The Spyfunk! Files #(00)7 – Part 2: Tinker, Tailor, Author, Russ

The follow-up, set just one question after the last you heard from me. Scandals, favourites, the Idris Elba Bond discussion and a bonus round, below!

4. Do you have any stories from real life you find especially memorable in the world of espionage? Why so?

I’ve done a university assignment on the Profumo Affair, and my first conclusion on that one is that the affair itself was the least interesting aspect of any of that story! There are entire places to go speaking about the housing situation at the time, specifically in relation to again conversations around the Windrush Generation. That’s before we get into the organised crime matters, conversations about class, race, patriarchy, the power of media and the respectability of government, not to mention the Cold War aspect. Because of all these things, and more, for that matter, it has been dramatized more than once, and subject to many a documentary, though I will often argue the focus of the better stories are often lost to a government ‘scandal’ which would these days probably not make it to ‘mild outrage’ stage as opposed to, ‘expected’. That’s as political as I’m getting for now, though.

5. Are there tensions between what is believable in fiction and what we have learned recently from real life cases such as the Snowden revelations in the US or the Salisbury poisonings in the UK?

And this is where we get a little more downbeat, I suppose. To say the truth is regularly stranger than fiction is getting truer by the day. You just can’t really be an easy arch-nemesis for a spy protagonist easily because whatever you thought of probably happened in the last 5-10 years. That said, there’s no reason that a variation can’t work for you in your story, depending on the one you’re trying to tell.

6. Best spy hero?

For all I’ve spoken about Bond up to now, this is our casual reminder that he’s not so much a spy as a government assassin. To that end, I find it difficult to look past Harry Pearce, head of Section D, in Spooks (which is known in other places as MI:5). He had a wonderful combination of great lines, operational genius at times and later you see what he’s like when someone’s coming for him. It’s an impressive thing to watch. Though I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s a ‘hero’ all the time either.

Peter Firth, The Times, Sept 17 2011

7. …and favourite spy villain?

So many good choices here. I already mentioned Xenia Onatopp, who just steals many a scene. Silva from Skyfall is perhaps the most effective for me in the modern Bonds. I’m a big fan of Solomon Lane from the Mission: Impossible series overall. And have to say Davian from MI:3, played by the late Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, was one of the nastiest to grace a screen. Did any of them have Kananga’s panache though? Hmmm, now there’s a question…

8. Scenario question: your protagonist is deep undercover and ends in a relationship to keep cover, what is their ethical approach to this? Have they got rules, or would they do anything they had to for their chosen allegiance?

Hmmm. Much as Simone would try very hard to avoid being in that situation in the first place, the answer I think probably depends upon who. However, she’s very definitely got rules, as much for her own protection as anything else. This will possibly come up in the future, I suspect. As a general one though, she tries to get out of any sticky situations causing the least mess possible. She’s not an assassin, but sometimes surprises even herself with how well she can handle herself in a pinch.

9. Speculation continues about the next James Bond and Idris Elba’s name comes up frequently. What’s your thoughts on this?

Many and complex, is the short answer here. But to keep things as simple as possible, It’s pretty obvious he would have been great had the opportunity arisen, and there was a time I’d have loved to have seen this happen, but the length of time Daniel Craig held the gig with various delays etc. put him past the window of opportunity I think. With that said, I think they could do a lot, lot worse than bringing him in as the head antagonist of one of the films. Getting a good villain is as important as the Bond casting, and will bring more out of the Bond if done right. Just using the Craig era as an example LeChiffre was about right for what he was there for, Silva was for me the best of them, balancing charisma and threat nicely. Dominic Greene and Safin fell a bit flat for me, which is quite disappointing given their relative positioning. But I think so much more should have been done with Blofeld, considering his place in the series as a whole and that they couldn’t have cast him any better than with the magnificent Christophe Waltz. Give Elba the right part, and he’d be right up there with the greats.

The two other things I would say here are this. First off, while we’ve got a gap between where the franchise wants to go next, what I want to see more than anything is a spin-off where Nomi and Paloma go on an adventure, and I’ll tell that to anyone who happens to be listening at a given time. I promise you with the right script that could rock. The other is that as much as I love the Bond series and the other major franchises out here, on the theme of Spyfunk! I’d much rather see a dedicated original film franchise emerge from the diaspora somehow. I can think of many things which could be done and so if I get the chance to finish some adventures with Simone and her crew, maybe I could be allowed to demonstrate with one or two myself! Who am I kidding? Where am I going to find the time for this?

I mean, who wouldn’t want to see this as as standalone spin-off adventure?

10. Any questions you want to ask me?

Now, you’ll notice that this is definitely one of my questions, and it would be a bit of an odd loop if I were to respond to this as above, wouldn’t it? So what we’ll do is this. How about I treat this as an, “ask me” below and we’ll do that instead, eh?

You know where to find me. And you know how to ask.

And finally – from espionage to the stars! I’ve got a story coming out in this too – stay tuned for more news on that one!

The Spyfunk! Files #(00)7 – Part 1: From Russell With Love

A long delay, but glad to be back. And the great thing here is…well, look at the number! And as I’ve no more queued at this point, you know what? This one’s mine.

So. Welcome (to) Spyfunk! File #(00)7, (come on,I had to)! You’ll have to picture me doing the opening credit walkthrough yourselves because I can’t put it on here for you, unfortunately!

Anyway, seeing as we’ve had such a gap between files – and indeed posts, let’s hope you can remember what these are all about. If not, and you’ve got here, you can of course read the previous six at your leisure anyway. Also, this one’s long, so I’m going to break it up a bit and leave it on a cliffhanger.

