The Espionage Blog

THE ESPIONAGE BLOG 2013

ESPIONAGE is best described as a Government, State, or individual, obtaining information that is classified as ‘secret’ or ‘confidential’ by the owner or holder of that information. Often referred to as ‘spying’, espionage, by its very nature, is clandestine and unwelcome. It should not be confused with ‘intelligence gathering’ which can often involve the collation of open-source information received from anonymous ‘tip-offs’ or by researching publicly available data found in public writings, social media postings, and ‘gossip’. No, espionage in its truest sense, is a dangerous unforgiving activity that, when successfully accomplished, often involves the gathering of data about an enemy’s military, economic, or industrial capability. Spies can bring back all kinds of information and identify dissidents that can be influenced to ‘change sides’, to steal technology, to sabotage, to feed false information, to…… ?

Spying is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world.

Welcome to the Espionage blog 2013.

Paul Anthony is trained in advance driving, anti-surveillance, counter surveillance, agent running, intelligence gathering, and espionage. And he’s worked with the best of the best. Now he is a writer and is pleased to welcome his friends in the world of the literary genre – espionage – to this blog tour.

The espionage genre is not about politics or imperfections. It’s about human relationships, emotions, love, hate, murder, war, peace, mystery, adventure, tension, suspense …. It’s about…. Thrillers…

Let’s hand over to THE SPYMASTER and see what questions he has for our guests….

Q. Welcome to the blog. Can you tell us something about yourself? Where do you live and what do you do?

A. I am a retired U.S. Naval officer and former City Engineer of Alexandria, VA. Indie Author is my third career. Novel writing has long been my passion. Being stationed all over the world broadened my knowledge of local cultures and geography.  Two tours in Vietnam as a Seabee gave me direct experience with combat operations. As you may deduce from my background, I have been blessed with many years of experiencing history as it occurred. I attempt to use my experience of “having been there” to make my works of fiction realistic.  I currently live with my wife, Annette, in Williamsburg, VA, USA.

Q. Why do enjoy writing in the ‘espionage’ genre?

A. World War II is the setting of most of my works. Espionage, especially signals intelligence, had significant effects on the conduct of that war. Breaking Germany’s Enigma codes allowed the Allies to win many victories but also caused bad blunders, such as British involvement in Greece and failure to take into account that Rommel might disobey orders. In my debut novel, FALL EAGLE ONE, I wrote of a fictitious German operation to kill FDR. The counterplot involves Allied code-breakers at Bletchley Park reading all signals traffic about the plot but badly misinterpreting the meaning of the information.

Q. What distinguishes the espionage genre from the others?

A. Secrecy is paramount in espionage and counter-espionage. Once the enemy knows what you know and when you know it, he can adjust his plans to neutralize your knowledge.

Q. Some readers often perceive espionage in the political context. Do your books support that political perception or do you deal with other individual desires?

A. My works definitely perceive espionage in the political context. Victory or defeat in war are the stakes involved.

Q. In your books, have you created a particular spy character that you would like to share with us?

A. So far, my works have not concentrated on a particular spy. FALL EAGLE ONE involves officers stationed at Bletchley Park working within the confines of a code-breaking operation.

Q. In what part of the world and in what time era are your books set?

A. FALL EAGLE ONE and my current work, HOLD BACK THE SUN, are set during WW2. FALL EAGLE ONE takes place in Europe, HOLD BACK THE SUN in the western Pacific in early 1942.

Q. What elements of your books embrace the genre ‘espionage’ – murder, mystery, suspense, fantasy? What makes your book a thriller?

A. In FALL EAGLE ONE, the entire counterplot concerns signals intelligence. In Hold BACK THE SUN, elements of the vast Japanese spy network in Southeast Asia are examined. FALL EAGLE ONE builds suspense as the Germans actually mount a bomber mission to the U.S to kill FDR while the Bletchley Park mavens toil to discover its target.  HOLD BACK THE SUN exploits almost continuous combat as the Philippines and Dutch East Indies fall to the Japanese.

Q. Where can we find out more about your books from either a blogsite, website or retail site?

My author website is at https//sites.google.com/site/warrenbellauthor/.  My blog is at warrenbellauthor.blogspot.com and may also be reached through my website. 

https://sites.google.com/site/warrenbelite/warrenbellauthor/

Q. Thank you for joining the blog tour; is there anything else you would you like to tell us about your books. Perhaps a link to an extract or something like that?

A. Sample chapters of both my books are available on my website. Catalog links for FALL EAGLE ONE are ‪goo.gl/KH5dw  (US) ‪http://goo.gl/ZZf0q  (UK)

Fall Eagle One

a historical fiction novel

The time is 1943, and Nazi Germany is reeling from nightly battering of her cities by the RAF. Catastrophe looms at Stalingrad. Siegfried von Rall, Hermann Göring’s technical advisor, hatches strategic missions to buy time for his country to refine cutting-edge technology into “Victory” weapons. 

Two targets galvanize Siegfried’s attention: Soviet hydro plants in the Urals and killing FDR. He chooses aircraft and a team of experts for the missions. Göring fast-tracks detailed planning and training. 

In Britain, codebreaker Evan Thompson reads Siegfried’s radio messages but can’t detect his objective. The chilling truth emerges only after an Amerika-Bomber bearing “smart bombs” leaves Norway for the U.S. Fall Eagle One has aerial combat, trans-Atlantic assassination flights, Eastern Front action, codebreaking at Bletchley Park, intrigue at the highest levels of the German High Command, and fast-paced war-time romance.

Enjoy Warren Bell’s debut novel, the WWII techno-thriller Fall Eagle One.

Buy

Fall Eagle One: A Novel of World War II

Available in Paperback and for Kindle on Amazon.com

Introducing
Hold Back the Sun

It’s 1942.  Exhilarated by savaging the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, The Japanese Navy moves quickly to seize the rich mineral resources of Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. But first they must eliminate the U.S. forces in the Philippine Islands.

  

Two Asiatic Fleet lieutenants join the unequal struggle on the sea and in the air. Frank Rhea flies a floatplane off the old cruiser, U.S.S.Marblehead: scouting, spotting fall of gunshot, and attacking submarines. Jack Sewell commands the Gunnery Department of an equally ancient World War I destroyer: directing gun and torpedo attacks against warships and aircraft.

Brave Dutch and British women share Frank and Jack’s dangers and their love as the Japanese attacks roll down through the islands. Frank adores Dr. Cinta van Wely, who lives under the threat of revenge by a Japanese colonel she once insulted. Pamela Mallory, an exiled English noblewoman, enchants Jack. Occasional victories boost the hopes of the Allies while colonial empires collapse around them.

Hold Back the Sun is laced with surface, aerial, and ground combat, scorched earth actions by the Dutch to deny their oil riches to Japan, accelerated wartime romance, and heroic efforts to save wounded sailors from the Japanese.