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WORK TITLE: Warning Light
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Avid outdoorsman, sailor, and former ski instructor.
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PERSONAL
Male.
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CAREER
Author. Worked previously as a ski instructor, rescue diver, and sailor.
AVOCATIONS:Foreign outdoors, the outdoors, thriller novels.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
David Ricciardi has predominantly made a living for himself through his passion for being outdoors. Prior to debuting as a writer, Ricciardi taught skiing, served as a rescue diver, and worked as a sailor.
Warning Light marks Ricciardi’s official literary debut, and is informed by his own experiences as a sailor. The book focuses on protagonist Zachary Miller, otherwise known as Zac. Zac starts off the book in the middle of what he believes will be nothing but a relaxing flight across the ocean. However, the events that unfold prove to be anything but relaxing when the plane is forced to suddenly land in the country of Iran. The moment Zac steps off the plane, officials aim suspicion his way. Zac works with the CIA, which immediately paints a target on him, and his situation worsens once he’s caught taking photographs of the area. He is taken in by police for questioning, and while he tries to play innocent, no one believes him. The Iranian officials resort to violence to try and pull the truth out of Zac, who refuses to reveal the truth.
Zac is actually visiting Iran on a mission: to gather evidence of the damages the country sustained from a recent earthquake. However, now that his mission is going anything but smoothly, Zac will have to escape and seek the help he needs. He manages to break out of his holding area, only to be faced with the task of having to travel through the desert—and survive. Along the way, he continually runs into more danger and peril, all of which threatens to keep him from accomplishing his goals. However, not everyone is against Zac. He manages to meet a handful of allies throughout his journey, some of whom are more surprising than others. One Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book “a little implausible but good fun.” They added: “Let’s hope for more Zac Miller adventures.” In an issue of Booklist, Don Crinklaw remarked: “The writing is lean and propulsive, the characters offbeat and interesting.” A writer in Publishers Weekly said: “Thriller fans will look forward to his further adventures.” Xpress Reviews contributor Elizabeth Masterson recommended the book to “[r]eaders of le Carre, Ludlum, Len Deighton, and other authors of Cold War-era espionage thrillers.” A reviewer on the Civilian Reader website commented: “If you’re looking for a fast-paced, gripping thriller, then Warning Light will certainly suit your needs.” They also said: “It’s very entertaining, fast-paced and enjoyable.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2018, Don Crinklaw, review of Warning Light, p. 35.
Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2018, review of Warning Light.
Publishers Weekly, January 22, 2018, review of Warning Light, p. 61.
Xpress Reviews, April 13, 2018, Elizabeth Masterson, review of Warning Light.
ONLINE
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, http://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/ (April 13, 2018), Deborah Kalb, “Q&A with David Ricciardi,” author interview.
Civilian Reader, https://civilianreader.com/ (April 3, 2018), review of Warning Light; (April 10, 2018), “Interview with DAVID RICCIARDI,” author interview.
Penguin Random House website, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/ (June 26, 2018), author profile.
Red Carpet Crash, http://redcarpetcrash.com/ (April 13, 2018), “Interview: Author ‘David Ricciardi’ Talks His Debut Spy Novel Warning Light,” author interview.
David Ricciardi
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A keen outdoorsman, David Ricciardi incorporated many personal experiences into Warning Light. He’s backpacked through the mountains of the western United States and Alaska, received extensive training from law-enforcement and US special operations personnel, and once woke up for a 2 AM watch aboard a sailboat only to discover that it was headed the wrong way through the Atlantic sea lanes in heavy weather, with one of the crew suffering from hypothermia. In addition to being an avid sailor, David is also a certified scuba rescue diver and a former ski instructor. Warning Light is his first novel.
Interview with DAVID RICCIARDI
April 10, 2018 Civilian Reader InterviewBerkley, CIA, David Ricciardi, Espionage, International, Penguin Random House, Thriller, Warning Light, Zac Miller Series
RicciardiD-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is David Ricciardi?
I’m a thriller addict and an outdoor enthusiast who always thought I had a book inside me and finally decided to take a shot at it.
Your debut novel, Warning Light, will be published by Berkley in next week (April 17th). I’m lucky enough to have already read it, and I really enjoyed it. How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it. I’d tell potential readers that it’s a story of survival and self-reliance. It begins with a young CIA analyst who volunteers for a mission in the field and soon finds himself fighting for his life. It’s man against man and man against nature as the hero is chased across the globe by Iranian counterintelligence agents.