1. Where did you get the idea for your story and your character?
   
   

This is a long answer! I had the name of Simone Rivers and a completely different character long before I got to Rundown in Jamdown. There was another anthology entry which hardly anyone will have seen in a completely different setting and universe despite the one common factor of it being set in the 80s and them both being MI6 agents. But when the chance to submit for Spyfunk! came up, despite it being during one of the most intensely busy patches I could have had at any time, I couldn’t resist digging up the name, travelling back in time to a point I can only remember bits of as a kid, and this iteration of Simone Rivers came to me, clear as day. It’s kind of fitting in its own way really, given that you can’t get away from the massive gravity well that is James Bond 007 in the world of spy fiction, but also that the character himself has had many distinct versions and interpretations over the decades as it is. So why not do the same myself with my own character?

With that said, this matter was quite related to the story idea too. Or at least, Simone’s place in it. I couldn’t help but think of Bond, and how his, and his creator Ian Fleming, have had such an association with Jamaica over their time in the spotlight. Fleming had his famous residence, Goldeneye, there. So I kept on thinking, particularly in the light of the many conversations which have been had about the ‘next’ James Bond at the time potentially being Idris Elba, or long before that, Colin Salmon (who played his part in the series), being discussed for the role – at least by the fandom. Because of the structure of my own questions, I’ll come back to this a bit later. The point was, I considered, by necessity of the assignment, not only a Black British spy but I had a very clear idea that if we were going to go there, to consider another major distance from the huge shadow of Bond and ensure a female lead. As mentioned, this jogged my memory slightly to an existing idea I’d committed to paper, but that Simone Rivers was not possible here. So I started thinking more about this Simone Rivers.

Colin Salmon – image found on Pinterest

That was one heck of a rabbit hole, one which I still continue to explore almost two years after the first time. How could it not be? The protagonist would have had to have been, as a Black Brit, a child of the Windrush Generation and as such very differently affected by growing up in Britain in numerous ways to just about any secret agent I’d ever really thought about. But this came with its own responsibility which I haven’t yet had time to fully get into. How could I in 5000 words? Believe me, I’ve thought about this character way, way more than will ever be clear from what I had the space to write in this first adventure. I mean, there are so many questions I didn’t answer (though I know the answer to some): how did she end up in the job in the first place? How was her upbringing? How does she get on with her colleagues and peers (no matter how solo her work hours may be, there are still necessary interactions)? How does she feel about the concept of ‘queen and country’(as of course was at the time)? And, relevant to the tale, what specifically is her relationship with her superiors like? No way could I get into this all and finish the ‘mission’ in that time, so I just didn’t!

Back to Bond – one of the first thoughts I had about what to do with this was about Fleming’s residence and his character’s visits to Jamaica in general and decided to see about doing something I knew Bond couldn’t, by having a character which could go somewhere he couldn’t in the same way. All the while I retained in the back of my mind that Simone was hardly native, still having grown up mostly around (I think) London, but it would still be a vastly different set of interactions for her regardless. And this is in the 1980s anyway, so despite having seen what I did with Nomi in No Time to Die, I’d had this idea long before I watched the film. And besides, they couldn’t be much different (though I suspect if Rivers is still around in the early 2020s, I suspect they’d get on still.

(Radio Times)

There is one last component to this, of course. Simone is officially on leave at the start of Rundown. So the concept of, ‘paid holiday gone horribly wrong’ would be the short description of the tale. There’s of course the additional component of having had a mild inspiration from an old game I used to play around that era as well, but that’s for another post I’ll hopefully have up and running not long after this one.  

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villain tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.

Some of this ties in with what I answered above. I mean, on a basic level, Simone was just looking forward to a bit of R&R. When a highly dangerous assassin is in town as well, it’s probably one you can ensure passes up the chain at some point and carry on about your break most days, if you can sleep at night having done that. But he somewhat simplifies matters by the fact that she’s his target in this case. End of break and start of adventure, right there. The mission, which she doesn’t get much say in whether or not to choose to accept it, is mainly to survive. But the more that comes out about the circumstances behind this, frankly, the worse it gets for Rivers.

I may have mentioned that there might have been a question about why she does her job. I also probably mentioned that I haven’t had enough time and space to get into that on this tale. Though to be fair, that’s had one I suppose pleasant side effect, in that I do wish to take the time to explore than sooner rather than later. And I even know how I intend to go about it. What I will say at this point is that she has complex feelings about the institution she is a key part of versus other forces she interacts and sometimes clashes with. She, like many operatives out there, is very aware of the concept of ‘The Great Game’, but is deeply resentful of the thought of masses of lives simply being pieces on a board, and is deeply wary of those who treat them as expendable aspects of such, no matter which ‘side’ they claim to be on. There’s so much more to go into there, and if I recall correctly there are certainly hints at a wider world and Simone’s exact part in it within the adventure.

3. What’s your favourite spy movie?

My goodness, that’s a ridiculously tough question. Who came up with that anyway?

My favourite movies list changes daily, even if I haven’t watched anything that given day. But there’s no getting away from the fact that Bond has been with me pretty much throughout my film watching memory, so let’s start there. I couldn’t possibly keep this list to one! As far as Bond is concerned, let’s run through this chronologically and shout as I need to. From Russia With Love set the template for Bond, and many other spies and action heroes, to have a far rougher train commute than most have any right to. O.H.M.S.S is the series entry which has grown on me significantly since I first watched it. Fun main story, the late Diana Rigg’s performance as Tracy gets better with every viewing and Louis Armstrong doing I would argue the better known song than the still-excellent theme tune, it breaks many of the series conventions including the fourth wall! The only issue I have is that I really want to visit the parallel universe in which George Lazenby stayed on for the follow-up and we perhaps got the hot action revenge movie we deserved.

