Where Linda interviews a very, very interesting character. But wait. Judge for yourself.

| Topic: 10 Questions books Wednesday Question Game writers

When a very cool writer comes your way. You, of course, ask him to play the Author Game.

Hello there, Howard. I love a great story, a great spy and a fantastic movie, so there. You’ve won me over three times.

Welcome Mr. Kaplan to the page!81LALDHUUDL._SY600_

HOWARD KAPLAN, a native of Los Angeles, has lived in Israel and traveled extensively through Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. At the age of 21, he was sent on a mission into the Soviet Union to smuggle a dissident’s manuscript on microfilm to London. His first trip was a success. On his second trip, he transferred a manuscript to the Dutch Ambassador inside his Moscow embassy. A week later, he was arrested in Khartiv in the Ukraine and interrogated for two days there and and two days in Moscow, before being expelled from the USSR. The KGB had picked him up for meeting dissidents and did not know about the manuscript transfers. He holds a BA in Middle East History from UC Berkeley and an MA in the Philosophy of Education from UCLA. He is the author of four novels.

 

Are you ready to play? It’s nothing like getting expelled from the USSR, so this should be cakewalk. 😉

Take the Author Challenge: Answer 10 Questions in 10 Words

  1. Hi there. It’s a tough writing day ahead. What are you wearing?
    Jeans, t-shirt, all writing days are both tough and easy.
  1. We’ve all read bad books for the right reasons. What’s the worst book you read, and why?
    The Paris Wife. Book Club. Just read A Moveable Feast.
  1. Here’s a two-parter. You’ve been hired to write an episode in a popular TV series. You must introduce a new character and create a plot twist.
    What’s the show and name of character? (It’s okay to abbreviate show title.)
    James Spader and Megan Boone The Blacklist, The Dancing SufiWhat’s the plot twist?
    Brandishes a knife but she was midwife who delivered Keen
  2. Reading aloud can be sexy- or daunting. I want you to read to me. What do you choose and why?
    Princess Bride, if I fall asleep turn on the movie
  1. List ten unique things on or around your writing space.
    Liquid tears, calculator, puppet, photos of my son with pigeons
  1. For your book to become a best seller and make you bazillions, you have to lose one of the following: a leg, an arm, your vision, your spouse. Which do you choose?
    A leg, I can write with all the other three things.
  1. A famous NYC deli is naming a sandwich after you, what is it called and what’s in it?
    The short Jew. It’s half a turkey sandwich with salt.
  1. Get in the car of your dreams and race me. What are we driving and where are we?
    A mustang convertible, Sahara desert towards the oasis and trees.
  1. Write your life’s story—so far—in ten words.
    I woke up thought it was a dream; it wasn’t.
  1. Go to your current WIP. Turn to page 10. Write the ten words that appear on line 10.
    Joan headed outside. Though the empty hallway had never bothered

 

Hah! I love your sandwich idea, and had to also read The Paris Wife for book club. Ugh. And hey, I recently drove a Mustang in the desert, so we have a lot in common. I’m looking forward to seeing your movie and – like most readers tend to do…comparing it to the book.

Best of luck with book two, Bullets of Palestine.

Folks, you can friend Howard on Facebook over here

Be sure to check out his books on Amazon or anywhere great books are sold.

Start with:

The Damascus Cover
In a last ditch effort to revive his career, washed out agent Ari
Ben-Sion accepts a mission he never would have 30 years ago, to
smuggle a group of Jewish children out of the Damascus ghetto
Or so he thinks.
In Damascus, a beautiful American photographer, Kim, seems to be
falling in love with Ari, but she is asking too many questions.  His
communication equipment disappears.  His contact never shows up.
The operation is only hours away and everything seems awry.
Desperate to succeed, Ari might risk everything. Even his life.

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The Damascus Cover, buy it today on Amazon

Special treat:

Enjoy an interview with Howard, talking about the Feature film of The Damascus Cover starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers,
Sir John Hurt, Olivia Thirlby, Jurgen Prochnow and Navid Negahban, that finished shooting in Casablanca and Jerusalem Summer 2015.

 

 

 

Like what you read? Check out more of Linda’s writing over here.

Her new book, 3 Women Walk into a Bar is already earning rave reviews. Available now as an ebook and coming next month in trade paperback wherever fine books are sold.

“Clever, sexy, witty, and shot glasses full of fun, 3 Women Walk Into a Bar is no joke — and with one of the freshest and most exciting new voices in crime fiction, Linda Sands is an author to watch.” ~Douglas Corleone, author of One Man’s Paradise, Good as Gone, Payoff and Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Equation

 “Though its intelligent humor is obvious, 3 Women Walk into a Bar is no joke.  It’s a wonderfully twisted tale with a sly take on our digital culture.  Riveting and beautifully written, this is a novel that should be on everyone’s must-read list.” ~ William Kent Krueger, Edgar award winning author of Ordinary Grace, and the Cork O’Connor mystery series

“A fresh new voice that’s a bit noir, a bit off-beat, and a heckuva good time.” ~Maggie Toussaint, Author of Bubba Done It, a Dreamwalker mystery.

“Those who aren’t real-life friends with Linda Sands – or at the very least on Facebook, have no way to prepare for the verbal onslaught that is her wit and writing. “Three Women Walk into a Bar” introduces itself like the opening of a bad joke then quickly unravels into a roller-coaster murder mystery with a pace not beholden to the style of either coast. Sands is an original in a field of copycats, as fresh and deliberate as a sucker punch in the face.~ Matt McGee, editor, Falling Star Magazine

 (coming soon, a book of recipes and cocktails, featuring drinks named for eight characters in 3 Women Walk into a Bar. Check out the videos of Linda making the drinks on youtube: CLICK HERE )

Have an awesome week!

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