Attention audiobook fans – you can purchase THE WAYWARD SPY for immediate download on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/The-Wayward-Spy/dp/B08XK48XQM/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
THE WAYWARD SPY Audiobook – Available now!
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Suspense Radio Interview
I just finished an interview with John Raab and Jeff Ayers of Suspense Radio. We talked about The Wayward Spy, the CIA, the journey to publishing, and more. It was great fun! (Thanks, John and Jeff!)
I’ll update with the link as soon as the interview is posted.
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One Week – One Thing
ONE week from today, on March 2nd, The Wayward Spy will be available for the world to read. With only ONE week remaining as an unpublished author, I want to talk about ONE thing. And it’s a simple thing — Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.
The journey to March 2nd has been two decades in the making. In early 2001, when I began writing, the story’s villain was Osama bin Laden. Back then, few people outside of national security or international relations circles had ever heard of him. But then, when the attacks of September 11th happened, the entire world learned exactly who he was. (In late 2001, I axed him from the plot. He didn’t deserve a prominent role in my book.)
The journey from 2001 to March 2, 2021 is replete with near successes, gutting disappointments, and uncertainty about whether this book belonged anywhere but in the trash. What did I do as an aspiring writer over these two decades? I quit. I quit writing so many times that I lost track. But…wait, didn’t I just say, “don’t give up?” Yes. But quitting isn’t the same thing as giving up. Deep down, I never gave up. I knew, as one fancy literary agent told me long ago, that this book “belongs on the shelf” with other thrillers. But, still I quit. I quit for many reasons. Disappointment. Fear of failure. Fear of success. I’m-not-good-enough-ism. Dramatic author temper tantrums (usually in my head, but those still count). I quit because of competing committments that were far more important than this book.
Despite all my quitting, I never truly gave up. I went to writer’s conferences every now and then. I’d rewrite The Wayward Spy (multiple times). I wrote a sequel. I tried again to get published. I’d fail and then I’d quit.
And yet, here I am. An unpublished author for just six more days.
Whatever it is that makes your pulse quicken, the thing you do that makes hours pass like seconds…go ahead and quit if you must. Quit ten or 50 or 77 times. Quit, but don’t ever give up.
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Tags: camcat books, CIA, espionage, political thriller, publishers weekly, spy thriller, The Wayward Spy, thriller
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Two Weeks – Two Ways
The countdown to The Wayward Spy continues apace. March 2nd. Just TWO weeks to go! To mark the occasion, I bring you this week’s writing topic – TWO ways to plot.
Most fiction writers are either plotters or pantsers. (Whatsers? I’ll explain.) Plotters are writers who create an outline for an entire story before they begin writing. They know what will happen to their characters when and why. Pantsers, on the other hand, do not outline the plot – they dive into writing without much (or any) advanced planning. As the adage goes – they fly by the seat of their pants (hence, the term pantser).
I am a pantser through and through. For both The Wayward Spy and its sequel, I knew exactly how the stories would begin. And I knew how they would end. The middle of the story? That was a mystery. As a former intelligence analyst and a big list person, I ought to be a plotter. It’s how my brain is wired. But the thought of outlining a story is paralyzing. Maybe all those high school term papers scarred me for life…. Anyone remember term papers?
Imagine doing that for an entire novel? I can’t. I’ll concede that 99% of plotters probably don’t create a term paper-like outline, but I can’t even write one-sentence chapter summaries before I’ve written the entire story. Believe me, I’ve tried.
The fascinating thing about writing without an outline is that I think my subconscious secretly outlines without telling me. Several times, I’ve added objects, characters, or events to my stories without knowing why. They seem superfluous. Maybe even irrelevant. Then, 100 pages later, I suddenly realize, “Ohhh…that’s why I included that thing back in chapter 3.” It’s like a part of my brain knew what was going to happen later in the story before I, the author, knew. Does that make any sense? Maybe not. Maybe it sounds a bit crazy, but I know I’m not the only writer this happens to on a regular basis. (Am I?)
The Ultimate Spy Thriller Giveaway
Congratulations to Greg from Minnesota – the winner of The Ultimate Spy Thriller Giveaway! Thank you to everyone for entering.
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The Wayward Bling
Fellow CamCat author, Brandie June, and I have teamed up to run the Ultimate Spy Thriller Giveaway in advance of the launch of The Wayward Spy. In addition to an autographed hardcopy of the book (due out 3/2/21), the winner will receive a spiral notebook with The Wayward Spy cover on it (and maybe a little note from me inside!) AND some cool CIA bling that I purchased from the CIA’s employee store.
The response to the giveaway has been great! But I must confess that there has been drama and intrigue involving the CIA bling. When the bling didn’t arrive at my house on schedule, I emailed the CIA store to find out where it was. An anonymous “they” said the shipping company had delivered it several days prior. After a little back-and-forth over the tracking number (which “they” initially didn’t provide me…maybe they thought it was classified???), I contacted the shipping company. The automated robot help guy insisted that the package of bling had been left at my front door. I can assure you that this did not happen – trust me when I say we always know when a vehicle comes up our long, gravel driveway.
After searching all around the house, we checked the mailbox, which is nearly 0.4 miles from the house. No bling box! Either the shipping company never delivered it, they delivered it to the wrong address (and the recipient decided to keep the bling for themselves), or they left the package at the distant mailbox and some nefarious individual stole it. Whatever the case, the end result was the same – no CIA bling!
