The second time was a charm for 28-year US Army veteran and Midway, Utah resident Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke. In 2023 his first novel, the high stakes global thriller Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat was a semi-finalist at the annual Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs) held in Bellingham, Washington. But on April 20, 2024, with about 130 authors present from several countries as far away as Australia, India, and New Zealand, his second book in the Jake Fortina series—Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy—took the Grand Prize in the Global Thriller-High Stakes category.
When asked about receiving the Grand Prize award, Steinke said, “It’s not exactly something I was expecting. I was already thrilled that Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy was named as a Finalist going into the event. And then when it was named as a First-Place finisher, I couldn’t believe it and I was very grateful. But then to hear my name announced immediately after ‘And the Grand Prize winner is’…well, that was a positively surreal experience.”
The Jake Fortina series is based on a US Army officer who after undergoing combat deployments, professional challenges, and personal tragedy, finds himself serving as a US military attaché at the US embassies in Paris and Rome. Steinke’s first Jake Fortina book, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat, has Fortina finding himself drafted by US embassy Paris FBI officials as well as local French law enforcement and intelligence officials to help counter an evolving grave threat directed by Iran against US, Israeli, and Jewish citizens around the world.
In his Grand Prize-winning book, Lieutenant Colonel Jake Fortina—along with his Italian Carabinieri wife—finds himself stationed at the US embassy in Rome. Here, Fortina must face a complex threat originating from a runaway Russian oligarch who in essence wants to take over from Russia’s president and ominously threaten the United States, Italy, and NATO. Fortina’s supporting cast includes a US Army sergeant and a Ukrainian colonel. The high stakes, high speed novel also expertly weaves together threads including Italian organized crime, Russian soldiers of fortune, a simmering US embassy domestic threat, and cyber misinformation.
Official Chanticleer Announcement: https://www.chantireviews.com/2024/04/25/the-global-thriller-2023-book-awards-winners-for-high-stakes-suspense/
Contact: Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke; fortunati4@aol.com; 321-314-6937
Author Website: https://ricksteinke.com/
The Jake Fortina series can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book sellers.
Media Contact
Company Name: Urban Book Publishers
Contact Person: Ralph R. Steinke
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Phone: +1 (321) 314-6937
Address:1216 Broadway 2nd Floor
City: New York
State: New York 10001
Country: United States
Website: https://ricksteinke.com/