Real Spies, Real Lives

The author talks about her favorite spy movies and television series compared to the top 5s from IMDb. Plus, a reading from TREACHERY, book 3 of the series Meeting the Enemy.

The author discusses the feasibility of the premise that a counterintelligence officer from one spy shop could go undercover inside the CIA. We get a brief history of one traitor in the CIA who might be considered an "undercover agent." Plus, you'll get a reading from the author's upcoming novel, TREACHERY, book 3 of the series Meeting the Enemy.

Duncan explains how Spy Flash II came about and what inspired the writing of each of the four stories in the collection. Duncan also reads from the first story in the collection, "Spymaster."

Duncan talks about the background of her series MEETING THE ENEMY, specifically the upcoming book 3, TREACHERY.

A traitor is a traitor. Duncan offers her take on a U.S. Airman accused of stealing classified material and posting it on Discord, allegedly to impress people. And learn about an audiobook hack that allows Alexa to read an eBook to you.

Duncan explains the tagline for her novella My Noble Enemy -- "There are old spies and bold spies, but no old, bold spies." Also, some chat about The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s various iterations.

P. A. Duncan talks about why her books are often on sale and how she uses "organic" marketing to increase her audience.

Duncan explores the ethics of espionage, i.e., is it a black and white issue, or are the ethics of espionage dependent upon perspective, what side you're on? And we have a reading from Duncan's debut mystery novel, Supreme Madness of the Carnival Season.

P. A. Duncan talks in-depth about the plot, characters, and setting for her debut mystery novel, Supreme Madness of the Carnival season and reads an excerpt from it.

Duncan compares and contrasts the mystery and espionage genres and find some commonalities you might not realize. We conclude with a reading from Supreme Madness of the Carnival Season.

After experimenting with AI for a podcast outline, author P.A. Duncan talks about why spies and espionage is so appealing to the average person. It's all about the fantasy for us Walter Mittys. Also, listen to a new excerpt from the upcoming Supreme Madness of the Carnival Season, Duncan's debut mystery novel as read by the author.

Some more observations on Chinese spy balloons and a discussion about how the author couldn't ignore the thread about racial relations in her novel set in a rural southern town.

Some thoughts on the Chinese spy satellite saga, a history lesson on balloons used in spying, and a reading from the soon-to-be-released mystery novel, Supreme Madness of the Carnival Season.

Duncan talks about some spy movies to brighten a dreary day and about her upcoming new book, a mystery, which is a genre change for her. Also explained is the connection of the new book, Supreme Madness of the Carnival Season, to an Edgar Allan Poe short story, "The Cask of Amontillado."

Duncan winds up her promotion of her first collection of espionage short stories, Blood Vengeance, with a bit of Balkan history and a reading of the award-winning title story.

What happens when your parents are spies but your teacher insists they come to career day? The second story in Blood Vengeance is "Career Day," and Natalia Bukharin has a lot of questions for Mai and Alexei about what they really do. The answers, however, are not forthcoming.

Time to give some love to P. A. Duncan's first collection of espionage short stories, Blood Vengeance. Published in 2012, these stories are the earliest ones featuring U.N. spies Mai Fisher and Alexei Bukharin, and they delve, of course, into history.

It's Season 4, Episode 1 of the podcast where we talk about writing, spies, and writing about spies.

Today, though, we're talking more about writing and the writing life, especially when a spy writer decides to try writing a mystery.

It's going to be a busy couple of weeks to the end of the year for P. A. Duncan, what with family holiday "stuff" and a book launch on 12/24/22, so the podcast is on hiatus until 1/5/2023.

When you're a writer focused on historical accuracy and you can't verify something through research, where can you turn when all else fails? A subject matter expert.

How does a writer deal with making a secondary character the main character? What happens if there's not much action? A NaNoWriMo update and a free excerpt from the upcoming novel, REVENGE.

Duncan is still building up to the launch on December 24 of Meeting the Enemy Book 2: REVENGE. She explains how an incident in her work life found its way into her fiction (happens all the time) and discusses how National Novel Writing Month has helped create a publishing backlog for her.

