Author Kelley Skovron visited the social media site Reddit to answer fan questions on the new novel series G.I. Joe Classified.

Among the tidbits dropped, it is specified that the series will consist of three books.

Additionally, Hasbro had insisted that the protagonist is a new character to the G.I. Joe universe.

“This is my first time working with a licensed property. As someone who primarily writes original works, I am accustomed to being the final word on who my characters are, and how they behave. But in this case, Hasbro has final say. That took some getting used to, for sure. But on the whole, I have been struck by their level of care for these characters, and the overall experience has been very positive so far.

GI Joe Classified is a planned three book series. Each story will be self-contained, but building off the previous volume. It’s geared toward kids (the target age is 8-12), but there are tons of easter eggs for long time fans. Hasbro was very firm that they wanted the protagonist to be a new character, but of course they also let me bring in other beloved characters. Although Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, Firefly, Baroness, and others are pint-sized, I’m confident that at their core, they’ll still feel familiar. My hope is that these books serve as a way for old fans to introduce this franchise to a kid in their life.”

On selecting characters from the roster and Book 2:

“I was pretty much allowed to choose anyone, as long as one of them was Snake-Eyes :)

The big restriction, is that they wanted quality over quantity. They only let me put a handful of characters in there. So I had to really think hard about 1.) who did I love the most, and 2.) which characters would best serve the story I was trying to tell.

I struggled with that at times. For example, I really wanted to put Destro in there. But in the end, Hasbro and I agreed that he just didn’t have enough to do in the narrative, and he deserved more time and attention. So we decided to save him for Book 2, where he is basically going to be the primary antagonist.”

You can check out the full Q&A session on Reddit.

G.I. Joe Classified Book One is out now on physical and digital storefronts.

Those who ordered the Kindle version should check their devices for automatic download.

About the book:

“When Stan’s mom gets the job offer of a lifetime at a cutting-edge tech company, Stan packs his bags and exchanges Chicago for Springfield, home to the secretive tech behemoth, DeCobray Industries . . .

Saying goodbye to big-city life is only the first challenge Stan faces in moving to Springfield, a town that’s eerily under the thumb of his mother’s powerful employer. DeCobray has its hand in everything, including the Lyre XR augmented reality headsets that Stan and his fellow students at Springfield Academy are asked to beta test. At first Stan loves his headset—data on his classmates is at his fingertips, and the Lyre’s custom filters make school sort of fun—but then he meets Scarlett, Ichi no Zoro-me, and Julien, and his new friends show him there’s a lot more going on behind DeCobray’s flashy tech. When several kids go missing at school, Stan and his friends set out to uncover the truth behind the devices. But the further they dig, the more sinister the conspiracy at the heart of their town appears . . .”