"I sometimes feel like there are only a few genres or categories that women are 'allowed' to write in"

Alma Katsu on mining her CIA past for fiction, serializing big stories, and her heart-pounding new spy thriller, THE SPY WHO VANISHED

Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and order Alma’s action-packed trilogy, out now!

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Me: I'm so excited to chat about THE SPY WHO VANISHED. Can you share a little about it?

Alma: Sure! Yuri Kozlov is well known as the “Russian James Bond.” So when he defects to the United States during Putin’s war on Ukraine, suspicions arise around his loyalties. To prove he’s turned over a new leaf, he’ll have to convince his handlers—and the CIA’s rigorous debriefing and analysis—that his intentions are as honorable as he claims.

The Vanishing Man is part of The Spy Who Vanished, a three-part journey into the political unrest that forces Russia’s most famous spy to choose between his legacy and who he wants to become. Read or listen to each immersive story in a single sitting.

I got the idea after seeing in the news that Russian intel and diplomatic officers were offering to help the West, disgusted with Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

It was also an opportunity to explore the "James Bond myth". As a former intel professional I have a lot of thoughts about James Bond.

So cool. The series is Amazon Originals, right? How'd you come to write these—did you pitch the series?

I did. I'm lucky in that my agent also represents Dean Koontz, who writes exclusively for Amazon now, and does a lot for the Amazon Original Series.

I've done two stories for AOS so far: The Wehrwolf (historical horror) and Black Vault (X-Files meets CIA). Wehrwolf won the Stoker award for best long horror fiction, and Black Vault has been optioned for TV.

Exciting! So I take it you've had a good experience working with Amazon? Any advice for authors considering pitching them an original?