Espionage - Thriller Follow the Trail...London, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Australia

Question 1

David Snowdon- Is a very quiet and private person. What made him write a book about international espionage?

Answer

My first attraction to espionage was the James Bond films I saw as a child. In 1984, I wrote my first espionage thriller. Twenty-three years later, I decided to do it again. Thus, The Mind of a Genius, was born.

Question 2

Your name suggests things to me. Could it be that it suggests cover up, as we are covered in yet another blanket of snow this winter. Snowed under, comes to mind. Your book seems to be a fascinating take on the international intrigue that fuels a major portion of our television viewing of late. Does David Snowdon try to snow us? Does he try to make us see things where there is nothing to see, or do you think you parallel reality?

Answer

I wouldn’t try to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. I deal with reality. You can fool some of the people some of the time. But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. An author who desperately tries to fool his readers into seeing something that doesn’t exist will definitely not be around for long, because the readers can see through that.

Question 3

James Bond started the craze and it hasn’t ended that fascination with the word of the spy. The adventurous incredible romantic hero. Tell us a bit about your book, Mind of a Genius.

Answer

Special Agent Jason Clay from the MI4 is hired to find a secret formula that was invented by famous British scientist, Malcolm Prince. It was a formula that could change the world, and the CIA, the Denmark Intelligence, the Australian intelligence and many other very determined individuals were also very interested in that formula. The competition is fierce; these guys will stop at nothing to get their hands on that formula. And the action moves from London, to Copenhagen, Hong Kong and
Australia.

Question 4

Genius is an incredible fine-hair-line away from insanity in my mind. Do you believe there is some separation, some life-style, that makes one man a genius and incredibly adept at living a life of exemplary deeds and someone who is off the wall adventurous to the point of madness, who could still be called genius for his life work.

Answer


As far as I’m concerned, a genius is a person who is extremely intelligent, with outstanding abilities in a certain subject and who displays a remarkable amount of intelligence in the invention of an original piece of work. While I agree that a person who is extremely adventurous to the point of insanity could still be called a genius if he invents an original work. I don’t agree that genius is a fine-hair-line away from insanity, as you can be a genius and still be a perfectly normal individual. According to the experts, genius can materialize in childhood or later on in life.

Question 5

Some say Hitler was a genius. Napoleon was classified genius by others. What differentiates between genius and incredibly blatant, in-your-face deceit or trickery? Is there a difference between evil genius and the dictionary definition of genius in your mind?

Answer

There’s a major distinction between genius and deceit. As I previously said, a genius a person with outstanding abilities in a certain subject which could be science or arts, and who has invented an original work. Deceit on the other hand is completely different from genius and could come in the form of a fake invention or stealing original ideas and trying to take the credit. And that cannot be defined as genius. Napoleon was considered a genius by some because of his achievements such as the Napoleonic code.
I’m not an expert on the topic, but I do believe that there is a distinction between evil genius and genius in your mind. Evil genius is something to do with deceit. But the dictionary definition refers to the mind of a genius.

Question 6

What is there about espionage that holds you by the edge of your imagination, why do you explore it in this fashion?

Answer

Over the years, I’ve written two espionage thrillers, but that doesn’t mean that espionage holds me by the edge of my imagination. I have a regular interest like many other people in espionage films and spy fiction, but I’m definitely not a fanatic. The books that I’ve written cover a wide-range of topics. And espionage happens to be one of them.

Question 7

What do you hope your readers will see or learn from Mind of a Genius if anything?

Answer

International espionage and many other things.

Question 8

In one of my novels I based it in South Africa – for me, a land of intrigue. You have your characters string of incidents lead from London to Copenhagen, Hong Kong to Australia- Have you visited these places? They do always seem to play a part in international spy stories. What makes them your cities of choice for your story?

Answer

I live in London, and I’ve been to all of the other countries in the book. So the descriptions of countries are accurate. If you want your book to be realistic, you have to visit the countries you’ve included in your book. I’m not saying that you can’t write about countries you haven’t been to, but it’s always better to know the countries. I decided to use those countries because they’re interesting places that would make good locales in the book.



Question 9

Is there some place our readers can find out more about you and your book? Where can we order copies of it? Can readers email you with questions or comments about your book? Where?

Answer

Yes, and the information is as follows;

For more information visit www.the-mind-of-a-genius.com

About the book:

The Mind of a Genius
ISBN: 978-0-9552650-1-3
Publisher: Pentergen Books
Date of publish: Nov 16, 2007
Pages: 288
S.R.P £6.99/ $13.56

Available from Waterstone’s.com, Blackwell.co.uk, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com and all good bookshops in the UK.

E-mails can be sent via the website.

Question 10

What is in the works next for you? Are you working on another spy story? If so can you tell us a bit about it?

Answer

I’m working on a new book, but it’s not an espionage thriller.