What inspired you to write the novel? And where do you draw your inspiration from in general?
My parole officer suggested that writing might be a more socially-acceptable outlet for the voices in my head (just kidding). As I mentioned earlier, I spend a lot of time outdoors, especially in the mountains and on the water. Being a multi-day trek from help or far offshore in heavy weather really sharpens one’s senses. It produces an adrenaline-driven mix of excitement and anxiety and I thought it would be great to share the feeling with readers. I’m also a foreign affairs junkie, so blending the outdoor and espionage angles seemed like a natural fit.
I’d have to say my inspiration comes from my parents. They’ve always been adventuresome and remarkably willing to try new things. There’s a great quote that’s usually attributed to Albert Einstein, although I can’t vouch for it’s provenance: “There are two ways to live your life, as if nothing is a miracle or as if everything is.” They were definitely in the latter camp passed the sentiment down to me. Life is too short to be bored.
RicciardiD-WarningLightUS
How were you introduced to thriller and espionage fiction?
My father was a Book-of-the-Month Club member and he would often suggest titles for me to read. The first novelist that really made an impact on me was Tom Clancy. I devoured his work. I have copies of his books that I’ve read so many times that the covers have fallen off and the pages have yellowed. Among his other talents, Clancy had a great ability to develop heroes and villains that respected each other even while working at cross purposes. It’s a concept I’d love to see return to American society.
How do you like being a writer and working within the publishing industry?
I love being a writer. It’s a lot of work, there’s no question about that, but it’s an exciting career. The publishing industry has its pros and cons. The people are amazing: supportive, outgoing, enthusiastic, but the business side of it can move at a glacial pace. It’s ironic coming from the industry that brings us page turners!
Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices? In particular for the international components of the novel – have you travelled to all of the countries Zac is in?
I try to write every day. It keeps the words and ideas flowing smoothly. I’m also a stickler for detail. My research process would best be described as “informed curiosity.” I haven’t traveled to Iran, but I’ve spent enough time in similar areas to know what I need to research further. My preference is to then speak with people who can give me first-hand color, but I don’t know anyone who has spent time in an Iranian prison so sometimes I’ll research it on the internet or use a little Kentucky windage.
When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?
Very fondly. I was in college when my best friend/roommate was browsing through my personal files on my computer and read a short story I’d written. He told me definitively that I should get it published, which I immediately dismissed, but never forgot. Years later, I decided to give it a shot, and I’m glad that I did.
What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?
The genre has never been more vibrant. I have a bottomless stack of books in my house that I’m constantly attacking. There are authors I’ve never heard of whose pages I rip though and masters of the thriller genre who continue to amaze me with their creativity and depth. What I tried to accomplish with Warning Light is to develop a hero that readers can identify with. He’s a regular guy who has been forced to elevate his game and see what he’s really made of. He’s not an assassin or a special-ops veteran, he’s just a guy with a sharp mind and a strong moral compass. Hopefully he’ll carve a niche for himself.
Do you have any other projects in the pipeline, and what are you working on at the moment?
I just finished the sequel to Warning Light. Unfortunately, despite everything our hero learned during his first foray into the field, things don’t get a whole lot easier for him… In fact, the story starts off with a tragedy that puts him on the defensive from the very first chapter. I have a few ideas that I’m very excited about for book #3 and hopefully I’ll get the green light to start writing one of them in the next few weeks.
GardinerM-UnsubUSWhat are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?
I love fiction and non-fiction and alternate between the two. I just finished Unsub by Meg Gardiner and was blown away. She’s great at establishing what’s important to her characters and then ripping it away in a thoughtful and realistic way. Highly recommended.
HeminwayE-OldManAndTheSeaUKIf you could recommend only one novel to someone, what would it be?
It would depend on the person, but for a blanket recommendation, I would pick something by Hemingway, probably The Old Man and the Sea because it gives great insight into the human condition and, spoiler alert, it has a boat in it, which I dig.
What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?
I never studied writing or literature. (I’m sure there are a few critics would not be surprised by this at all).
What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?
Getting started on the next book in the series. It’s a concept that I’m very excited about and I think it will make a riveting story.
