Learn all about the archetypes that should appear in spy fiction, courtesy of author Graeme Shimmin. P. A. Duncan's new novella, Every Day is a Test , is FREE to download through 1/19/25. amazon.com/dp/B0DRPNH4VS Unexpected Paths Publishing announces its first publication by an author other than P. A. Duncan: Secondhand Hugs , a chapbook of poetry by Mel Jones. amazon.com/dp/DRTGZKL7
Jan 16, 2025•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Apologies for no music. Technical difficulties or operator error, take your pick. In this first episode of 2025, we learn that the podcast will now be twice a month, not weekly as it was previously. And a new novella by P. A. Duncan debuted on 1/1/25, and you can find it as an eBook or Paperback here: amazon.com/dp/B0DRPNH4VS Look for a new episode in two weeks.
Jan 02, 2025•21 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Play the recording. It explains it all.
Nov 07, 2024•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Apologies for no podcast today. My flu shot kicked my butt. I'll be back next week, but in the meantime, keep an eye out . . . for spies!
Oct 31, 2024•41 sec•Transcript available on Metacast You've seen the memes: "Don't mind my browser history; I'm a writer." But is there anything to worry about? Maybe. Maybe not. We're in the final few days of the October promo: the 3 novels and the reader magnet for SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS will be 99¢ each through 10/31/24. Find them at amazon.com/dp/B08L3886FP.
Oct 24, 2024•32 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast Fifteen years of the writing life, and what do I have to show for it? Everything I ever dreamed of. The three novels and the reader magnet for Self-Inflicted Wounds are FREE to download through Sunday, October 20. amazon.com/dp/B08L3886FP
Oct 17, 2024•30 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast To celebrate the 200th episode of the Real Spies, Real Lives Podcast, here is a history of how the podcast got started and some stats on how it's fared up to the 5th season so far. And the October eBooks sale is still on. The three novels and the reader magnet for SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS are 99¢ each, and you can find them HERE .
Oct 10, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some insight into how the 1960s TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. inspired the author's fiction and an homage to the ground-breaking television spy series. The sale books for October are the books in the series Self-Inflicted Wounds plus the trilogy's reader magnet, Dateline: Belgrade . The four eBooks are 99¢ each, and you can find them HERE ....
Oct 03, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sun Tzu's THE ART OF WAR and its take on espionage. Five days left to score all four ebooks in the series, A PERFECT HATRED for 99¢ each. Find them HERE .
Sep 26, 2024•26 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast A spy's training enhances skills they already have, but what are the effects of information overload, AI, and ethical quandaries. All 4 eBooks in A PERFECT HATRED are free starting today, Sep. 19, 2024, through Sep. 23, 2024, and you can download them for free HERE .
Sep 19, 2024•21 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast I've run out of time while preparing for the convention I'm going to this weekend, so Part II of getting inside a spy's head will be next week. Sorry for the inconvenience, but adulting . . .
Sep 12, 2024•33 sec•Transcript available on Metacast What are the characteristics of a good spy and how do spies use them for a successful operation? The September sale eBooks--all four books in the series, A PERFECT HATRED--are 99¢ each this month, and you can find them HERE . Sept. 13-15, the author will be at the Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity Con in Columbia, MD. Find out more HERE ....
Sep 05, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast How does my Top 5 list of realistic spy movies compare to The Google's? Listen and find out. Note: If you haven't watched any of these, you need to. Also, three days left to download the eBook of THE BETTER SPY for on 99¢ HERE .
Aug 29, 2024•27 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast P. A. Duncan is on a writer's retreat where she's writing, not podcasting, so a new episode will drop next week on 8/29/24. See you then!
Aug 22, 2024•26 sec•Transcript available on Metacast What about a celebrity could possibly make them a good spy? Listen and find out. The paperback edition of TAKING HER BOWS dropped earlier than expected, so you can find a copy HERE . The August sale book, THE BETTER SPY , is only 99¢ for the eBook HERE .
Aug 15, 2024•27 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast An answer to a question writers always get--why did you become a writer. The August sale book The Better Spy is 99¢ HERE . The paperback edition of Taking Her Bows will be available to order on 8/17/24 HERE .
Aug 08, 2024•24 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast Computer issues made this late yet again. Many apologies. This episode concludes the answer to the reader question "Who won the Cold War?" The August sale book is the novel in stories THE BETTER SPY, which you can find HERE all this month for only 99¢.
