Eric asked Michelle Barker:

Hi Michelle! I just recently finished reading your book "The House of One Thousand Eyes". I really enjoyed it! How did you come up with the story? Also, did you ever visit East and West Germany prior to the Berlin wall coming down in 1989?

Michelle Barker Hi Eric. Thank you for your question. My mother grew up in East Germany, so I've always been interested in the country and have wanted to write about it for a long time. I was actually researching a different novel altogether when I came across a book called Stasiland, by Anna Funder (great book, if you're interested in East Germany). That's where I first encountered the phrase, the House of One Thousand Eyes. At the time I thought, if I ever do write about East Germany, that would be a great title for the book.

Funder interviews a musician whose band was literally "erased" from the country, and it got me thinking: what if a writer was working on something subversive and the State got wind of it? What if he was erased?

I ended up going to Germany to research that other novel I mentioned (it's coming out next spring) and decided to visit the Stasi headquarters in Berlin which is now a museum. In it, you can actually walk through Erich Mielke's office the way it was when he worked there. As I walked around, it occurred to me: someone would have to clean these offices. And whoever did that would be privy to the most top secret information in the country. That was the main spark.

I did not get to visit Germany prior to the Wall coming down. I wish I had! But I connected with a woman in England who spent a fair bit of time in East Berlin in the 80s. She was my fact-checker.

My mom left East Germany in the 50s, but other members of her family remained, so I was able to talk to them as well.

I'm glad you enjoyed the novel. Thank you for connecting!

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