Comments on: Writing Spies: Truths of Spycraft You Don't See in Fiction

By: Pizzos3.com

Pizzos3.com — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 14:47:59 +0000

Thankyou so much for the post. I did want to clarify that the name spook does have a derogatory history for African Americans. It is used as a racial epithet so take caution when using it. Knowing your reader is critical. However I am very happy with these posts because I am in the throes of a MG spy series. And I don't want to be cliche or read as a Hollywood newbie so I'm anxious for any spy info I can get without infiltrating the NSA

By: lynnthompsonbooks

lynnthompsonbooks — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 19:14:07 +0000

I'm nominating you for the Very Inspiring Bogger Award. You can link back to me here http://lynnthompsonbooksblog.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/very-inspiring-blogger-award/

By: Very Inspiring Blogger Award | Lynn Thompson Books

Very Inspiring Blogger Award | Lynn Thompson Books — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 18:54:06 +0000

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By: chanak2014

chanak2014 — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 02:54:54 +0000

This is fascinating subject matter and I thank you for sharing. The closest I've been to "the real deal" is when my parents consented to be a drop site for overseas packages on behalf of my CIA-affiliated uncle in the 60's.

By: Piper Bayard

Piper Bayard — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 23:53:36 +0000

In reply to sjmn60. Glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. Nice to meet you. :)

By: Jay Holmes

Jay Holmes — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 22:27:29 +0000

Hi Julie. How much a spook can say depends on the type of job they are doing. Lots of spouses know that their mate works for the CIA, NSA etc. and not much more. Most of the jobs in the intelligence community are not overly dangerous but those doing riskier jobs or handling information about agents at risk are best served by saying nothing about their work to anyone not directly involved with their work. That can be very hard on relationships. Not all spouses can put up with knowing so little about what their mate does. Cover stories such as "I work for an import company" don't stand up for long in a marriage. I don't have stats on divorce rates for spooks but I suspect that those stats are no worse for people in intelligence. It might be that some of us are even more cautious in our decisions about relationships. It would be interesting to know the numbers as compared to the rest of the population.

By: Piper Bayard

Piper Bayard — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 15:43:25 +0000

In reply to Julie Glover. Hi Julie. Holmes will pop by to answer this soon. Thanks so much for your question. :)

By: sjmn60

sjmn60 — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:27:56 +0000

Very different post…found it fascinating. I did not know there was a difference between 'operative', 'spook', and 'agent' (in fact, I thought spook was a kind of derogative term, like calling Mulder 'spooky' on X-Files), but then, everything I 'know' about the 'intelligence' world comes from what I learned from tv and movies….glad to hear a little reality.

By: Julie Glover

Julie Glover — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 01:39:29 +0000

I find this stuff so fascinating. I love watching spy movies and TV and reading spy books (or, excuse me, "spook" books--which sound even more cool). It does seem like the operatives in movies stick out like sore thumbs, when I'd expect that blending in would be the goal in many missions. Being happily married myself, I do wonder how much spooks get to share with their spouses. Personally, I wouldn't feel the need to know all the details of a mission, but I'd at least like to know where my hubby's going and how dangerous things might be. Thoughts on that topic?

By: Piper Bayard

Piper Bayard — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 22:38:44 +0000

In reply to Orly Konig Lopez. It's an honor, Orly. Thank you for having us. :)