The shipping company is still searching high and low for the wayward bling (not very diligently, I suspect), so I decided I’d better order new bling for the giveaway. I asked the CIA store to add a note to the box to make sure it was delivered to the house this time. Well, it still didn’t make it to my front door. Nope. The shipping company left it at the end of our 0.15 mile-long driveway. The driver probably couldn’t read the instructions (because no one under the age of 35 can read cursive). Can you decipher this secret CIA code?
So after many plot twists, I’m happy to report that the bling is here. And it is fabulous – a gorgeous mug and a really cool pen that projects the CIA’s logo. Here they are!
Only three days left in the Ultimate Spy Thriller Giveaway, so enter soon – https://gleam.io/V10Qr/wayward-spy-contest. Good luck, and if you happen to stumble upon a wayward package of CIA bling, let me know!
Three Weeks – Three Ways
Countdown to The Wayward Spy is now at THREE (!) weeks (March 2nd). To mark this occasion, I thought I’d post about THREE ways I edit my own writing. If you have other editing tips, feel free to share in the comments.
- Timeline – The Wayward Spy is a fast-paced thriller that takes place over a period of two weeks in November 2003. As you’ll soon find out, a LOT happens in that short amount of time. In order to make sure the plot is realistic, I printed out a 2003 calendar so I could map out every major event in the story. This timeline helped me avoid pitfalls like having Maggie (the main character) travel overseas and back in a ridiculously short amount of time. Using a calendar also helped me catch errors involving a character reacting to something another character hadn’t yet said or done. The Wayward Spy’s characters are neither psychic nor time travelers, so it was critical that I fix these errors!
- Read Aloud – The single most effective way to edit my characters’ dialog is to read their own words aloud. If the dialog sounds at all stilted or awkward, I take out my red pen and start fixing it. The last thing an author wants is for readers to stumble over a conversation between characters. I read The Wayward Spy aloud several times to address dialog flow and to find clunky wording elsewhere in the story. Try this the next time you post on social media or write an e-mail. You might just find a better way to say what you mean.
- Chapter Summaries – After finishing a round of revisions on the sequel to The Wayward Spy, I realized I was confused about which characters knew what and when they knew it. And if I was confused, readers certainly would be confused and maybe give up on the story. The solution was to summarize each chapter so I could find problems in the plot, timeline, and character actions. It took longer than I expected, but it was worth the effort to make sure the story flows in a logical and captivating way.
Most authors use beta readers and a professional editor at some point in the publishing process, but you can and should edit your own work as you go. I don’t always find editing fun (to say the least)…until, suddenly, the changes I’ve made result in the perfect phrase, sparkling dialog, or a shocking plot twist.
Pre-order The Wayward Spy at The Wayward Spy | CamCat Books or on Amazon.
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Tags: camcat books, espionage thriller, political thriller, spy thriller, The Wayward Spy
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Four Weeks – Four Inspirations
“Where do you get your story ideas?” It’s one of the most common questions people ask me.
With The Wayward Spy hitting the shelves in FOUR (!) short weeks (March 2nd), I thought I’d share FOUR things that spark my imagination. Most of the ideas I have will never find their way into a story, but others might become the foundation of a future novel.
- Historical events – September 11th is a major influence in my stories. As a former intelligence analyst who has lived in the Washington, D.C. area for nearly thirty years, I felt compelled to weave 9/11 into my characters’ backgrounds. If they weren’t deeply affected by that day, their fictional lives would ring hollow. Another historical event that has influenced my writing is the 2004 Beslan school massacre in Russia. In fact, this attack made such an impression on me that it formed the foundation for the sequel to The Wayward Spy. (Stay tuned!)
- Current events – The political and social strife this country has witnessed in recent years is rife with fictional possibilities. So many potential plots…so little time to write!
- Daydreaming – When I worked on Capitol Hill, it became obvious that the only way certain congressmen would ever lose their seats was if they were embroiled in a massive scandal. I began to imagine what such a scandal would entail…and before I knew it, I had a subplot for The Wayward Spy. Of course, you’ll have to read the book to learn more….
- Daily Encounters – Daily life is full of plot possibilities. Like that time I overheard a woman mention to another woman that her husband was overseas. When pressed about what he did for work, she froze. Just for a moment. But that’s all it took. I knew. Her husband was CIA. That eavesdropping episode set the wheels turning in my head. What if this woman unwittingly revealed information to a nefarious foreign agent…and then something terrible happened…and then…just like that, I began plotting a new story line.
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Tags: camcat books, CamCat Publishing, Chechen, Chechnya, CIA, espionage thriller, political thriller, spy thriller, terrorism, Terrorists, The Wayward Spy, thriller
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Win Spy Bling in THE WAYWARD SPY Contest
Who wants to win a free autugraphed copy of The Wayward Spy? I have teamed up with fellow CamCat author, Brandie June, to offer a cool prize package to thriller fans.
The contest winner will receive an autographed hardcover copy of The Wayward Spy and a spiral notebook with The Wayward Spy cover on it. As a former CIA employee, I have access to the CIA’s exclusive gift shop. So…I picked up a couple of fun items for the winner — an offical CIA mug and a pen that projects the CIA’s logo.
The contest runs from 1/31/2021 – 2/13/2021. Simply click on this link to enter: https://gleam.io/V10Qr/wayward-spy-contest
Good luck!
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Interview with Fellow CamCat Books Author – Brandie June
Fellow CamCat Author, Brandie June, interviewed me about The Wayward Spy. Check it out here: https://www.brandiejune.com/post/interview-with-author-susan-ouellette
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