Duncan apologizes for doing her civic duty as an election officer and missing the recording of a podcast for last week.

This week we learn about the origin of Meeting the Enemy: REVENGE, book 2 in the series, and Duncan reads a free excerpt.

Some current Balkan history, or current events, and a final reading from Self-Inflicted Wounds.

Duncan talks about the fact that justice can sometimes be construed as injustice when it doesn't go the way you want. The third book in the Self-Inflicted Wounds trilogy is about some justice gained and some lost.

Truth is truth, isn't it? P. A. Duncan explains how sometimes truth can be dangerous, so dangerous in fact she titled book 2 of the Self-Inflicted Wounds trilogy Dangerous Truths.

Duncan explains author backlists, gives us a brief Balkan history lesson, and reads from Welcome to Belgrade, book one of the trilogy, Self-Inflicted Wounds.

Can the location and time of a story, i.e., the setting, be the same as a character. P. A. Duncan thinks so and explains why.

Duncan explains how an extensive character worksheet helped discover traits about her characters even she didn't know and provides a brief homage to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died recently.

A bit of a history lesson about the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s and how that ties into book 2 of Meeting the Enemy, REVENGE. Plus a reading from book 2's reader magnet, PROLOGUE TO REVENGE.

August 29, the launch date for Duncan's new novelette, Old Love Does Not Rust, is also the anniversary of her father's death 40 years ago. Old Love Does Not Rust is a gift for him, one she wishes she could have given him when he was alive.

Duncan would also like her listeners to be aware of the National Suicide and Crisis hotline, which anyone can reach anytime by dialing 9-8-8.

Duncan wraps up the dive into PROLOGUE TO TERROR, the reader magnet/prequel for Meeting the Enemy Book 1: TERROR, and you learn why writers retreat.

Special pricing:

Duncan explains what reader magnets are for, as well as the structure of a genre novel, and provides a brief review of the Amazon Prime movie The 355. Heavy on the writing stuff this week--but a bit of early, American espionage history surrounding George Washington's Culper Ring.

Duncan concludes the month-long birthday celebration for Spy Flash III: The Moscow Rules, gives a review of the new Netflix "espionage" movie, The Gray Man, and talks about why she likes reading and writing short stories.

The "other half" of Moscow Rule No. 6: Vary your pattern and stay within your cover, offers some advice on personal security--without appearing too paranoid.

Links for books on sale or available for preorder:

Why do spies need a cover, and why is it important not to blow your cover? Duncan answers those questions and provides an example from her story, "Stay Within Your Cover," from Spy Flash III: The Moscow Rules.

Links for Duncan's eBook sales:

We're revisiting the Moscow Rules for the first book birthday of Duncan's short short collection, Spy Flash III: The Moscow Rules. In the reading part of the episode, please be advised of some sexually explicit dialogue.

For the 99-cent ebook sales mentioned in the podcast episode, you can find them at:

Duncan provides us with a bit of a history lesson around the adage, "We have met the enemy and he is us," which was the inspiration for the series title, Meeting the Enemy. We wind up the promotion of TERROR, book one of Meeting the Enemy with a reading from near the end. And we get a preview of July's promotions.

Duncan talks about why and how writer retreats are so conducive to creativity, whether spies get retreats, and provides a reading from TERROR, book one of the new series, MEETING THE ENEMY.

This week Duncan talks about a message that acknowledged she is, indeed, a spy novelist and how that got her out of a slump because she missed her sales goal in May. We'll hear about her favorite writer's workshop and have a reading from TERROR, book one of MEETING THE ENEMY.

All fiction requires you to suspect disbelief and accept a premise you might find unlikely. In her upcoming new novel, TERROR, espionage author P. A. Duncan wants you to accept that a Directorate operative can successfully go under cover in the CIA. It's her world, and welcome to it.

We celebrate the 100th episode of the "Real Spies, Real Lives Podcast." We learn something about why the right book cover is important, and we have a reading from Terror, book one of Meeting the Enemy.

Duncan talks about the pitfalls and joys of writing serial fiction, and we get a couple of brief reviews of the spy movies, All the Old Knives and Operation: Mincemeat. Plus, a reading from Terror, book one of the new series Meeting the Enemy.

