deadly skills to get her family back. During this mission, she fights her way through assassins, cyber-terrorists, and duplicitous fellow agents, leading her to uncover a Russian threat that is hell-bent on destroying the United States.
What initially inspired you to write this story? (Personal life experiences, events, and/or current events/news)
The spy world has always fascinated me. My first thought after hearing of the attacks of former countries of the soviet republic by the Russians, was these people are not our allies as much as they would like us to believe. Then the news of the Russian spies found in the US in American corporations and their dealing in the Middle East came out and the hacking of the US elections. Thus, Countdown America was born.
Can you share a bit about your writing process?
Writing has to take place during the evenings, weekends and vacations. I reviewed and edited the manuscript during my commute to and from work.
What did you learn through the process of writing this book?
I learned that cyber terrorism is a real threat to us.
Countdown America is centered around fictional CIA agent, Isabella Bendel. Can you discuss the importance of having a female protagonist in this particular story?
I wanted a female lead for this as there are not many female leads in spy books. I wanted her to be a strong and inspiring character; to be a good role model that shows that we can overcome any obstacles.
What is one main message you hope readers take away from Countdown America?
I hope it moves people to rise above circumstances and succeed. To move past the notion that because they are a woman, or vulnerable, that success is not an option. I also hope to bring awareness around cyber threats. We live in a day and age when everything is cyber related. The threats are real and so too should the efforts to remove that threat.
Can readers look forward to a Countdown America sequel?
I do have plans for a sequel as well as other books.
A strong, female lead and a story centered around cyber terrorism make MC Fox’s Countdown America a very timely read. Through her main character’s display of determination, MC Fox reminds readers, especially women, that it is possible to overcome even the greatest of obstacles. To learn more about author MC Fox or to purchase Countdown America, you can visit her website here.