Adventures Ripped From The Headlines: Questions For Alex Berenson
The worlds that John Wells inhabits are the shadow, clandestine intelligence worlds. Now that you are a full time fiction writer, what is your process for research?
I'll talk to whoever will talk to me – former CIA case officers, soldiers, State Department and NGO types. When I've decided the broad outlines of what Wells will face in his next adventure, I'll read as everything I can and visit the countries where he's headed. Over the years, I've spent time in Saudi Arabia, the Bekaa Valley, Afghanistan, Jordan, and Kenya, among other vacation hotspots. I think it's time get Wells to Rome and Bali.
The Counterfeit Agent references NSA spying, Edward Snowden, the new Iranian President Rouhani, how do you keep up? When you look at the news every day, do you think "hold on, reality has overtaken what I could dream up as fiction?"
Sometimes. For example, I knew the NSA had grown very aggressive in the last decade – Wells regularly relies on their capabilities in earlier books – but even so I was surprised by the scope of Snowden's disclosures. As for The Counterfeit Agent, I'm going to be fascinated to see whether the United States and Iran can reach a permanent deal to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program. I have my doubts – nuclear weapons are such a powerful strategic advantage that I don't know why the Iranians would give up trying to get them.
What is it do you think you can say about the truths of the world of espionage and spying in fiction that you couldn't as a reporter for The New York Times?
That the victories are ephemeral. That the men and women on the front lines of both spying and soldiering pay a high, high price. And I'm not just talking about the ones who are hurt or killed.
Read an excerpt of The Counterfeit Agent