Another Open Letter to Anna Chapman

Dearest  Anya Vasilyevna Kushchyenko Chapman,

To my utter surprise, my open letter to you of March 17 (St. Paddy's Day) 2011 - Open Letter to Anna - has been a h-u-g-e hit, ranking number six in popularity among all of my bloviating expositions.  Whether it's the sex that sells (see Anna's racy photos in Maxim - sample right) or my caustic humor, you and I are an ideal team.  Hence, another Open Letter to Anna in a shameless gambit at furthering my readership and selling more of my books.

So, Anna, here's the deal.  I just published my third political thriller, Tribe (Tribe at Amazon).  I'm banking on it joining its predecessors, CHASM and Permanent Interests on multiple bestseller lists.  I'm working on the P.R. and can use some help.  Would you be willing to shill for me?  In return, I can offer the following:  (a) pattern the female lead in my next spy tale on you; (b) promise I'll tone down my sarcastic remarks about you; (c) I'll put in a good word for the reconstituted KGB, i.e., the SVR.

Now, I must confess, I've had plenty of dealings, or should I say run-ins, with the KGB in my adventurous past and none of them was positive (see
On Spies, Counterspies, Would-be Spies and Just Plain Losers - Part I).  The vast majority of KGB agents I dealt with were sleazebags, Neanderthals, morons and troglodytes.  Their official covers were a joke and their tradecraft pretty transparent.  Nevertheless, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones and make a deal with you, and only you.  Not the comrade in the next photo, whom, one would think, should have more on his mind than body sculpting; like, say, running a country.  BTW, twenty years after belatedly annulling the Bolshevik experiment, it's time for Russians to settle down, stop being so sex-crazed and vain.  I mean, like, get a life, and stuff!

Believe it or not, Anna, I'm absolutely fascinated with Russian culture.  And I even like your food.  Your diplomats introduced to me to Siberian-style zakuski and borscht, washed down with arctic-cold vodka.  And also the traditional banya.  Delightful!  So is my favorite composer, Rachmaninoff.  My dream is one day to visit Mother Russia and see the Hermitage and many other wonderful landmarks.  While I can speak a smidgen of Russian, my training, alas, was in German, followed by several other languages, exotic and mundane.

Now, get this - both Permanent Interests and Tribe prominently feature Russians.  As it happens, the vast majority are heavies.  KGB goons and and nutso vory gangsters.  But the SVR agent in Tribe, Sergei Nemsky, turns out to be a very sympathetic, human character.  His is a touching story about a father and a patriot torn between loyalty to his motherland and saving his daughter.  I think Tribe is a winner.  But I can use some help.  Here's where you come in:  How about starting out with a review of my book on Amazon?  In turn, I'll interview you on my blog and give you free reign to explain yourself and your sordid escapades.  Deal?  You can reply by posting a comment on this blog or my Facebook page (James Bruno on Facebook). 

Looking forward to hearing from you (or your #1 boss). 

Best,

James Bruno

Afghanistan: Battlefield of Power - Graveyard of Reputations

Trust a snake before a harlot, and a harlot before a Pathan…Most true is it in the Great Game, for it is by means of women that all plans come to ruin and we lie out in the dawning with our throats cut.

~ Rudyard Kipling, Kim

This pretty much sums up what my latest political thriller, Tribe, is all about.  At long last, Tribe is published and available for purchase.  I'm banking that this very topical novel will join Permanent Interests and CHASM on the ebook bestseller lists.  The print edition also will soon be out.

"Tribe" at Amazon.com

Women feature prominently in Tribe, and not as mere appendages to the male protagonists.  The female protagonist is Camilla "Cammy" Loomis.  She came from nowhere to become a leading Washington socialite and power-broker -- but with a past to hide.  Cammy, of course, is young and beautiful and flamboyant, but also lightning smart.  Through her, we see how the Washington political power structure really works.  Hers is an almost biblical morality tale in the lessons of hubris and humility.

The male protagonist is Harry Brennan, a scarred CIA officer whose moral conscience gets him into deep, deep trouble.  Harry comes from an Irish-Catholic blue-collar background, which sets him apart from the Georgetown salon power groupies.

He also has a spirited 19-year old daughter who, trying to follow in her dad's footsteps, gets herself kidnapped by Islamist guerrillas in Yemen.  To get her freed, Harry makes a forbidden and risky pact with Russian spy, Sergei Nemsky, who needs Harry's help in saving his own teenage daughter, who is afflicted with an incurable disease.  So, Tribe is also about fathers and daughters and the lengths to which the fathers will go to save their children.  It's all wrapped up in the wilderness of mirrors that is the world of espionage --

"A secret peace with the Taliban. Complete U.S. troop withdrawal. Secured with a huge Central Asian oil deal. Virtually guaranteeing the re-election of a President. The backers will garner enormous wealth. CIA officer Harry Brennan's moral conscience compels him to get in the way of this plot. In doing so, he faces political enemies at home more dangerous than the terrorists who have kidnapped his daughter, Laurie. And her fate is tied to that of Russian spy Sergei Nemsky's daughter, Anya, in need of treatment for a rare disease. The two adversaries, drawing on their respective spycraft skills and connections, form a secret and risky pact to save their daughters’ lives. Harry’s career takes off after he falls in love with Camilla Loomis, a young and politically powerful Washington socialite. But the resulting tension between his career and commitment to the truth compels Harry to balk and unilaterally take on the powerful men and women behind the pay-for-play scheme. Harry finds himself running for his life from jihadists in Afghanistan and Predator drones in Yemen, a target of his own CIA…"

Clearance Denied by CIA & FBI

Tribe underwent a six-month-long security review by four U.S. national security agencies.  In the image at left, you can see at the bottom of the page "Clearance Denied.  CIA - Entire Text.  FBI - Selected Pages."  See Why I'm Censored.

I will describe in coming blog entries espionage tradecraft, how Predator drones work and the politics surrounding Afghanistan which make up the plot of Tribe. 

You will be able read sample chapters for free on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.