The inspiration for this novel should be obvious to those who follow the news. The outrageous poisonings in Salisbury, carried out by the Russian government, were excellent fodder for a spy novel. But merely retelling events everyone had read about already, would be boring not only for you, the reader, but for myself, the writer. So, the idea of having the Russians innocent of the crime was born.
One thing many ask about writing is about the process used. I use both plotting and pantser methods, the former being a formal outline that I then write to, the other simply a “park your ass in front of the keyboard and write” method. Either way, both are a lot of fun, though pantsing it is a little more nerve-racking. And, regardless of the method used, I, like you, don’t know the ending necessarily.
Like this novel.
I get as much pleasure in seeing how things work out as you do, and it’s always fun to see all the threads come together in the end.
And a little side story concerning the Soviet joke about the hotel room eavesdropping. My favorite teacher growing up was my eighth and ninth-grade English teacher, Miss Boss. We were stationed in West Germany at the time, and some of the teachers went on a trip to Moscow. After returning, she told us the story about how they were briefed before going, given a long list of rules to obey, and to assume they were always being watched or listened to.
One day, the hotel room was a little chilly, so she said aloud as a joke that she wished it were warmer. When she returned later, it was. Now, was the KGB passing on guest complaints to the hotel staff? Probably not, but it is a fun little story.
As usual, there are people to thank. My dad for the research, Brent Richards for some weapons info, Susan “Miss Boss” Turnbull for her Soviet-era hotel story, the proofing and launch teams, and of course my wife, daughter, mother, and friends.
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Thank you once again for reading.