Spy novel writing combines the best of historical research with a love of intrigue.
Katherine Reay will be Georgia Writers Museum’s Meet the Author presenter on July 18, with doors open at 10:30 a.m., followed by a floating brunch at three downtown Eatonton locations catered by Yelena Bonduryanskaya, owner of Le Bon Cake.
Reay will then present her newest book, A Shadow on Moscow, followed by a signing session for her book.
Georgia Writers Museum (GWM) recently interviewed Reay about her book and history as a professional author.
GWM: While this is your 10th book, it is your second spy novel. What is it about this type of literary intrigue that appeals to you?
Reay: While the danger and the suspense certainly felt compelling, it was the tension of a spy’s “hiddenness” – the persona a spy must keep up at all times – that drew me in. Perspective, and reality versus perception, has always intrigued me.
I loved exploring what pushes both Ingrid and Anya into that world and how they react to it.
GWM: What factor in your background most encouraged you to become an author?
Reay: It all happened in a most unusual way, really.
I was severely injured in 2009 and during recovery, my first character and storyline came to me almost fully formed within a moment – after lots of reading, of course. That idea became my debut novel, Dear Mr. Knightley, and as it sold within a multi-book contract, I suddenly had a new and wonderful job.
GWM: Who is your favorite writer and why?
Reay: I must always name two as they both have profoundly influenced my writing and thinking: C.S. Lewis and Jane Austen.
Lewis never wasted a word and his themes run deep within seemingly simple stories. His non-fiction also astounds with its logic and reach.
Austen then brings something else to the table – she pinned human nature perfectly and that hasn’t changed since she wrote over 200 years ago. Austen’s profound revelations about people, situations, and even world events, all within the confines of a drawing room, continue to enlighten me.
GWM: Tell us a bit about your writing process; when, where, how, etc.
Reay: I am a one-idea-at-a-time writer, which makes me nervous as I finish edits on a book.
Again and again, I fear another good idea will never come. But, once one does, I’m also the kind of writer that works in silence and preferably in my own office.
I lined the walls with corkboard and often rearrange what hangs around me. I love that creative outlet and flexibility and, after I hurt my back in 2014, I work at a desk that raises to standing. That’s a lot of fun, too.
GWM: Can you give us a sneak preview of your next book?
Reay: I am so excited about this next story. I will take readers back to the Cold War within a spy novel once more, but we will travel to Berlin this time for the final week of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Letters is a multi-generational spy story, a love story, and gives a peek behind the Iron Curtain into a fascinating time in history.
Tickets to attend GWM’s Meet the Author event with Katherine Reay are $45 each ($40 for two or more), or a table for six can be reserved for $200 (a savings of $40).
Contact Georgia Writers Museum or visit online at georgiawritersmuseum.org for reservations and to pre-order copies of Reay’s A Shadow on Moscow.