Aug 01, 2024•25 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Apologies for a late upload. Updated software offered some incompatibility issues, which I hope to resolve by next week. This episode is where I try to answer a reader's question about who won the Cold War. To download Love Death for free (until midnight TONIGHT), go HERE .
Jul 25, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast A look into the world of culinary espionage. Nope, not a typo. You can find the July sale book, Love Death , for only 99¢ HERE . You can find the paperbacks of A Spy's Legacy and For My Country HERE . And you can find the eBook box set SECRETS HERE ....
Jul 18, 2024•28 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast The third and final part discussing the protection of classified information. On to new topics next week. On July 13, 2024, the paperback edition of For My Country , book two of the eBook box set SECRETS will be available for purchase HERE . The July sale book, the novel Love Death is available HERE for a low eBook price....
Jul 11, 2024•25 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast We explore some of the reasons people mishandle classified information, and the real world results of such actions. The sale book for July is LOVE DEATH from 2020, and "end-of-Cold-War" novel with its beginnings from before the Berlin Wall was constructed. The eBook is 99¢ all month, and you can find it HERE . And we're a little more than a week away from the print edition release of FOR MY COUNTRY , book 2 from the eBook box set, SECRETS . On July 13, 2024, you can find the paperb...
Jul 04, 2024•25 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast P. A. Duncan talks about why securing classified information is so important and what the repercussions may be for mishandling it. This is part 1; part 2 is next week's episode. The paperback of A Spy's Legacy is available HERE , and next month the standalone novel Love Death will be on sale for 99¢. Also next month on 7/13, the paperback edition of For My Country will launch....
Jun 27, 2024•29 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast The author talks about the benefits and the distractions of researching historical fiction on a search engine. For a few more days, you can get the eBook of Phyllis A. Duncan's debut mystery novel, Supreme Madness of the Carnival Season , for only 99¢ Get yours before the weekend is over. You can find it HERE . A Spy's Legacy , book one of the eBook box set SECRETS , is now available in paperback, and you can find it HERE ....
Jun 20, 2024•24 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Another form of espionage is corporate or economic espionage, which may have started with secrets about how the Chinese manufactured porcelain. No sale this month, but on June 15 the print edition of A Spy's Legacy (book 1 of the SECRETS eBook box set) will be available HERE . Also, there'll be no episode of the podcast on 6/13/24. We'll resume on 6/20/24....
Jun 06, 2024•28 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Apologies for the poor audio. In our rush to record, edit, and upload this episode we must have used the laptop microphone instead of the cool, fancy mic, and there was no time to re-record because we're retreating. Today and tomorrow you can still preorder SECRETS for only 99¢ HERE . As well, A WAR OF DECEPTION is still only 99¢ to download through 5/31/24 HERE ....
May 30, 2024•26 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Tradecraft in 18th Century France? Yep. The author discusses the conclusions to two historical streaming series, A Gentleman in Moscow and Franklin . Also, some thoughts on the harrowing documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol . Starting today through Monday, Memorial Day, the author's debut espionage novel (from 2017), A War of Deception , is free to download HERE . SECRETS, a 3-novel, eBook box set is still available for preorder HERE ....
May 23, 2024•38 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast A busy publication/production week left no time for podcasting. Back next week! You can preorder the eBook box set SECRETS for 99¢ HERE and grab May's featured sale book A War of Deception (eBook) for 99¢ HERE .
May 16, 2024•29 sec•Transcript available on Metacast Some musings on a busy writing life and how writing retreats help you cope. You can preorder the 3-novel, eBook box set SECRETS HERE . You can find the May sale book, A War of Deception HERE .
May 09, 2024•26 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Book events are key to author/reader interaction. They can go well, but they can also go bad, per the author's recent experiences. SECRETS , the 3-novel eBook box set is now available for preorder for only 99¢, and you can find it HERE . May is the book birthday month for the author's debut espionage novel, A War of Deception . The eBook edition is on sale all month long, also only 99¢. You can find it HERE ....
May 02, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast My thoughts on Guy Ritchie's new movie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare , and a reading from Book 1 of the upcoming eBook Box Set, SECRETS . This month's featured books, all three in the Spy Flash Series are free through 4/27/24, and you can find them HERE .
Apr 25, 2024•20 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast