Ava Glass's Blog, page 2

Who is Ava Glass?

There are some wild stories out there…

The Chase has been getting a lot of press lately, and I’m grateful for all the attention. It’s incredibly hard to get press for books, so I know just how lucky I am. That said, in the last few weeks I’ve seen myself described as MI5, MI6, a trainer of spies, and a spy myself, which makes me sound amazing! Except it’s not true. So I’m here to debunk some of my own press.

First: Ava Glass is a pseudonym. It is entirely made up. I am Ava Glass, but my name is not Ava Glass. I love the mystery of that but, to be honest, it’s easy enough to find out my real name with a bit of creative googling, and I’ll leave that to you.

Second: I never worked for MI5 or MI6. I worked for the Home Office, the British government department that covers police, security, and counter-terrorism. I was there for five years. I was not a spy. I was a communications specialist, with a focus on counter-terrorism communications. My job was to communicate with and about spying. Basically, I was there to try and explain to the public what the counter-terrorism units were doing. Except the counter-terrorism specialists did not want me to tell anyone what they were up to. Which put me, as you can imagine, in a tricky position.

During those years, I worked with people I believe to be spies. I say that because the very fact that someone is or is not a spy is a state secret. They could not legally tell me they were spies. So I could never be absolutely certain which people I worked with were or were not spies, but as with many things in that world, sometimes it was clear. Other times, it was a bit hazier. Intelligence, in my experience, is a hall of mirrors, where nothing is what it seems.

When I talk about this time I am always careful not to reveal any national secrets. But the fact that I worked there, and the work I did – that was not secret. Anything I know that I believe to be a secret I will never talk about or write about. There are no secrets in my novels. I am much more careful than perhaps it seems.

I take all of that extremely seriously. Which is why I don’t want anyone to think that I am personally telling people I worked for any agency except the Home Office. I know it’s confusing having so many spy agencies around, but here on this page, I want to make it very clear, I never worked for MI5 or MI6. I worked with people from the two spy agencies, but I never worked for those agencies.

I am fully aware that writing this will probably make everyone believe I was definitely a spy, but let this stand as the record: I was not.

Ava x

The Chase — out now

I’m so excited that The Chase, the first in the Alias Emma story, is out NOW in paperback in the UK!

The Chase tells the story of Emma Makepeace, a newly-minted British secret agent who has twelve hours to deliver her asset – reluctant (and handsome) doctor Michael Primalov – across London after Russia hacks the city’s security cameras. Can she make it across one of the world’s most watched cities without being spotted… or killed?

Here are some of the lovely things reviewers have been saying about The Chase…

“A high-octane, warp-speed thriller.”

— The Guardian

“Intense, cinematic action propels this terrific old-fashioned thriller neatly brought up to date.”

— Publisher's Weekly

“A novel you’ll struggle to put down.”

— Amazon Book of the Month

“Perfect for a single-sitting read, an adrenaline-fueled tour of clandestine London. More, please.”

— Library Journal (starred review) BUY THE CHASE NOW

If that sounds like your cup of tea, you can buy The Chase now from your local bookshop or any of the following sites.

Amazon UK Blackwells WH Smiths Bookshop.org Waterstones Hive

Discover The Chase

The Chase (out 16 February 2023) is the UK edition of Alias Emma book one. 

I’ve been getting emails from people asking if The Chase is book two in the Alias Emma series, so I wanted to put up a quick post to explain that it is book one. Book two in the series will come out this summer.

In the US and Canada, and elsewhere in the world, book one is simply called Alias Emma, but in the UK Alias Emma is the name of the series, and book one has its own title and a distinctive look.

It’s not unusual for a book to be called something different in the UK from the US, but it can be confusing when it happens. That said, I like both titles, so I can’t complain too much. It really gets across the plot – which is a race against time and against the odds. And that cover really grabs me.

Book two will also have a different title in the UK from the US, but that’s for a future article. In the meantime, get your hands on a copy of The Chase, in bookshops from 16 February!

