Synopsis

After a mysterious tip-off, freelance investigative journalist Andrew Maven is recruited by a shrouded government agency to track down a rogue spy. Teaming up with a veteran black ops agent, known only as Rust, Maven has to adapt quickly to the mystery and violence of the spy world. When an unravelled conspiracy turns the secret hunt into a search for facts and justice, Maven must question his duties as a reporter and an American.

Most of us live normal lives, away from the intrigue and violence of the secret agent world. This book examines what would happen if an ordinary citizen was exposed to that environment and how they might respond. Most thrillers normalise the experiences of conspiracy, gun fights, car chases and gadget wizardry, but The Spy and the Maven approaches these concepts realistically with doe-eyed wonder, anxiety and sometimes terror. 

The Spy and the Maven is a blend of my own experiences in the world of media and politics, and as a tourist in the USA, along with a lifetime of influences from the literature, TV, films and video games I love.

Outline

There are 30 chapters of the novel, each separating either different setting locations or different objectives and states of mind for the protagonist.

Following an episodic naming convention, every chapter has a one-word title with a noun describing the action of a particular verb - for example, "Confrontation", "Interrogation", "Disassociation", "Redemption", "Transportation" and so on. This prepares the reader with a glimpse of what to expect without giving away details, building anticipation and excitement.

As a plot-driven story, each chapter builds on the previous chapter in this chronological story told from a single first-person perspective. This perspective creates a level of ignorance in the narration, allowing the audience to feel a sense of discovery as the protagonist unravels the story bit by bit. This encourages readers to relate and develop a close relationship with the main character, who represents an ordinary citizen thrust into the world of espionage. It also allows for more surprises to take place as they discover truths and details along the way.

The structure of this novel is primarily driven by the protagonist Andrew Maven and his discovery of how society is controlled by unknown forces. In the first act, chapters 1 to 14, Maven is brought into a search for a rogue government agent and introduced to the life of an American spy and his covert operations. This journey reveals truths about his own understanding of self-awareness and purpose.

In the second act, chapters 15 to 22, a series of startling revelations force Maven to question his new perspective and his comprehension of societal control.

With his own safety and future now at risk, the final act, chapters 23 to 30, sees Maven face a test to right the wrongs and fulfill his purpose as an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances.

Throughout the narrative, Maven's relationships develop with the characters around him. Their perspectives shape his own, but they also evolve as Maven gives his unique outsider's angle on the key events.

Over the course of his adventure, Maven faces his fears, discovers a harsh truth, adjusts his worldview, accepts his true purpose and learns to find the metaphorical flowers in reality's harsh weeds. Characters around him must choose between loyalty and justice, as hard questions are answered.

Audience

Fans of spy fiction and nerd culture are the key audience for this novel. Spy thrillers have long been a popular genre, but I wanted to write a spy adventure that catered to the interest of the growing culture that I am very much embedded in. We're in an age that combines interests - with video games inspired by books, blockbuster films based on comic book heroes, and even novels influenced by video games. The Spy and the Maven is a story aimed at millennials who want something a bit different from the typical over-the-top action thriller. Unlike many other thrillers, The Spy and the Maven is free from the self-indulgent jargon and overly serious tone that would turn off some young readers. Instead, my novel aims to present a grounded but fun vision of an atypical week for a secret agent forced to team up with a reluctant gun-shy civilian.

Numerous reports have found that millennials are buying and reading more books than other generations. This growing generation of readers intersects with the growing interest in the real-world "espionage" reporting connected to WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden.

Readers with a genuine interest in journalism, conspiracy and investigation are another group likely to find interest in the story. The challenge is to appeal to each of these readerships without alienating the others.

Spy/crime/mystery novels are generally built on sagas and I already have ideas for a sequel and prequel to The Spy and the Maven. 

A Harris Interactive report based on US reading habits shows that 80 per cent of American adults who purchase at least one book a year will buy a fiction novel, and almost half will select one from the crime/mystery/thriller genre.

