Spies and Other Interesting Characters
While the other Rogue Women Writers and I write some great characters and some great spies, there were several real life spies and characters from WWII that have captured my imagination. Their stories are different, their motivations are different, but—good or bad—they all felt passionately about the path they chose to follow. When I read their stories, I tend to try to put myself in their shoes and wonder what I would do if I were in their position. Would I be brave, and risk life and limb to battle an enemy that threatens my family and my way of life? Would I choose to martyr myself to a cause, or become a victim, or change in order to justify my actions—or lack thereof?
When I’m reading good crime fiction, it’s the personal motivations and emotions of the characters that captures my interest and compels me to read into the wee hours of the night. We all experience feelings of sadness, joy, love and hate, but a good writer immerses you in the experiences of their characters. Exploring the motivations of real life heroes and villains helps me bring a realism to my characters and makes them come to life on the page.
#1 Real Life Spy – While few of us have experienced events like the Holocaust in our lives, most of us have felt the loss of someone or something we love so much that we felt compelled to do something to avenge that loss or to honor their memory. Most of us have also seen someone do something we think the world should take notice of. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where it’s you against the world, but then you discover you actually have friends or allies who stand with you?
In DARK WATERS, my character Raisa Jordan knows what she must do and there are a handful of people who stand with her to try and stop a plot that would devastate millions.
Born Stella Goldschlag, she was raised in Berlin as the only child in a middle-class Jewish family. After her parents were denied visas to leave Germany, Stella (known for her “Aryan” beauty) disappeared underground about the time Berlin Jews began being sent to extermination camps, using forged papers to pass as a non-Jew.
In the spring of 1943, Stella and her parents were arrested by the Nazis. Subjected to torture, Stella agreed to hunt down Jews hiding as non-Jews for the Gestapo. In return she and her parents were not to be deported, plus she was to be paid a modest sum for every Jew that she betrayed. The number of Jews she’s suspected of turning in ranges anywhere from 600 to 3,000. The Nazis called her "blonde poison,” but despite her collaboration, they eventually broke their promise and her parents were deported and killed. Still Stella continued working for the Gestapo until March 1945. At the end of the war she was sentenced, tried and convicted and was imprisoned ten years for her crimes. She eventually converted to Christianity and became an open anti-Semitic. In 1994, Stella committed suicide by throwing herself out of her apartment window.
Many of us have been pressured into doing things we don’t want to do, and sometimes through promises that turn out to be false. Have you ever tried to convince yourself that you were right rather than face the horrible truth that what you’ve done was wrong?
In DARK WATERS, Raisa learns a secret about her past, then convinces herself that keeping that secret (one that might cause her to lose her job) is the right thing to do.
#3 Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian immigrant, ardent Nazi despiser and famous 1930s and 1940s actress who appeared in countless films alongside the likes of Charles Boyer, Spencer Tracy, and Clark Gable. She also was a passionate inventor who came up with critically important military technology. Working with composer George Antheil, she patented what they called the “Secret Communication System,” a method of preventing enemy ships from jamming American torpedoesby making radio signals jump between frequencies rather than stay on a single channel. The idea later became the underpinings of both secure military communications and mobile phone technology. It's also basically the reason we have things like GPS, Bluetooth, and advanced guided missile technology.
The original idea (meant to solve problems during World War II) was largely ignored until the 1960s, when some male scientists put Hedy’s invention to use during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This technological achievement combined with her acting talent made Hedy a truly amazing woman.
How many of us have had an idea for something and thought: I should make that or do that. Then someone else does, and you think: if only I had…, I would have made a fortune or effected big changes for yourself or the world.
In DARK WATERS, Raisa Jordan comes up with an idea and must implement it in the face of skeptics if she has any hope of stopping a deadly plot already set in motion.
15. Born in Bila Tserkva, Lyudmila moved to Kyiv with her family at the age of fourteen. She joined a shooting club and became an amateur sharpshooter. In June 1941, she was a fourth year history student at Kyiv University when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Lyudmila was among the first round of volunteers at the recruiting offices, and was eventually assigned to the Red Army's 25th Rifle Division. She became one of 2,000 female snipers in the Red Army, of which only about 500 survived the war.
As a USSR citizen fighting the Nazis, Lyudmila recorded 309 kills, including 36 enemy snipers. In 1942, she toured the U.S., and then in 1943 was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and commemorated on a Soviet postage stamp. After being wounded in service, Lyudmila was pulled from the field. Then, having achieved the rank of major, she became an instructor and trained Soviet snipers until the war's end.
Most of us have at one time or another employed a skill that we possess that no one else has to help to achieve a goal. If we’re good at a team sport, we’ve held up our end to win the game; if we’re good at carpentry, we’ve helped the high school build a set for the spring musical.