Clearly Live and Let Die did the rounds more than any in my house when I was a kid, and has a lot of things I love about it, but some I like a bit less. I’d be curious to get Simone’s thoughts on the matter at some stage! Moonraker is silly, but I’m oddly fond of it.

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I like both Dalton films – The Living Daylights is a nice transition from the Moore era and Licence to Kill is ahead of its time in some ways. I’ll never forget it getting the 15 certificate because it goes so hard, which really interfered with me getting to it at the cinema at the time. Pam Bouvier is one of my top 3 ‘Bond girls’ and Robert Davi has such a good balance of menace and humour…it’s just really nicely done. Look at some of the action sequences and how much they’ve been ‘borrowed’ in some form since too.

Did you know Goldeneye and Casino Royale had the same director (Martin Campbell)? Unsurprisingly, they are two of my favourite entries. Xenia Onatopp is just an excellent support villain to an equally superb Alec Trevelyan. Casino Royale set the tone really well for a very different Bond. There’s so much character in the early chase sequence too.

Okay, outside of Bond, I’ve enjoyed the Mission: Impossible series immensely. They just seem to want to up the ante every time and Ethan’s support team are the best. On a similar note, I enjoyed The Man From U.N.C.L.E lots as well and readers of Rundown may have noticed an accidental but unsubtle nod to it. No way I don’t mention The Long Kiss Goodnight too, because Samantha Caine/Charley Baltimore is one of the all-time greats, along with a young Nick Fury (kidding, kinda) – I mean, Mitch. I feel obliged to mention Captain America: The Winter Soldier too because of how well it is done and the line which has followed on from it.

To be continued!
https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/spyfunk

The coming crisis

Not fun reading because of subject, but if it proves helpful to even one person then definitely worth sharing.

Stewart Hotston

This post contains my own personal opinion (I work in finance and this is neither official advice nor representative of what my employer thinks – caveats done with, let’s talk turkey). There’s been a lot of words spilled in the last few months over inflation and [interest] rates and energy prices.

I’ve become convinced that we’re about to see a change in the shape and nature of British society that we haven’t seen in 50 years. I won’t rehearse the arguments here about how much energy prices are going to rise or what inflation is doing to our paychecks.

I also don’t want to make this a doomsday post. What I want to do here is spell some things out clearly and then offer some help (mostly by signposting you to others who are much better at this than me). If you want to skip my longer discussion about what…

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The Spyfunk! Files. NUMBER 6.

[ERROR! TRACING AGENT...]

[The Village. Video File enclosed.]

I am “The Most Secret Spy” in Spyfunkdom.

My dossier until quite recently was apparently,

“HIGHLY CLASSIFIED” and unpublished.

Alas, my cover is now blown.“

#6: B.J. Jones

B.J. Jones!

Subject profile:
B.J. Jones is an attorney, business consultant, writer, artist, community activist, minister and mom. She is C.E.O. of Griot Arts Media. Her books "A Call to Gather" and "Zion Hill" are available on Amazon.com. She is a NFT artist, active as an Administrator in the FB writing, film and faith communities. Her short film script "Right Place. Right Time." won Honorable Mention in the Orlando Urban Film Festival (2017). The film is forthcoming. B.J. Jones is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University Law Center. 

Online: GriotArtsMedia.com

Bjjonesartist.com

FB: B.J. Jones

Twitter: @walkinginpower

I.G.: b.j._jones

1. Where did you get the idea for your story and your character?
   
   
   When I saw the first post for the Spyfunk anthology, I knew I had to submit a story for it. I love Jazz and wanted to write a story that incorporated cryptography and the mathematics of music into the story line. I lived in D.C. for many years and became aware of the alphabet soup of specialized intelligence agencies there. I currently live near NASA. Both D.C. and NASA are central in the story.
   
   In Codes and Coda there is an ensemble of characters, including three siblings Jeff, Jim and Jackie Ben Ivan and their associate Tyler Patterson. I wanted to add a few next level twists so I added spy dogs and satellites. My story is also an homage to Ivan Dixon, the actor, director and producer who portrayed strong, insightful African American men. Amongst his extensive resume, he directed the films, Trouble Man and The Spook Who Sat By The Door. Hence the names Ben (son of) Ivan and Ivan Research Corporation are inspired by Ivan Dixon.
   

This one was popular in a previous Spyfunk! File too…

The control of and access to satellites are central to

global communication and power.

 Black folks must be brokers at that table.”

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villains tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.
   
   The motivation for the Ben Ivan siblings is a sense of justice and a desire for African Diaspora people to be in power positions in global and space circles. In addition, they have a strong sense of family, intellectual curiosity and love of Jazz. The use of dogs with high tech chips and specialty tech training is a vehicle that is increasingly used in investigations. Dogs are now trained to be able to smell the chemical coatings of microchips.  The control of and access to satellites are central to global communication and power.  Black folks must be brokers at that table.
   
   

3. What’s your favourite spy movie?
   
   I have many favorite spy movies for different reasons. “The Spook Who Sat By the Door” by Sam Greenlee was a book passed around by my family members when it came out back in the day. It became a favorite film because it was so revolutionary. I watched I Spy with Bill Cosby and Greg Morris in Mission Impossible on t.v. and all the James Bond films. I still love the Bond films. I love the character Felix Leiter played by Jeffrey Wright, Jinx played by Halle Berry and Lashana Lynch as a Black woman 007. I like Atomic Blonde because of the implied triple agent ending. I like the Kingsman films’ premise of a “principled” spy organization independent of a government entity. I also like the 24 Legacy t.v. series starring Corey Hawkins. The back story of his character Eric Carter, and in particular his connection with his old neighborhood as a resource, is relatable to me.
   