Regardless of these statistics, my genre choice was made out of my own passion and interest in telling my kind of story, rather than for commercial purposes. Market research, statistics and trends have not informed any of my decisions and my story draws little from literary tropes or bestseller trends. Instead, it is inspired by the many stories that have influenced my love for literature, TV, films and video games over my lifetime, combined with my own experiences as a journalist and international traveller.

Promotion

Through my years as a journalist living in several different communities, I've built up a supportive network of friends and colleagues. As a former digital editor and social media manager, I'm aware of the importance of clear messaging to reach an audience.

Word of mouth and social media have been the strongest marketing platforms for my campaign. I made regular posts to both raise awareness of my novel and remind those interested to purchase their pre-order copy. This was achieved through creative and varied approaches, including videos, memes, humourous Photoshops, and clever photography,

My Twitter account following of roughly 1800 people features many fellow pop culture aficionados and writers - many of whom will continue to promote, share and support my novel.

A separate Twitter account dedicated solely to The Spy and the Maven has built a following of 1000 users anbd is used to reinforce messages from my Twitter account.

I am also part of a supportive community of like-minded "nerds" in a pop culture Facebook group titled Kinda Funny, currently with 8000 members. This group is made up of a fan base for internet personalities known as Kinda Funny. My book contains many pop culture references and subtle inside jokes for this fan base. Roughly 25 per cent of my pre-orders have come from the Kinda Funny community and this strong support will continue.

I have successfully marketed the novel to this fan base through reaching out to internet personalities for coverage in their video content. A daily livestream video from Kinda Funny, viewed more than 5000 times, even featured a "shout-out" to my novel's campaign. There will be further strong support from this group after publication (video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IJesHaFefM). Another video podcast, which has an overlapping fan base, also mentioned the novel, with 4000 views and thousands of mp3 downloads (video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAUNVterYBY&feature=youtu.be).

I will leverage my media connections for reviews and publicity, while offering to speak to students at schools about creative writing and my experiences in journalism.

Competition

1. The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie. Naturally, British comedian Hugh Laurie's first novel was a concoction of comic zingers and over-the-top action. Some would consider this a spoof of the spy genre - a story about a witty mercenary caught up in international escapades. My story has a similar tone, aiming to combine dry quips and action with a grounded world. A key difference is that The Spy and the Maven is told from the perspective of an outsider - a news journalist -  so his confidence and ability to succeed in the face of danger is always in question.

2. The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. The fast-paced action of Bourne differs from my novel, which aims to present a more grounded world of spies (for the most part). By using action scenes sparingly, I've built tension through dialogue and investigation, due to the main protagonist's role as an investigative reporter and his phobia against gun violence. Like Bourne, he wants to know what the government is really up to, but his ignorance comes from being a civilian uncovering a plot of conspiracy, as opposed to amnesia.

3. Chuck by Peter Johnson and Zev Borow. The 6-issue miniseries based on the hit NBC television series follows the adventures of an IT nerd recruited to work for the NSA and CIA after gaining subliminal knowledge of the US government's secret intelligence. This work is a graphic novel; however, the TV show served as the initial inspiration for the tone of my novel - always fun, but with elements of drama and plenty of tension.

4. Watch That Man by Robert Farrar. You may be familiar with this novella about an American tourist in London who was inadvertently dragged into an attempt to reignite the Cold War - the story was turned into a hilarious Bill Murray movie and renamed The Spy Who Knew Too Little. Unlike Murray, my protagonist is well aware he is out of his depths and feels the full gravity of each situation.

5. No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State by Glenn Greenwald. This non-fiction book details the role of real-life investigative reporter Greenwald in the global surveillance disclosures revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden's story is an influence on some of the developments in my novel and Greenwald's reporting plays a similar role as my protagonist. As a work of fiction, I can simplify the complicated lessons in Snowden's story and present a streamlined tale of conspiracy, investigation and world-changing revelations.