Spy movies are fun. At least I think so 🙂 Not only are they action-packed, but they’re full of danger, intrigue, and all about the spy outsmarting the enemy, trying to keep her cover from being blown, and sometimes trying to balance their job with their “normal” life. When my husband suggested that I write a (fantasy) spy story, set in WWII nonetheless, I wondered how I would pull it off.
All I knew about spying was what I’ve seen in a movie here or there–but be warned, real-life spying isn’t like James Bond. Take for example the men and women who spied against the Nazis during the Second World War. Firstly, their expected lifespan was only a couple of months (especially if you were an SOE agent), and secondly they didn’t have hi-tech gadgets to help them along the way.
That didn’t stop them from getting creative though. They hid messages in cigarette lighters, explosives inside of wine bottles, and made radio broadcasts in forests from portable transmitters. The spy’s codename and doctored papers were a thin veil of protection, but then she was also likely trained in hand-to-hand combat and shooting a gun.
The research was fascinating, to say the least. And now I’m really into spy stories and movies! Do you have any favorites?