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4. Do you have any stories from real life you find especially memorable in the world of espionage? Why so?
   
   Josephine Baker received the Croix de Guerre from France for her role as a spy in World War II. Based on her celebrity status, she used her sheet music to smuggle intel to the French resistance. Josephine Baker was a global citizen, visionary and activist. The flip side of that is COINTELPRO. Ernest Withers, the African American photographer used as a F.B.I. informant to spy on Martin Luther King, Jr. is a prime example of spies used against the African American community.

If you don’t know Josephine Baker’s story already, definitely have a look here! And here!

5. So from this, are there tensions between what is believable in fiction and what we have learned recently from real life cases such as the Snowden revelations in the US or the Salisbury poisonings in the UK?

I think that fiction is often prescient. One aspect of Codes and Coda is the use of dogs trained in spying and discovering devises. In recent news, electronic sniffing dogs assisted in the arrests of a paedophile ring in Mexico and in the raid on Jeffrey Clark, former Department of Justice attorney in the Trump administration.

6. Best spy hero?
   
   James Bond for fiction. Harriett Tubman for history.

A link to the story of Harriet Tubman from History.com

7. …and favourite spy villain?
   
   Raoul Silva. He is always scary and analytical. SPECTRE is a villain of sorts, with its own character. It outlives any one villain and is literally more invasive and inherently dangerous.

Click for a clip of Silva in action

8. Scenario question: your protagonist is deep undercover and ends in a relationship in order to keep cover, what is their ethical approach to this? Have they got rules, or would they do anything they had to for their chosen allegiance?
   
   My character Tyler Patterson would definitely enter and maintain a relationship to keep deep cover. He has his own standards, rules and alliances. He has experienced and understands betrayal and loyalty. He is committed to his missions. My character Jeffrey Ben Ivan would not enter into a relationship in order to keep cover.
   

9. Talk is resurfacing about Idris Elba perhaps being the next James Bond. What’s your thoughts on this?
   
   I would like to see Idris Elba as the next Bond or as a 007. I have questions of whether he would be limited by the existing James Bond character arc. I also like Rege-Jean Page for the James Bond/007 role. He could have longevity, as well as charisma. Maybe have Idris as “M” and Rege-Jean as Bond…
   

[Russell: Yeah. I can totally see this. Full interview at People.com. ]

10. Any questions you want to ask me?
    

What’s next for you? Another book soon? Any plans on making your writings into films or a series?

[Russell: Well, immediately next for me is a lot of uni work! Currently finishing my Masters and going to have very little rest time between that and starting doctoral research! But it’s been really good to get back on the writing saddle, and that is going to carry on I hope, because it helps with the rest. I’m on SLOW progress with an Arthurian fantasy tale I really want to get out there. I have a newer urban fantasy universe in which I have one novella tale out and am working, I don’t mind saying, on a few more while I work out how the full-length is going to work. I’ve done an interview for that on my friend D.A. Lascelles’ site here. And I’d LOVE to have some more adventures with my own spy characters, but I’ll go into that in a future post really soon! Thank you so much for asking this!]

An excerpt of B.J. Jones’s story, Codes and Coda, plus a link to picking up this collection, is here for you. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, there’s a link in here and if you have, and you have time, drop us a few reviews! Be more than just a number…

The Elementals: Russell A Smith interview.

Lurking Musings

So, in the fugue of Christmas and New Year, you probably forgot all about The Elementals. So, being the helpful chap that I am. I thought it time to remind you…

So, remember The Elementals is still available on ebook and paperback! You can get it from this Amazon Link!

Today we are interviewing Russell A Smith, author of the final story in the collection – the Social Contract. We’ve spoken to Russ before, way back when and he did of course get interviewed by F.D Lee at the same time I was for Super Relaxed Fantasy Club. As the only other UK author involved in this anthology, I could in theory have done this interview in person had the world been less virus ridden…

The anthology theme is ‘Elementals’, what does this mean to you and how did you interpret it in your story?

Growing up much in the…

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The Spyfunk! Files #5

[AKA: Funk Five.]

File #5 contact: 

Denny Upkins

Read on for full mission brief...

1. Where did you get the idea for your story and your character?

The story was initially a script for a potential collaboration I was doing at the time with my buddy Camille Debose, who is a gifted filmmaker, photographer and a college professor. We had ideas for a short film that would be easy to shoot on a nominal budget with a story that packed a wallop. Life happens and both of us have very busy and demanding careers. So plans for the project were put on hold indefinitely. Nevertheless the story stuck with me, and I felt it was one that needed to be shared. So a few rewrites later, and we got The Bonds That Bind.

Without spoiling the story, I will say that two of the heroes are inspired by real life loved ones and personal superheroes of mine. You can learn about their incredible origin story here.

This story (at least this iteration anyway) definitely wouldn’t have been a reality if it wasn’t for the incredible people in my life.

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villains tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.

You think you know but you have no idea. Each character in the story has an agenda and some of them are fighting internal battles. Once said internal battles are revealed, it becomes clear that the one who appears to be the antagonist, is battling impossible odds.

On rare occasions it is about believing in someone and seeing the good in them even if they struggle to see it in themselves. A lesson taught to me by one of my mentors, author David Dark.

