EP439: David McCloskey — “A Lonely Team Sport.”

David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst and his smash hit debut novel Damascus Station was inspired by his time working in field stations in the Middle East. David tells us how the novel started as an exercise in processing his thoughts about the events in Syria, what he learned from writing for US presidents, how letting go of his ego helped him write a novel, and the role played in his career by a hot dog machine in Langley…

And in the extended version for Academy members and podcast Patrons, the Two Marks discuss the need to process your life through writing, taking sabbaticals to write, writing without fear, the quirky details that grab readers and much more!

WE DISCUSS…

Processing traumatic events through fiction
What spy fiction and movies gets right and wrong
And why writing is a lonely team sport…

PODCAST

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This Week’s Links:

UNWELCOME spoiler special 27th April, 2023: https://www.youtube.com/live/bOwGzAyLpbw
Discover more about David McCloskey here: https://www.davidmccloskeybooks.com/
Our Deep Dive on UK Police Procedures with Stuart Gibbon: https://bestsellerexperiment.com/ep438-deep-dive-police-procedures-with-stuart-gibbon/
Our Deep Dive with Ian W Sainsbury editing his novel: https://bestsellerexperiment.com/ep386-deep-dive-editing-a-draft-with-ian-w-sainsbury/
Our Deep Dive with Suzie Edge on TikTok: https://bestsellerexperiment.com/ep405-deep-dive-tiktok-with-suzie-edge/
And Suzie’s new book is out in September 2023: https://sociall.link/suzieedge

Permalinks…

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