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FAQs

Posted by on February 1, 2013

FAQs

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

No, I didn’t.  Most published authors say that they “always” knew they wanted to write.  Not me.  I knew I could write well, and I knew I had a very active imagination, but I never thought seriously about combining those two strengths into a career until 2001.

 

So if you didn’t want to be a writer, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Nancy Drew or a spy.  I suppose Maggie Jenkins is a combination of both.

 

Where did you learn all the spy lingo?

I worked at the CIA.  The Agency has a fantastic college internship program.  I had to go through the same background investigation as every other employee and was entrusted with Top Secret Compartmentalized intelligence from day one.  The first time someone gave me a classified document to read, my hands were shaking.  To think the fate of the free world was in my grip…okay, I soon learned it wasn’t, but it was still amazing to discover what was really going on behind the scenes.  And, I was fortunate enough to be there when the old commies tried to overthrow Gorbachev in 1991.  Intelligence geek that I am, it was one of the most exhilarating times of my life!  (And no, the CIA did not pay me for this endorsement.)

 

What’s with the disclaimer at the bottom of your homepage? 

Everything I write for publication must be reviewed by the CIA to ensure that I don’t disclose classified information.

 

What did you do after the CIA?

I finished graduate school and landed a job on Capitol Hill, working as a professional staff member for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  The HPSCI (“hipsee”) is the congressional committee that authorizes the budget for the CIA (and a host of other intelligence agencies) and provides legislative oversight for intelligence activities.  That job was even more interesting than the one I had at the CIA.  I met fascinating people, sat in on highly classified intelligence briefings, and traveled overseas.  When I worked on the Committee’s Investigation into Iranian Arms Shipments to Bosnia, I met some upstanding Americans who are out there on the front lines, fighting in secret for our country.

 

And then came writing?

Yes.  After my experiences at the CIA and on the Hill, I had some interesting plots brewing in my head.  When I couldn’t stop thinking about these plots, I decided to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, to be more precise).  Writing every sentence, every chapter, every novel is a thrill and a challenge.  I love what I do.

 

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