3. What’s your favourite spy movie?

Fast & Furious 6 probably takes the top spot with Skyfall and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, running closely behind.

4. Do you have any stories from real life you find especially memorable in the world of espionage? Why so?

I do but none that I’m at liberty to divulge. What I will say that many of the same skill sets needed to be successful in both espionage and investigative journalism/detective work overlap.

5. Best spy hero?

In real life: Harriet Tubman, Josephine Baker and my personal patronus, Alan Turing.

In fiction, there are a number of them: James Bond, Diana Prince, Phil Coulson, Melinda May,

And of course Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne of ABC’s Revenge.

6. And favourite spy villain?

Li-Na, the North Korean sleeper agent and season five Big Bad of Strike Back: Legacy.  Played by Emperor Philippa Georgiou herself. I’m a hardcore fanboy of all things Michelle Yeoh on any day ending in ‘y’ but Evil Michelle Yeoh is the gift I did not know this world needed. But you really couldn’t call her evil because she continuously served as a glitch in the matrix that is western white imperialism and consistently called the powers that be and by extension the viewers out on their hypocrisy and their part in systemic racism and I was here for all of it.

“I’m a hardcore fanboy of all things Michelle Yeoh on any day ending in ‘y’ but Evil Michelle Yeoh is the gift I did not know this world needed.”

Anna Espinosa who was played by perfection herself, the Goddess known as Gina Torres in the ABC series, Alias. Espinosa was a recurring rival to the show’s lead, Sidney Bristow who was played by Jennifer Garner. Espinosa was the Moriarty to Bristow’s Sherlock and those eps always made for great television.

Gravedigger who was one of the antagonists of season 3 of Black Lightning. He was played brilliantly by Wayne Brady. Much like  Strike Back’s Li-Na, a very strong argument could be made that he wasn’t a villain because he was an unapologetic revolutionary fighting for freedom for other Blacks and metas and he reluctantly had to fight in a war to achieve those goals because, well, freedom isn’t free. Especially in a world built on antiblackness.

Nikita series Big Bad, Amanda Collins, who was brought to life masterfully by the incredible Melinda Clarke. She may just be the best version of a live action Emma Frost to date.

The beguiling Raina, portrayed by the talented Ruth Negga by on the Coulson May Power Hour (billed in some regions as Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.) I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Werner von Strucker who was also a recurring baddie. My adoration for the latter certainly has nothing to do with my weakness for cute cerebral psychopaths or actor Spencer Treat Clark. Nope not at all. [shakes head convincingly]

7. Talk is resurfacing about Idris Elba perhaps being the next James Bond. What’s your thoughts on this?

[Sighs…….]

Idris Elba is a class act and one of the most talented entertainers in the game today. The fact that he isn’t helming multiple franchises is absolutely criminal. He deserves better and nothing less than the best. I’ll leave it at that.

8. Scenario question: your protagonist is deep undercover and ends in a relationship in order to keep cover, what is their ethical approach to this? Have they got rules, or would they do anything they had to for their chosen allegiance?

For the two spies in my story, I believe they have a strong core of morals and ethics and would do their best to do right by all parties involved but their primary allegiance is towards the greater good….whatever that would entail.

9. Any questions you want to ask *me*?

Your story is now part of an anthology that will no doubt be cemented in the ongoing renaissance that is Black Speculative fiction. As an author, as an artist, how does it feel to have that kind of legacy?

VERY interesting question! This is the sort of thing I must first start off noting what an honour it was for me to be one of those chosen for this anthology in the first place. But yeah, further than that, I’m delighted that I got to write this story, which I hope is the start of much more. Not just by me, but by others who had that same thought when sat in front of their computer reading the casting call in the first place and go on to do amazing things. I’m really looking forward to what comes next and as strange as this sounds, it might sink in a bit more as to what has happened now a lot more once that happens. [Russell]

Thanks for stopping by, Denny, and thank you for reading, viewers! And speaking of reading, here’s an excerpt from Denny’s tale, The Bonds That Bind. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for news of the next entry. Be seeing you…

The Spyfunk! Files #4: John F. Allen

Apologies, readers, for the wait between files. Be assured there are more being gathered by our best agents as we speak.

Our fourth file is brought to you straight out of Spy School. This session’s contact:

John. F. Allen.

1. Where did you get the idea for your story and your character?
   
   The idea for the characters were inspired by James Bond and how he was not a very good spy, lol! He was way too flamboyant, and everyone pretty much knew who he was before he even started to engage in his mission. The best spies are those who can blend into their environment and avoid suspicion, which Bond always failed at. The physical descriptions of the characters are patterned after Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, and David Oyelowo.

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villain tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.
   
   The two major characters are motivated by ambition and self-gratification. Service to country is the excuse they use to justify their true motivations and fulfil their duties to their superiors.
   
   
3. What’s your favourite spy movie?
   
   Four-way tie: Argo, Spy Games, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Spy. Argo is based on a true story, which I found to be an almost perfect operation for a group of spies to be involved in. Spy Games deals with very interesting subject matter, characters, and timelines. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is very real-world espionage adaptation of a novel from one of my favorite spy fiction novelists, the late, great John Le Carre’. Spy is a comedic look at the very Spy tropes I expose in my story, which very much inspired my approach in some ways.

4. Do you have any stories from real life you find especially memorable in the world of espionage? Why so?
   
   About 20 years ago I worked as a Private Investigator and I learned a lot about subterfuge, thinking on my feet and surveillance. In one instance, I sent a Mexican employee into a restaurant to listen in on a conversation between a subject and their extra-marital partner regarding a plot to murder my client for insurance money. My employee didn’t speak English very well but understood it well enough to write down what they heard, and they also had a hidden recording device which we were able to transcribe later. Thankfully, their plans were thwarted, they were arrested, and my client was able to live their life without fear of being murdered.
   