Interview: Author ‘David Ricciardi’ Talks His Debut Spy Novel Warning Light
RedCarpetCrash April 13, 2018
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A keen outdoorsman, David Ricciardi incorporated many personal experiences into WARNING LIGHT. He’s backpacked through the mountains of the western United States and Alaska, received extensive training from law-enforcement and US special operations personnel, and once woke up for a 2 AM watch aboard a sailboat only to discover that it was headed the wrong way through the Atlantic sea lanes in heavy weather, with one of the crew suffering from hypothermia. In addition to being an avid sailor, David is also a certified scuba rescue diver and a former ski instructor. WARNING LIGHT is his first novel. Check him out on Twitter. His book is in stores on Tuesday, April 17.
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WARNING LIGHT takes off with a bang, as a new covert operator by the name of Zac Miller enters the scene, literally flying under the radar on a job for the CIA. Zac finds himself amidst a mission gone wrong, and soon embarks on a globe-trotting epic in order to clear his own name and set the record straight before he can be captured by the Iranian government—or a litany of enemies he makes along the way to get back to his bosses and save his own skin. With a crafty, daring protagonist reminiscent of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne, and even Jack Bauer from 24, WARNING LIGHT grabs hold of readers and never lets go until the very last sentence.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Q&A with David Ricciardi
David Ricciardi is the author of the new novel Warning Light, a thriller featuring a CIA analyst.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for Warning Light, and for your character Zac Miller?
A: Advanced technology is great, but as individuals and as a society, we've become very dependent on it.
I decided to yank the hero out of his comfortable life and put him in a dangerous, remote location to see how he survives. Zac is a desk jockey. A fit, smart, and determined desk jockey, but still a desk jockey. I hoped he was someone readers could identify with and say, "Wow. What would I do if that ever happened to me?"
Q: Did you know how the book would end before you started writing, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I knew exactly how it would end before I started writing, but a funny thing happened on the way to the ending... It changed. A lot. E.g., what seemed like a great idea on page 50 turned out to be a nightmare on page 300, if you catch my drift.
I'm very pleased with the finished product but the process, much like the hero's journey, was far from a straight line.
Q: You've noted that you incorporated some personal experiences into the book. What did you see as the right combination of the personal and the fictional, and did you need to do any research to write the novel?
A: I've spent a lot of time in the outdoors: in deserts, mountains, on and under the sea, in and out of planes and helicopters, etc. But I'm no spec-ops superstar, just a guy with a bunch of hobbies.
I tried to put myself in Zac's shoes when I created the endless hurdles he's faced with. If it seemed too outlandish, I cut it out. I wanted him to get by on his experience, determination, and common sense.
From personal experience, I knew enough to know what I had to research, but it still took a tremendous amount of time. I'd say a full third of the process was devoted to research.
Q: Who are some of your favorite thriller writers?
A: Tom Clancy, Nelson DeMille, and Ken Follett set the early standards for me, but the genre has evolved since then and writers like Lee Child and Michael Connelly are my current favorites.
There are so many great authors out there that it's easy to find something I like. I literally have a rolling stack of about a dozen hardcover books that I am dying to tear into and I find I'm enjoying the ones from authors I've never heard of as much as the big names.
Publishing is a rapidly changing industry, but it's a great time for the genre.
Q: What are you working on now? Will Zac Miller appear in future books?
A: Assuming my editor knows what's good for him, I just finished the sequel with Zac Miller front and center. Despite everything he learns in Warning Light, things are actually quite a bit more difficult for him in the next book. Poor guy.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: One thing I've found absolutely amazing is how supportive the network of readers, authors, publishers, and everyone else associated with the process has been. I've had people reach out to me to talk about my project, telling me about theirs, offering to help, etc.
It's really been gratifying to see people come together when so much of society is content to be fractured and polarized. Thanks Deborah!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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Ricciardi, David: WARNING LIGHT
Kirkus Reviews.
(Feb. 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Ricciardi, David WARNING LIGHT Berkley (Adult Fiction) $27.00 4, 17 ISBN: 978-0-399-58573-9
A major earthquake near a secret Iranian nuclear facility triggers nonstop danger for CIA strategic weapons
analyst Zachary Miller.
