image copyright Mark Ulriksen/The New YorkerBy Francine MathewsFifteen years ago, I was drafting a spy novel entitled Blown. It was my second novel about Caroline "Mad Dog" Carmichael, a CIA terrorism analyst very much like myself, who was combatting neo-Nazis at home and abroad. The draft wasn't...
By Sonja StoneIt’s no coincidence that the acronym for the Culinary Institute of America is CIA.It turns out, culinary skills are terribly useful both inside and outside the kitchen. I attended Le Cordon Bleu, and many of the lessons I learned are equally applicable to espionage.The Five-Second...
By Francine MathewsThere's an iconic passage in Ian Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, that always makes me thirsty.Bond has just met his lifelong alter-ego, Felix Leiter of the CIA, and is celebrating with a drink.“A dry martini,” [Bond] said. “One. In a deep champagne goblet.”“Oui,...
by Jamie FrevelettiRed Peppers are said to have curative propertiesMy thriller series features a chemist with a knowledge of both chemicals and plants, both healing and poisonous, that she searches for the world over. Think MacGyver meets Indiana Jones, but make them a woman and you get the drift....
Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Madonna, and Pierce Brosnan in Die Another DayBy Francine MathewsA few days ago, I was sitting in Dallas while my son fenced in Division 1 Saber at US Fencing Summer Nationals. I don't know why we got on the topic, but at a certain point--we were crossing a street, as...
What kind of spy would you be?Are you ruthless? Trustworthy? Cool-headed? Take the quiz to find out if you've got what it takes, then read about a few of my favorite spies.by Sonja StoneSo by now everyone who's ever spoken to me knows: I want to be a spy. I have spy-envy. Case in point: Over a...
CynthiaBy Francine MathewsAmy Elizabeth Thorpe.Betty Pack. Forget those names, now that you've seen them. Cynthia is the one to remember.That's what the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) called Betty Pack during World War II, when she was one of their most daring and successful...
North by Northwest crop duster sceneby Jamie FrevelettiWhen it comes to spies I love the idea of "average person, dangerous situation." It gives an author the chance to create a story that weaves in thrilling drama into situations that a lot of readers can relate to, because it incorporates...
S.Lee Manning Mossad.You know the name, from television and novels. It’s where the bad ass villains or heroes used to work before going to work at the FBI or retiring to restore paintings or befriending an American detective and backing him up in dangerous situations or becoming the head of...
Royal Thai Air Force C-130 Hercules TransportBy Francine MathewsThe Vietnam Air pilot had a voice like smoke and spoke excellent English. He was probably trained by the military and might even have piloted a Soviet-built fighter jet during the war. Which meant we were in experienced hands,...