   
5. So, from this, are there tensions between what is believable in fiction and what we have learned recently from real life cases such as the Snowden revelations in the US or the Salisbury poisonings in the UK?
   
   Yes, I believe so. Most of the popular spy films we are given are very much action oriented and because of this, they are very over the top and make it almost impossible to suspend disbelief. On the flip side, many of the BEST and true to life spy films lack the over the top action and are much more believable but aren’t very mainstream. These films are much closer to true life spies, in my opinion.
   

6. Best spy hero?
   
   I’d have to list Felix Leiter as portrayed by Jeffrey Wright in the Daniel Craig Bond films. He was the epitome of the soft spoken, cool agent, who kept a low profile and was able to blend into his environment. I had hoped that they would’ve spun the character off into a sister franchise, but alas it never came to be.

7. …and favourite spy villain?
   
   As silly as it seems to mention this character, but Gru from Despicable Me fits the bill for me. I think that he has the most growth as a villain I’ve seen and yes, even though it’s a children’s movie, his ability to utilize his strengths and discover NEW ones through his journey are very interesting to me.

8. Scenario question: your protagonist is deep undercover and ends in a relationship to keep cover, what is their ethical approach to this? Have they got rules, or would they do anything they had to for their chosen allegiance?
   
   It depends on which of the three primary characters you’re referring to. For Oxford Jameson, he would enjoy any romantic/sexual escapades he encounters while on mission and consider the other party expendable upon conclusion. He also wouldn’t hesitate to assassinate the other party with prejudice if it became necessary. As for Aisha Zewde, her take is almost the same as Jameson’s, but she would likely consider, however briefly, the possibility of preserving the life of the other party, if for no other reason than serving as an exploitable asset. However, she would just as easily assassinate the other party if they in any way endangered her life or the mission. Lastly, Kwento Adebayo would be much more discreet and conscientious where his mission is concerned. He would have planned out his mission with the scenario in mind and put fail safes into place. However, if his life and the mission depended on it, he would take extreme actions as a last resort only.
   
   
9. Talk is resurfacing about Idris Elba perhaps being the next James Bond. What’s your thoughts on this?

I personally feel as though I’d rather have him portray Felix Leiter and leave James Bond white, if we had to go that route. That said, I would much prefer he portray a NEW character whose origins are black to begin with.

10. Any questions you want to ask me?
    
    This was fun, would you be open to more interviews with me in the future?

Absolutely! Actually, I’ll definitely want to be doing one of these myself as well, so I should probably consider some questions from elsewhere for that if you’re up for such things? [Russell]

Want to read an excerpt from John’s story, Spy School? Well, you can find it right here. And once you’ve done that, the rest of the collection is available when you want it here too, as a paperback or an e-book. Thanks, John, for a great interview.

The Spyfunk! Files #3: Gavin Matthew

Our third special Spyfunk! agent will take us to the 1970s and beyond.

File #3’s contact:

Gavin Matthew

See the full mission briefing below...

1. Where did you get the idea for your story and your character?

My story was inspired by my love of 70s Black action films and my fixation with train rides. Part of it is also a nod to how espionage-like the Black Power Movement conflicts had been.

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villains tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.

The two protagonists are motivated by a loyalty to the Black community. One has dedicated her life to the fight for freedom against oppression. While the other is forced into action for survival. The glue that binds them to their heroic goals is the sacrifices others close to them have already paid in pursuit of their mission’s success.

3. What’s your favourite spy movie?

The Spook Who Sat by the Door

4. Do you have any stories from real life you find especially memorable in the world of espionage? Why so?

The entire list Civil Rights and Black Power cloak & dagger conflicts. It is interesting and maddening how hard a whole government fought to abuse, control, and profit from an entire people despite there having never been a threat from them. Then the resilience and intelligence of our people to overcome such an enemy is simply invigorating.

5. So from this, are there tensions between what is believable in fiction and what we have learned recently from real life cases such as the Snowden revelations in the US or the Salisbury poisonings in the UK?

Of course. In reality the idea of good guy is murky in espionage. Weatherman committed terroristic acts but they also stole and leaked evidence that shined a light on countless government sanctioned acts of violence and surveillance. Then, at the same time, fiction breathes life to events that could have happened, allowing us to paint an idea about situations we may never know the truth about.

6. Best spy hero?

Dan Freeman

7. …and favourite spy villain?

Dr. Kananga

8. Scenario question: your protagonist is deep undercover and ends in a relationship in order to keep cover, what is their ethical approach to this? Have they got rules, or would they do anything they had to for their chosen allegiance?

My protagonist weighs the relationship partner’s ethics and then gambles with telling them the truth. They then deal with either a new ally or a new enemy.

9. Talk is resurfacing about Idris Elba perhaps being the next James Bond. What’s your thoughts on this?

I would watch it with hopes that is well written with cultural ideas woven amongst its classical tapestry.

10. Any questions you want to ask me?

Do you have any pointers on how to secure life as a full-time writer and novelist?

[Russell – as I’m not at this point a full-time writer or novelist; in fact more of a full-time student these days, I may not be the absolute best person to ask this one! That said, I’ve seen enough of it to know one or two things. The main one in this case is there’s a difference between full time and what I’m doing that everything else you’re doing is depending on it, income, timetable etc. but the fundamental matter of that is that you need the output to get the input. So you have to be actually writing very often. Sounds obvious, but at that level it’s like an exercise regime, that you have to keep up at least a basic level of fitness to be able to do it. It isn’t how much you’re doing; it’s that you’re frequent, and that makes the rest easier for you.