Interview with The Times about working with spies

So in a previous life — even before I started working with spies — I was a crime reporter for a local newspaper. I loved print journalism. I still love print journalism. It’s taken a battering over the past decade, but it remains, in my opinion, the best place to get your news, and I will always be a journalist at hear, sniffing out the best story. Which is why I am so OVERWHELMED that today, I have a DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD in The Times. The actual Times. THE TIMES OF FREAKIN’ LONDON, you guys. I wish I could go back to my young, eager, slightly dishevelled crime reporter self and tell her that this would happen one day, because she would lose her MIND.

Anyway, in it I talk about my other previous life, the one that inspired my new paperback, THE CHASE: working in counterterrorism communications at MI5 and MI6. It was an incredible time of my life and while there are tons of great stories I’ll never be able to tell (that darn official secrets act!), I did let The Times in on a few little secrets in this article. Like the girl from “the legal section” who turned out to be a spy doing my background check. Or the suspicious powder spilling out from a package that ended up being something significantly more prosaic.

If that’s got your attention, you can read the full article in today’s Times, or on their website. Do let me know what you think. I promise it won’t get back to anyone; after all, I’m not working with spies any more.

…Or am I?

Alias Emma reviewed by Shelf Awareness

The lovely Katie from Cakes, Tea and Dreams reviewed Alias Emma for Shelf Awareness and I was so delighted by how much she enjoyed it.

“Cinematic and complex, Alias Emma is a fun thrill ride and an incisive look into one woman’s motivations for pursuing a dangerous career.”

— Katie Noah Gibson, Shelf Awareness READ THE FULL REVIEW

Alias Emma reviewed by the Guardian

“Emma is an appealing character, smart and resourceful, and Glass deftly works her backstory into this high-octane, warp-speed thriller without missing a beat.”

— The Guardian READ THE FULL REVIEW

Alias Emma featured in Washington Post Best 12 Beach Reads

“A fast-paced thriller in the spirit of Ian Fleming, with a very modern twist.”

— The Washington Post READ THE FULL REVIEW

An interview with Shelf Awareness

The wonderful Shelf Awareness interviewed me recently for their The Writer’s Life feature. We had a really interesting chat about the technologies used in spy work, the conflict between Britain and Russia and how it’s still timely today, and how my own identity crises fed into those present in Alias Emma.

Here’s a sample of our conversation…

“In my time, I’ve changed careers, towns, even nations. Each move always feels like an opportunity to reinvent yourself. And yet, in my experience, no matter how far you travel, you can’t escape yourself. The past tags along. No matter how hard you try to leave it behind, it always packs itself in your luggage. And this is one lesson that Emma Makepeace is learning in Alias Emma. She can change her appearance, her name, even her eye color—but she will always be shaped by her past.”

— Ava Glass: The Writer's Life READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

Interview with Parade

As a book lover, I adore getting the chance to talk about books other than my own, so I was delighted to chat to Megan from Parade for their On Their Shelf feature.

As well as talking about Alias Emma, Megan and I geeked out over thrillers and talked about the contents of my bookshelf.

Read the full interview to find out my favourite spy thriller, my number one most recommended read, and the author I wish more people knew about.

Here’s a snippet…

“I think there’s something genuinely glamorous about [intelligence work]. I have been right on the edge of it, and I know spies don’t tend to look like James Bond—they’re as ordinary as they possibly can be most of the time, because that’s how they slip through the world unnoticed. The idea of living your life as a constant deception, of seamlessly becoming someone else in order to get the information you need. The thrill of constant danger. I suppose in truth, most of us simply couldn’t do what they do, and that’s why we’re so intrigued by it.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

Review from E! Online

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: all authors have fantasy casts for the movie versions of their books. All of us. Even if we say we don’t, we do. So I was tickled pink by this review from E! Online which wondered about who might be cast in an Alias Emma movie…

I’m keeping my cards close to my chest for now, but I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Here’s part of the review…

“You will find yourself captivated by the newly minted British spy as she races against the clock to deliver her handsome asset after Russia hacks into London's security cameras. Forget James Bond, we're waiting to see who's cast in the Alias Emma movie that is destined to be made.”

READ THE FULL REVIEW