Zac is a passenger on a British Airways plane bound for Singapore that makes an emergency landing in
Iran, and authorities single him out and detain him because he takes snapshots with his cellphone--nice
sunset, he insists, but the authorities don't buy that excuse. Col. Arzaman of the Revolutionary Guards
demands that Zac explain why he's really in Iran, warning that "pain and suffering can set you free." The
beating Zac gets is just the beginning of the abuse he takes throughout the book. Zac is guilty, though,
because the unscheduled landing is a ruse to get him close enough to photograph certain vital buildings in
the chaos following the earthquake. Earlier, after his boss told him they'd have to scrub the mission because
their agent's cover wasn't strong enough, he'd volunteered to do the assignment himself, and his boss tried to
tell him no, since he had "no tradecraft, no language skills, and no legend. You'd be a sitting duck out there."
But Zac's send me in, Coach plea prevails, and in captivity, he wakes up from unconsciousness after a
beating thinking "What an idiot." Then he decides that "if he wanted his freedom, he was going to have to
take it." Thus begins a Ulysses-like odyssey across a rocky desert, where he meets goatherds who might
turn him in, across the Strait of Hormuz, where the wakes from leviathan supertankers threaten to swamp
his stolen boat. Then there's more jail, more ocean, more gunfire, and more danger right up to the coast of
France, where all he has to do is steal another boat, then cross the stormy Channel to England and safety. A
couple of women play brief but significant roles, but Zac is much too busy for a love life. If only he'd run
into a whirlpool and a monster, readers might mistake this adventure for a tale by Homer.
A little implausible but good fun. Let's hope for more Zac Miller adventures.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Ricciardi, David: WARNING LIGHT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527248284/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f2460446.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A527248284
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Warning Light
Don Crinklaw
Booklist.
114.12 (Feb. 15, 2018): p35.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Warning Light.
By David Ricciardi.
Apr. 2018.336p. Berkley, $27 (9780399585739).
Something's going wrong with Flight 337, the airbus out of London, bound for Singapore. Must put down at
Sirjan in Iran, the pilot says. No! say the air traffic controllers. Forbidden! The pilot lands there anyway, and
among the spooked passengers milling about is Zac Miller, a young American technology consultant who
bides his time taking several photographs of "the sunset on the mountains." The local authorities are sure
Miller is up to something and waste no time isolating and abusing him. He escapes and makes for the hills,
beginning a fine thrill ride that takes him--and us--through fights, chases, gun batdes, and a thrilling account
of a storm over the English channel. Plus, there's a painless history lesson, detailing when and how relations
between the U.S. and Iran turned sour and bloody. The writing is lean and propulsive, the characters offbeat
and interesting, especially an elderly English lady who is not quite what she seems. Among other things,
she knows what it is with those "sunset" photos.--Don Crinklaw
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Crinklaw, Don. "Warning Light." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 35. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531171569/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f1953a11.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A531171569
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Warning Light
Publishers Weekly.
265.4 (Jan. 22, 2018): p61.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Warning Light
David Ricciardi. Berkley, $27 (336p) ISBN 9780-399-58573-9
Zac Miller, the 28-year-old hero of Ricciardi's gripping first novel and series launch, is on his way to
Singapore when one of the engines of the passenger plane he is on fails over Iran. The plane flies into
prohibited airspace and lands at an airport in the small city of Sirjan. The Iranians are extremely upset
because a secret nuclear facility is just minutes from Sirjan and no Westerners should be anywhere near it.
Zac, in tourist fashion, snaps several pictures on the way into the terminal, where he's detained by security
personnel. Nominally a technology consultant, Zac is really a CIA strategic weapons analyst, a substitute
for the trained field agent who was supposed to be on the airliner. After several bouts of torture, Zac escapes
and begins a run across land and sea, displaying plenty of resourcefulness during his dangerous journey. He
eventually comes to realize that he's more suited to a career in the field than behind a desk. Thriller fans will
look forward to his further adventures. Agent: Rick Richter, Aevitas Creative Management. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Warning Light." Publishers Weekly, 22 Jan. 2018, p. 61. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525839768/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5fd0e298.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525839768
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Ricciardi, David. Warning Light
Elizabeth Masterson
Xpress Reviews.