I’ve another completely converse point there, in that given you’re centring your occupation around that, you’ve got to be prepared to do other things which *aren’t* writing in order to get yourself where you’ll want to be. Some of these are fun. Some will not be. But just be ready for that aspect too.

Are you ready for an excerpt from Gavin’s story, Train, Pain & Naturals? Of course you are.

Gavin Matthew is a writer known for his unique characters and lively dialogue. His projects are rich with culture and tend to have feature strong images of women. He is a screenwriter and a novelist, having a deep love both the creative mediums. With his belief that writing can be another form of freed fighting, he seeks to inspire any and everybody who reads his work. Gavin Matthew is the writer of the short story Train, Pain, & Naturals which is one many tales found in MVmedia’s Spyfunk! Anthology.

The Spyfunk! Files #2: Joe Hilliard

Spyfunk! Author Interview subject:

Joe Hilliard.

Known Aliases:

El Originario Extraño del Kalypso Kid

1. Where did you get the idea for your story and your character?

 When we moved from rural Michigan to Los Angeles in the early-80s, one of the big connection points to the other kids was lucha libre (Mexican wrestling), comic books, and tokusatsu. That was my youth. Lucha libre became a real cornerstone when I started writing, the masks, the milieu, that feeling of anything is possible. Watching the 60s and 70s films where Santo or Blue Demon could go from spy to vampire killer to Nazi Hunter to time traveller to solving the Bermuda Triangle, with a, “¡Vámonos! Let’s go!” and out the door. When Milton Davis pushed out the original Spyfunk call in 2017, I wrote “Dory Dixon” in a notebook, and printed out some research on the 1954 Caribbean Games. That initial draft played on a defection and hidden staircases and double crosses. Real Cold War tropes. While that draft “An Incident at the Embassy” never came to fruition, the true life story of Dory Dixon (noted in the coda to my piece) kept haunting me. It wasn’t until post-COVID when I started going to live lucha libre again here in SoCal and saw local guys like Mike Cheq that I realized I was looking, even in a Cold War setting, to capture that hype of live lucha, and the theatrics of those films. Milton reopened the call for stories, and Dante Davis leaped out as a reluctant hero caught up in intrigue, and finding his place in the world. He’s a bit of Dory Dixon, a bit Blue Demon, working on his Napoleon Solo.

Dory Dixon

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villains tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.

Like a lot of us, Dante Davis is driven by a few different engines – loyalty, doing what is right, and yes, a desire for excitement, for an adrenalin rush. We all know having those engines driving in all directions, especially when we are young. As the titles says, this is his origin. He is coming to terms with who he is, what those drives mean. How he can live with them? How can he change to fuel those engines? Should he change?

3. What’s your favourite spy movie?

Just one? Ah! While far from traditional, Bernardo Bertolucci’s THE CONFORMIST (1970) is as intriguing a betrayal of loyalty as you will see. More traditionally, Fritz Lang’s MINISTRY OF FEAR (1944), Carol Reed’s THE THIRD MAN (1949), and Peter Glenville’s THE COMEDIANS (1967), all based on Graham Greene novels really kill it, and I will watch them over and over again. Or, it’s simply JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN, fight me on the brilliance of Rowan Atkinson in that!

4. Do you have any stories from real life you find especially memorable in the world of espionage? Why so?

I’m a sucker for the oddness of  Wild Bill Donovan’s OSS, the World War II precursor to the CIA. There’s something about the wide net of recruitment, this throw it all at the wall and see what sticks. Moe Berg the baseball player. Julia Child. Who is hiring these people? How is this real? I think of the opening sequence to the film THE RIGHT STUFF where they talk about hiring circus performers and barnstormers to be astronauts and you have this same feel. It’s what backgrounds the end of my story, where you have a wrestling promoter running your spy ring. It’s real, it’s not believable. It’s “¡Vámonos! Let’s go!,” which is pretty amazing in real life.

5. So from this, are there tensions between what is believable in fiction and what we have learned recently from real life cases such as the Snowden revelations in the US or the Salisbury poisonings in the UK?

I think the tension is, no matter how crazy you think your storyline is, there is someone attempting something that much crazier in real life, which should give anyone pause. Look at all the Fidel Castro assassination plots that the CIA cooked up in the 60s. It’s been going on forever. Never underestimate the human capacity to concoct means of violence and subterfuge on his fellow man…

6. Best spy hero?

I have a soft spot in my heart for Mickey Spillane’s Tiger Mann. They are some of the first spy novels I remember reading as a teen, even before Ian Fleming. My love for Fawcett Gold Medal 60s spies knows no bounds though. The “Assignment” novels by Edward S. Aarons starring Sam Durrell – 125 pages, no waiting. So, so good!

7. …and favourite spy villain?

Michael Dunn as Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless from the “Wild Wild West” tv show. So diabolical, and so fascinating!

8. Scenario question: your protagonist is deep undercover and ends in a relationship in order to keep cover, what is their ethical approach to this? Have they got rules, or would they do anything they had to for their chosen allegiance?

Dante Davis is not the James Bond/Napoleon Solo lothario. He would undoubtedly look to an alternative. We see that he lives in a crazed Cold War place, but the underpinning for him was much more of the straight-forward character. The impetus for this was the Santo/Blue Demon films of the 60s/70s where the hero is “noble” in the traditional sense. Even when spying. And the tokusatsu heroes like Kamen Rider or Ultraman. Not that they are childish, or naïve, but that’s not the main impetus here. Perhaps a little more pulpy than saucy. That’s our Dante. But some of the other rogues that show up in this piece? They would have no such compunctions.

