Spying On A Thriller Writer: An Interview with Haggai Carmon

[Sheila English]

Reader's Entertainment caught up with espionage/thriller writer Haggai Carmon this week to talk about his new release, Chameleon Conspiracy and find out more about what makes this series, and this author, unique.

Question: Using the Twitter method of answering (140 characters or less) tell us what makes your series different from others of the same genre?


They’re different because I’m an insider. My thrillers are partially based on the real adventures I had while working undercover for the U.S.
government for two decades.

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Question: Dan Gordon gets into a fight with John Rain, who would win and why?


They’d probably be on the same side, but if they did get into a tiff? Thus far, Dan Gordon has always prevailed in a war of minds. He's smart, conniving and daring. In physical confrontations, he uses his past training in Israel's Special Forces and the Mossad. John Rain may be a professional killer, but he has a conscience and Gordon would figure out how to tap into it and get away long before Rain could add D.G. to his long list of professional accomplishments.
Question:
Using the Twitter method again, tell us why your book is called The Chameleon Conspiracy

Dan Gordon’s hot on the tracks of a fraudster whose changing identities
earn him the nickname Chameleon – in fact, he may just be more enemy
sleeper agent than common criminal.

Question: Where is your favorite online community and what brought you there?

Facebook for U.S. spies, officially known as A-Space. It’s fairly new, and I’m no longer undercover, so I don’t have the luxury of access, but the
fact that over a dozen U.S. intelligence agencies whose approach to
information-sharing has always been ‘need to know’ are pooling their
knowledge and expertise online to get to the bottom of cases faster is
very cool.

Question: If you tell us about your official Spy Club, do you have to kill us? If not, tell us about it!


Hey, I’m Haggai Carmon – not Dan Gordon (or John Rain). The Spy Club’s for fun – it’s an online all-things-spy zone where enthusiasts can get their fix of real international espionage news and info on spy gadgets,
movies, codes and contests. If you join the club at www.dangordonspyclub.com, you’ll be entered in a competition whose winner will get to name a significant character in one of my next thrillers. You’ll also receive periodic spy updates in your inbox.

Question:
What kind of readers follow your series?


That’s a tough one, but so far, I would say: members of the intelligence
community who tell me that my thrillers are truly reflective of their
world, people who like spy stories, students of all ages and people
young at heart or in age aspiring to eradicate evil doers.





Question:
What is it about your books that you think appeal to women?


Dan Gordon, of course. Seriously, though, he may not be a debonair James Bond, but he’s real, smart and direct, and I think that appeals to the women who read my books. While traipsing around the world, Dan Gordon does not spend his evenings with promiscuous women, nor does he get drunk every night. Instead, he calls his children, writes up his
reports and has a beer.
There are indications that he’s also looking to find the warmth of
intimacy with just one woman.



Question: If you could ask the president of the United States one interview question, what would it be?

You’ve just finished your second term as President, the U.S. is once again
thriving economically, we have a national health care system in place,
and you’re on vacation, far removed from all things cerebral – even the
BlackBerry is off. What book do you cart along to the beach?


Question: Name 5 cities you have personally visited that you consider some of the most beautiful in the world.



Jerusalem, Moscow,Berlin, Budapest and San Francisco.

Question: If you had to write your own tagline for your series what would it be?


Enlisted in the war of minds, Dan Gordon takes on the Forces of Evil?


Question: Using the Twitter method tell us what is the main hook of your current
novel?


The thrill of my current book lies in how scary it is to be a spy in Iran,
where every benign-looking person could be an agent of a savage
internal security police.
Question:
Have you ever received threats because of your books?

The only threats used are mine against those who ask me silly questions that show that they have not read my thrillers.

Question: If you were asked to write an anthology with two other authors and you could choose who those authors were, who would you choose and why?

Robert Ludlum and John Le Carré because their fiction is in touch with reality. Their novels, very much like mine, feature a lone wolf in a struggle against powerful and evil adversaries.


Question: If you could be any super hero who would you be and why?


I live in reality, and there were no super heroes in my vicinity, on
either side of the fence. Intelligence work means filling in the blanks
in a huge puzzle. That takes patience, endurance, persistence and
dedication. I wish that could be done by someone who came from a
different planet or was stung by a spider. That said, being able to
read people’s minds would be rather helpful.
To learn more about Haggai Carmon and the Dan Gordon Intelligence Thriller Series, watch the
book video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0fHsFp3-i4 and also visit www.SleepWithOneEyeOpen.com

Other places to find Haggai-

www.SleepWithOneEyeOpen.com

http://DanGordonSpyClub.com

www.TripleIdentity.com

www.RedSyndrome.com

www.ChameleonConspiracy.com


Great interview! Thank you!!!