Actress Simona Mangiante Co-Creating Spy Novel Without the “Wokeness”

No one seems to understand how to craft a female spy story. At least, no one in Hollywood and no one in legacy entertainment. So I’m giving it a shot. I’m working with actress and fashion designer Simona Mangiante Papadopolous on creating a new female spy for a forthcoming novel. And there’s a way you can help support this project—and it isn’t through crowdfunding.

Simona and I are at the early stages of writing the novel. We don’t have a whole lot written yet but we have it fully outlined. Here’s a concise summary of it.

When a private military company needs people to perform certain clandestine or covert work, it tasks its assets hidden under cover employment at a resort to do the job. And the latest job Olympia and her partner receive is to figure out who is stealing cutting-edge AI technology from a company in Europe. To make things worse, the company believes it is more than just thievery—it believes it is espionage and that the person is selling it to the Chinese. Olympia thinks it will be a simple enough mission, but when she gets in country she discovers there is more going on than initially thought. Will she be able to unravel what is happening? And will she be able to stop a disaster from unfolding before it’s too late? And to top it all off, will her partner still just be her partner at the end, or will it move into something else . . . if they both survive?

As you probably can guess, Olympia is going to be in some tight situations. But don’t expect her to be knocking out large men, beating up people left and right in general, or humiliating her male partner. Instead, she’ll rely on stealth, wit, and, when appropriate, the equalizer known as a firearm. And she’ll also rely on help from others. In other words, she won’t be a Strong Female Character.

And to give you an even better idea of what we’re doing, we’ve also commissioned promotional artwork by José Cano (above). Just why is Olympia wearing a corset while holding a pistol? Well, it actually ties into the plot. (The character is, after all, a spy.)

Writing the novel has been fun. And if you like what you see—the outline and the artwork—there’s a way you can help. No, not through crowdfunding, but through checking out my previous work. Seriously, it’s a great way to help offset expenses. And unlike crowdfunding, when you purchase a book, you get it immediately. No promises of future delivery—you get the story right then and there. Again, it will help a lot if you purchase one or more of my books. (And don’t forget to leave a review.)

So stay tuned for more on the novel as it progresses. Hopefully I’ll be able to put up more posts here at Bleeding Fool about it. And be sureto follow Simona on Twitter and Instagram too. And check out her clothing line over at Agape by Simona.