In DARK WATERS, Batya Ganani is a Shin Bet sniper, who uses her skills to help her country and to help protect the lives of Raisa Jordan and the team when they attempt to stop a plot already in motion.
There are a lot of great spies out there. Who are your favorites?
When I’m reading good crime fiction, it’s the personal motivations and emotions of the characters that captures my interest and compels me to read into the wee hours of the night. We all experience feelings of sadness, joy, love and hate, but a good writer immerses you in the experiences of their characters. Exploring the motivations of real life heroes and villains helps me bring a realism to my characters and makes them come to life on the page.
#1 Real Life Spy – While few of us have experienced events like the Holocaust in our lives, most of us have felt the loss of someone or something we love so much that we felt compelled to do something to avenge that loss or to honor their memory. Most of us have also seen someone do something we think the world should take notice of. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where it’s you against the world, but then you discover you actually have friends or allies who stand with you?
In DARK WATERS, my character Raisa Jordan knows what she must do and there are a handful of people who stand with her to try and stop a plot that would devastate millions.
Born Stella Goldschlag, she was raised in Berlin as the only child in a middle-class Jewish family. After her parents were denied visas to leave Germany, Stella (known for her “Aryan” beauty) disappeared underground about the time Berlin Jews began being sent to extermination camps, using forged papers to pass as a non-Jew.
In the spring of 1943, Stella and her parents were arrested by the Nazis. Subjected to torture, Stella agreed to hunt down Jews hiding as non-Jews for the Gestapo. In return she and her parents were not to be deported, plus she was to be paid a modest sum for every Jew that she betrayed. The number of Jews she’s suspected of turning in ranges anywhere from 600 to 3,000. The Nazis called her "blonde poison,” but despite her collaboration, they eventually broke their promise and her parents were deported and killed. Still Stella continued working for the Gestapo until March 1945. At the end of the war she was sentenced, tried and convicted and was imprisoned ten years for her crimes. She eventually converted to Christianity and became an open anti-Semitic. In 1994, Stella committed suicide by throwing herself out of her apartment window.
Many of us have been pressured into doing things we don’t want to do, and sometimes through promises that turn out to be false. Have you ever tried to convince yourself that you were right rather than face the horrible truth that what you’ve done was wrong?
In DARK WATERS, Raisa learns a secret about her past, then convinces herself that keeping that secret (one that might cause her to lose her job) is the right thing to do.
#3 Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian immigrant, ardent Nazi despiser and famous 1930s and 1940s actress who appeared in countless films alongside the likes of Charles Boyer, Spencer Tracy, and Clark Gable. She also was a passionate inventor who came up with critically important military technology. Working with composer George Antheil, she patented what they called the “Secret Communication System,” a method of preventing enemy ships from jamming American torpedoesby making radio signals jump between frequencies rather than stay on a single channel. The idea later became the underpinings of both secure military communications and mobile phone technology. It's also basically the reason we have things like GPS, Bluetooth, and advanced guided missile technology.
The original idea (meant to solve problems during World War II) was largely ignored until the 1960s, when some male scientists put Hedy’s invention to use during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This technological achievement combined with her acting talent made Hedy a truly amazing woman.
How many of us have had an idea for something and thought: I should make that or do that. Then someone else does, and you think: if only I had…, I would have made a fortune or effected big changes for yourself or the world.
In DARK WATERS, Raisa Jordan comes up with an idea and must implement it in the face of skeptics if she has any hope of stopping a deadly plot already set in motion.
15. Born in Bila Tserkva, Lyudmila moved to Kyiv with her family at the age of fourteen. She joined a shooting club and became an amateur sharpshooter. In June 1941, she was a fourth year history student at Kyiv University when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Lyudmila was among the first round of volunteers at the recruiting offices, and was eventually assigned to the Red Army's 25th Rifle Division. She became one of 2,000 female snipers in the Red Army, of which only about 500 survived the war.
As a USSR citizen fighting the Nazis, Lyudmila recorded 309 kills, including 36 enemy snipers. In 1942, she toured the U.S., and then in 1943 was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and commemorated on a Soviet postage stamp. After being wounded in service, Lyudmila was pulled from the field. Then, having achieved the rank of major, she became an instructor and trained Soviet snipers until the war's end.
Most of us have at one time or another employed a skill that we possess that no one else has to help to achieve a goal. If we’re good at a team sport, we’ve held up our end to win the game; if we’re good at carpentry, we’ve helped the high school build a set for the spring musical.
In DARK WATERS, Batya Ganani is a Shin Bet sniper, who uses her skills to help her country and to help protect the lives of Raisa Jordan and the team when they attempt to stop a plot already in motion.
There are a lot of great spies out there. Who are your favorites?
No comments have been added yet.