(Apr. 13, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Full Text:
Ricciardi, David. Warning Light. Berkley. Apr. 2018. 336p. ISBN 9780399585739. $27; ebk. ISBN
9780399585746. THRILLER
[DEBUT] Zac Miller appears to be an ordinary young American businessman on an ordinary business trip
that goes awry. His plane suddenly has engine trouble near restricted air space over Iran and must land. Zac
unthinkingly takes pictures of the beautiful sunset. He is promptly arrested by an Iranian colonel with an
axe to grind. He escapes and must fight for his life at every turn. Zac meets some gracious people in his
flight through the wilderness, and though he's not sure whom he can trust, he does receive some help along
the way. Not everything is as it appears, however, and Zac's inexperience as a CIA covert operative leads
him into more sticky situations. Ricciardi's debut thriller is a slow and steady adrenaline flow. Zac's ability
to think or fight his way out of seemingly hopeless situations hints at Lee Child's Jack Reacher and Dan
Brown's Robert Langdon, while his solo status adds Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne and John le Carre's
George Smiley to the mix. The author does a nice job of highlighting local culture and settings.
Verdict Readers of le Carre, Ludlum, Len Deighton, and other authors of Cold War-era espionage thrillers
will enjoy this action-packed adventure.--Elizabeth Masterson, Mecklenburg Cty. Jail Lib., Charlotte, NC
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Masterson, Elizabeth. "Ricciardi, David. Warning Light." Xpress Reviews, 13 Apr. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A537267446/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=24184f4a.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A537267446
A fast-paced, gripping debut thriller
No one knows what CIA desk jockey Zac Miller is capable of — including himself — when a routine surveillance job becomes a do-or-die mission in the Middle East.
When a commercial flight violates restricted airspace to make an emergency landing at a closed airport in Iran, the passengers are just happy to be alive and ready to transfer to a functional plane. All of them except one…
The American technology consultant in business class is not who he says he is. Zac Miller is a CIA analyst. And after an agent’s cover gets blown, Zac — though never trained to be a field operative — volunteers to take his place, to keep a surveillance mission from being scrubbed.
Zac thinks it will be easy to photograph the earthquake-ravaged airport that is located near a hidden top secret nuclear facility. But when everything that can go wrong does, he finds himself on the run from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and abandoned by his own teammates, who think he has gone rogue. Embarking on a harrowing journey through the mountains of Iran to the Persian Gulf and across Europe, Zac can only rely on himself. But even if he makes it out alive, the life he once had may be lost to him forever…
Ricciardi’s debut thriller is one hell of a fast-paced story. It’s a high-concept espionage and action tale, one in which an analyst is thrown into the field — a world of which he has no experience — and must overcome staggering odds to make it back home. This is a really entertaining, globe-trotting novel.
The story opens with an airplane experiencing technical problems over Iran. After an emergency landing at a military airbase — one at which no (Western) foreigners have ever visited. Zac Miller, CIA analyst, is one of the passengers. Singled out by the Iranians, his simple surveillance mission becomes a fight for survival, a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in an environment and region with which he is utterly unfamiliar. All he has to do is make it home.
When reading Warning Light, it’s perhaps best to think of it as a prose-version of an action/espionage blockbuster. One needs, at least little bit, to suspend one’s disbelief. The only issue I had with the novel was, oddly, that Zac was able to survive his ordeal. Now, if he hadn’t, there wouldn’t have been a story. I understand that. But, there were definitely times when I read with eyebrow firmly raised: he is incredibly lucky on many occasions, despite also being incredibly unlucky. It wasn’t always clear why certain events occurred, or how the antagonists were able to remain on his tail — there were some incredible coincidences. Luckily, Ricciardi doesn’t give readers much time to ponder these coincidences, as he keeps the story moving.
The novel is entertaining, and Ricciardi has a gift for pacing, keeping the momentum ratcheted up all the way through. (I blitzed through the novel in just a couple of very enjoyable sittings.) There are plenty of details that feel authentic (little bits of tradecraft, local details, etc.), which makes it very easy to visualize the novel’s scenes — whether in Iran, Dubai, France or the UK. I think it’s possible that certain incredible events could have been finessed into something more realistic, but at the same time that could have made the novel less fun. (The novel was first self-published in 2014, but I don’t know how much work was done to alter it for the Berkley edition.) Miller, for a desk-jockey, is prodigiously talented and naturally gifted for survival. If there are more novels featuring the character (the ending of Warning Light suggests there will be), then I’m sure we’ll get more character development and ‘world-building’, getting to know his past and that of the people he’s working with/for.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced, gripping thriller, then Warning Light will certainly suit your needs. It’s very entertaining, fast-paced and enjoyable. I’m certainly looking forward to Ricciardi’s next novel.