9. Talk is resurfacing about Idris Elba perhaps being the next James Bond. What’s your thoughts on this?

I was a little crushed Elba didn’t get the Doctor Who gig actually. I love me some science fiction Elba more than anything. Bond still is an intriguing thought. His Luther was (still is), so compelling, I think it would be tempting to compare any Bond appearance by Elba negatively in that light. Much like how Roger Moore’s work as Simon Templar influences my view of his James Bond performance. Or Remington Steele invades Pierce Brosnan’s Bond for me.

10. Any questions you want to ask *me*?

Who’s your go-to wrestler, when the chips are down? And, when can I come visit you in London???

(Well, there are many fine choices. But if we’re talking in their prime, I tend to look no further than the Deadman. To this day I don’t remember a debut impacting me quite like that one. These days I’m loving Blackpool Combat Club. The latter would depend upon when I’m actually *in London these days, which is not always easy to know! See the introductory post 🙂 – Russell)

Joe Hilliard. Writer. Luddite. Teller of Tales. Michigander by birth, in the wilds just outside the World’s Largest Walled Prison. Misspent teenage years in Los Angeles on a diet of Blue Demon, Chester Himes, Philip K. Dick, the Circle Jerks, Judge Dredd, and This Island Earth, on the fringe of 80s Hollywood. Graduate of the University of Michigan, which only added Kawabata, Tsui Hark, Krazy Kat, and William S. Burroughs to the mix. Marks time as a paralegal in sunny California.

Besides, SPYFUNK!, his short stories can be found in DIESELFUNK! from MVmedia, THE LEGENDS OF NEW PULP from Airship 27, HARD-BOILED SPORTS, SHUDDER PULP, JAMES R. TUCK’S HEROES OF HOLLOW EARTH, and ORIGINS AND ENDINGS VOLUME 1 from Pro Se Productions; AUTUMN PAINTED RED from Asylum Ink; MEAT FOR TEA: THE VALLEY REVIEW; and BLUE COLLAR REVIEW. His non-fiction comic book work can be found in APB: ARTISTS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY from Rosarium Press and COLONIAL COMICS VOLUME II: NEW ENGLAND 1750-1776 from Fulcrum Publishing.

I don’t have an online thumbprint these days. Just LinkedIn for the day job. Find me there!

The Spyfunk! Files #1: Napoleon Wells

In conjunction with the imminent release of Spyfunk! I’ve managed to get hold of some of the authors in order to ask a few questions and find out more about the authors. Your first mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find out more about Napoleon Wells. See below for answers, and in addition, you can read an excerpt from his story entry...

1. Where did you get the idea for your story and your character? 

My story exists in a larger world of Black Speculative Fiction, and I like to think of some of my imagery as Blackanime/Africanime where the world, concepts, conflicts and characters are all Black and fully realized. The world around those characters is always dangerous and my main character, Bul, has constant purpose and complicated motivation. He came from my need to see characters like him in stories, but finding few.

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villains tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.

 My hero is probably closer to an antihero and sometime mercenary. Still, he will do his job and try and save the world he knows. My villain’s motives are murky past, gaining enough power to tear this world apart.

3. What’s your favourite spy movie?

I’d have trouble picking between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tenet, From Russia with Love and Our Man Flint.

4. Best spy hero?

Considering his relative clarity and absurd luck, I’d say Ethan Hunt.

5. …and favourite spy villain?

I prefer rich, layered villains, with a bit of style, so Bond’s Silva edges out Blofeld.

6. Scenario question: your protagonist is deep undercover and ends in a relationship in order to keep cover, what is their ethical approach to this? Have they got rules, or would they do anything they had to for their chosen allegiance?

 Bul would do just about anything to see the mission completed, as long as the mission runs close to his own ends. Relationships, like weapons, his nanos and his power, would have to be a means to an end. They are a distraction he can’t afford while working, otherwise. Outside of work…

7. Talk is resurfacing about Idris Elba perhaps being the next James Bond. What’s your thoughts on this?

My thinking is that we need our own iconic Black characters in all areas of storytelling, so we don’t have to marvel at the novelty of a “Black Bond.” There are many richer Black/African world’s and stories to pull titans from, and we should start there. A film or series following the trouble of my character Bul would be dope, given the world around him, the stakes, it’s centering on Black characters and the peril.

Here’s an excerpt of his Spyfunk story, A Bullet From A God’s Gun.

https://www.mvmediaatl.com/post/spyfunk-excerpt-a-bullet-from-a-god-s-gun-by-napoleon-wells

Napoleon Wells is a Clinical Psychologist, Professor and author of Black Speculative Fiction. He focuses on stories that center Black lives, mythologies and experiences. His works tend to incorporate the Psychology of Black/African experience across the diaspora as a means of building rich, fully realized frameworks for stories centered on Black heroes, villains and worlds. He believes that the erasure and exclusion of Black existence from many genres can be directly and necessarily defeated by the stories being brilliantly told by Black Griots and artists. He builds stories based on the magnificent reality of Black futurism which he already sees in daily life. If he isn’t busy writing something strange and beautiful, he is likely treating patients, writing a social justice column or watching a rap battle. You can find and follow him on social media at:

https://napoleonwellsphd.medium.com

https://www.instagram.com/napoleontheblerdpsychologist

https://twitter.com/napoleonbxsith