How do you pronounce 'Apparite'?

It's pronounced "Uh-PAIR-it" or, if it's easier, like saying "A parrot."

Where did the term 'Superagent' come from?

Back in the fifties, it was common for the word 'Super' to be added in front of a name or term to emphasize superiority or advancement. Take the Boeing B-29 'Superfortress,' the 'sequel' to the B-17 Flying Fortress; or take the push to achieve 'Supersonic' speed (finally achieved by Chuck Yeager in the famed orange Bell-X1); or the term used by nuclear physicists when referring to the H-Bomb and A-Bomb: 'Super Bombs'; or a top-level entertainer ('Superstar'); or even the rather mundane word we now use to refer to a large grocery store: 'Supermarket.' It is NOT any sort of reference to the comic book character 'Superman'--no connection with that term in the least.

Why was F---- K------- named 'John Apparite'?

First of all, it's a name that sounds like a real name--yet isn't. I've 'Googled' it and found nothing--perfect, as far as I am concerned. It's also a play on the word 'apparition,' defined by Webster's as a) anything that appears unexpectedly or b) a ghost; a phantom. Again, just what a man like the Director (or an author looking for a good secret agent name) would have wanted.

What are Apparite's and the Director's real names?

I'm saving the disclosure of Apparite's and the Director's real names to the end of Apparite's tenure as a Superagent--but I do know what they are. Apparite's first name is given in the next book, but the Director's won't even be hinted at for now.

You hint at another meeting between Apparite and the White Oriental--when is that going to occur?

When you least expect it, of course. Don't look for him in the next book--that's all I'll say for the time being. However, as in real life, people will drop in and out periodically in the tale. If you've read a name in one book, expect to perhaps read it again in another.

What's with the dashes whenever anyone says the 'F-word'?

Back in the fifties, it was a common convention to dash some of the profanities, but especially the 'F-word.' In Goldfinger, for example, Bond tells Goldfinger to go ---- himself: without even including the 'F' in it! I elected to do this for f--- and s--t, but not the others, since I believe they might confuse the reader (You bloody w-----r! would baffle most people). Since the book takes place in the fifties, I thought it best to write it as if it were the fifties--it seemed quite jarring to me to read the actual word 'fuck' in the historical context of the fifties, when it was, thankfully, not as widely spoken or written as it is now.

How many Apparite books will there be?

Well, since his tenure as a Superagent lasts from four to eight years, I would guess there'll be four to eight; number two is already written, and number three is in the polishing stage, although I am limited, of course, by the known events of Apparite's life--you wouldn't want me to make anything up, now would you?

What can you tell me about the next book?

It's called A MATTER OF REVENGE: A JOHN APPARITE NOVEL, and it takes place in New York, London, the Alsace region of France, and Berlin. In it, Apparite has a reunion with Dr. Hoevenaers and--as the title implies--the SMERSH assassin Viktor. It is slated for release in September of 2008. The books after that, THE HUNT FOR JOHN APPARITE and APPARITE'S CONUNDRUM (in progress), will hopefully follow.

How does someone get a novel published?

It's not easy: first, write a book about a subject you love and feel compelled to write about, or find a story you simply have to tell. Then, draft a 'query letter'--a very specific type of letter-of-introduction for your book--explaining a bit about it, about you, and why anyone would want to pay good money to read it. Then, send a whole bunch of these letters (plus a one or two page synopsis, plus the first chapter) to agents and publishers--preferably exclusive to each person or publishing house, meaning one at a time--and wait for the rejections to arrive. After a few of those have woken you up to the reality of the 'biz,' then call people you know in the publishing business--maybe then you'll get a closer look, or an actual read of your sample chapter or synopsis (many, if not most agents and publishers don't make it past the query unless they've heard of you). If you're lucky, someone will want the whole manuscript, and then if they like it, they offer you a contract. You review the contract, suggest changes, reach a compromise, and then you edit the book with someone assigned by the publisher. Finally, many months later, it comes out in print--and then it's time to work on another one. I got lucky--someone knew someone else, and my manuscript got a detailed read after being rejected only seven times by others. But for me, writing about John Apparite and his adventures was so enjoyable that it might have been worth it anyway. And yes--I would have written the second one even if no one had picked up the first (in fact, it was already completed by the time the first one was accepted). And now I'm writing the fourth book (though it's on hold as I work on or complete two other projects), even though the second one hasn't come out yet. I want to get way, way ahead so I can rest for a while, eventually. It's really a never-ending process.

Most book and film spies get laid a lot--why not Apparite in UCOD?

More than a couple of reasons: for one, here's a guy who is emotionally distant from humanity at the start of his career as a Superagent; he's too focused on his duty to allow himself to meet, or even care whether he meets, a girl. And do you think the Director would have allowed him a girlfriend? Or even a 'one night stand'? I don't. Secondly, even when his emotions are awakening, like when he first meets Peggy Stokes on the plane, he KNOWS he can't do anything--again, if it doesn't serve his duty, only bad can come from it and he can't let it happen. After the mission, when he's on the Queen Elizabeth, he literally has nothing to lose by that point--he's desperate for feelings of tenderness and love, as he believes this might help him get over the tragic events in London, or at least distract him from them, so he entertains the notion of getting involved with the lovely Peggy Stokes. But don't worry: in the second book, he meets someone.

There's a lot of seemingly factual information in the book, but I'm confused on what's real and what isn't?

That information is 'TOP SECRET,' and if I tell you then I'll have to tell everybody. Still, if you look around hard enough, I think you'll figure it out. Speaking of Top Secret, and as a reward for getting this far, I'm going to alert you to a 'Hidden Link' somewhere on the main menu page that will direct you to some interesting material that I'm not at liberty to discuss here. Enjoy it--if you can find it.

Are you working on any books that aren't about John Apparite and spies?

Yes! I have just completed a modern day mystery, titled GOOD FENCES. It's about a physician who suffers a sudden, horrific downturn in fortune, only to be rescued by a mysterious neighbor. But is there more to that neighbor than meets the eye? And why are people suddenly turning up dead in their quiet little subdivision? As Frost famously wrote, "Good fences make good neighbors." Following that is a work-in-progress tentatively called THE PERFECT SERVANT, about an English upperclass man and his overly-devoted valet. It takes place in an Edwardian England manor house and in Belgium-France in WWI. It's got everything: manor house intrigue, murders, war, revenge, an Oxford education, battlefield angels, thousands of dead horses, childhood rituals, and a giant plane tree. Hell, it's probably the best idea I've ever had for a book. Now all I have to do is write the damn thing....

I have other questions: where can I ask them?

There is another portion of the web-site where I would be happy to answer questions about anything relating to the book (as long as they're not too difficult or revealing!). Look for it on the menu on the left side of the main screen. And thanks for your interest.