Writing historical fiction means dealing with public figures, living and dead. Duncan defines public figures and talks about the unique challenges of incorporating them into fiction. Plus a reading from her new novel, Terror, book one of the upcoming new series, Meeting the Enemy.

A potential reader asked P. A. Duncan how could she tell the history from the fiction in one of Duncan's books. Today's podcast is the answer.

Duncan talks about the struggle to bring her ground-breaking series A Perfect Hatred to its logical conclusion. Turns out she had to wait for justice to take its course.

Duncan discusses a webinar from the International Spy Museum she recently watched and describes how real women spies who were not femme fatales inspired her woman spy, Mai Fisher. There's also a reading from Descending Spiral, book 3 of A Perfect Hatred.

Duncan explains how book 2 of A Perfect Hatred (Bad Company) came by its title, and she describes the pitfalls of conducing research into people and groups whose philosophy and politics she vehemently opposes.

Duncan gives us some background on the history that inspired the series A Perfect Hatred, and in a reading from book 1, End Times, she shows us the lengths Mai Fisher will go to in profiling a subject to plan her approach and her cover story.

This episodes winds up the month-long look into the author brand of P. A. Duncan, and, as a prelude to her upcoming series, Meeting the Enemy, she also talks about the difficulty as a writer of historical fiction and an historian in staying authentic to the history knowing that some might find it painful.

The importance of keeping a low profile and blending in for spies and their families. What on earth is a blood cover? And some teaser readings from my upcoming book Terror, due out on June 25, 2022.

It does, but not how you've been conditioned to think of it. Some fans do go for exploitation of either sex, but mostly it's women being exploited, but some fans and some espionage writers think romance, or at least a hint of it, has a place among the spies.

What is a spy's life really like? Well, I found out, from a reliable source.

Like Apple, McDonalds, or Nike, authors have brands that identify the author and what he or she writes for marketing purposes. This week we delve into how I developed my brand, "Real spies, real lives, a hint of romance." And a reading from an upcoming novel that shows what real spies are like.

What does it mean to be an Indie author? A lot of non-writing related "stuff." Plus closing out a month of celebrating Love Death's book birthday.

A bit about what inspired me to write Love Death and some readings from the novel.

If you're not a believer in teaching a country's accurate history, you might want to fast forward to 18:53 because this week I was in a mood to rant about book banning and book burning. Here. In the United States of America.

Some other espionage podcasts you might be interested in, an excerpt from Meeting the Enemy: Terror, and all about the FREE reader magnet you can download and/or read.

The only reading is my 2017 holiday story, "A Visit from Grandfather Frost." Enjoy, and my heartfelt wishes for a happy holiday season. See you next year!

Just when Mai Fisher and Alexei Bukharin think their Belgrade mission is wrapped up, something else pops up.

Would you let yourself get captured in order to close out a mission? Not me, but, then, I have Mai Fisher to live vicariously through.

We're ending season two of the podcast with the conclusion of the Self-Inflicted Wounds trilogy, book 3, And Justice for All. And because December is And Justice for All's book birthday, I have another giveaway--a signed hardcover edition of And Justice for All.

We delve a bit deeper into Welcome to Belgrade, book one of the Self-Inflicted Wounds trilogy, and I have a mini-review of No Time to Die, the latest James Bond film.

Cliffhangers are a tried and true thriller trope, perhaps overused on occasion, but certainly a good way to keep a reader reading.

Why not? Cliffhangers are one of the oldest tropes in a thriller. I try to avoid cliches, but a trope? Sometimes they can be an author's best friend.

Episode 12! We're moving along--and the audience is growing. Wish I knew what caused that so I can keep it up!

What role does a Klingon proverb play in the third story from the collection Spy Flash II, "Best Served Cold"? Listen and find out. Though this story's inspiration was four years ago, it unfortunately encompasses a topic still timely today, still unbelievably making headlines today: the killing of unarmed Black people by the police. A human story, not a spy story per se, "Best Served Cold" was difficult to write and record. Please note this story was reviewed in 2016 by sensitivity readers, and I made corrections they suggested.