Thursday, June 6, 2013

Spy vs. Spy

In THE ONE, my current work in progress novel, I have 4 or 5 spies or agents working against each other.

I'm looking for input on technology a spy/agent would use, like: mini-cams and bugging devices. Or anything else that you think a spy/agent would need.

The characters live in a small, fictional town in Virginia outside of The District. I need a route they would take to work in a Dept. of Defense contractor office. Also, looking at a map makes me wonder if there's room in that densely populated area for a small, fictional town.

Since the story takes place in Washington, DC, I'm also looking for details of The District, like: high-end restaurants and their addresses or specific areas.

I briefly met a sweet woman who lives in DC. She told me about "slugging" to work. I have that detail in the story to add authenticity.

My friend, Karen Andrews, gave me the e-mail address for one of her friends who works at a DoD contractor. I sent an e-mail, but received no reply. Maybe I appeared too eager or asked too many questions. Maybe that's why black helicopters are hovering over my house now. (Just kidding.)

They tell us to "write what we know." If I stuck with only what I know, my stories would be about a legal secretary who struggles to keep up with three teams of attorneys & investigators. Or about a Realtor who gnashes her teeth when the prospective buyer she's been showing homes to buys a For Sale By Owner house, undercutting her commission. That might be a good murder mystery, but where's the mystery? The prospective buyer needed killin'. Not that I'm confessing to anything.

Please... help me with these pesky little details. The One is a romantic suspense about a wealthy young man who wants to find a woman who will love him and not his money.