Upmarket Espionage / Mystery /
Thriller / Suspense
Date Published: January, 15, 2016
In 1960s London, British Intelligence agent Peter Stoller is
next in line to run the Agency. But when he falls in love with cab driver
Charles, his life goes off the road. Charles is accused of being an enemy spy,
and Peter is guilty by association. Though they manage to escape, the seeds of
doubt have been planted, leaving Peter to wonder how much he can truly trust
his lover. Is ignorance bliss or merely deadly?
GUEST POST
10 Things You Didn’t
Know about The Fall and Rise of Peter
Stoller
by M Pepper Langlinais
by M Pepper Langlinais
1. The
first part of the book, which is called “St. Peter in Chains” was originally
released as a novella. Then I received emails from readers asking what happened
next, so I wrote the rest of the book.
2. Peter’s
original name was Stephen, but when I settled on the title “St. Peter in
Chains,” I thought it would be weird if his name wasn’t Peter, so I changed it.
3. I
adapted “St. Peter in Chains” into a short screenplay, and it won an award. It
also received a professional table read at Sundance Film Festival. (Still
hoping to get it made into a movie.)
4. Peter
wasn’t planned as a gay character. I was going to have him flirt with his
secretary Miranda. But when I started writing, he steadfastly refused. If you
read the novel, you can see how Miranda takes it. (hint: not well)
5. The
novella started with the party at Gordon’s house, but an agent told me to add
another layer of espionage, so I added in the Jules Maier plot for the novel
version. Jules did not exist in the original story.
6. I
adore Peter, but I think my favorite character is actually Simeon Martin.
7. The
pasta dish Ken Gamby cooks is an actual recipe my friend from the Netherlands
used to make for me. Though it’s a simple dish, I have never been able to make
it turn out as well as she did!
8. I
did a travelogue of Peter and Charles’ travels for the A to Z blog challenge in
April 2013, but those vignettes don’t reflect the final novel. In fact, one of
them mentions Jules Maier having been killed, but that was before I decided to
make Jules part of the rewrites. Still, I’m very proud of entries “O” and “W.”
(You can still find it all archived on my blog at PepperWords.com)
9. I
grew up with a girl from Poland, so I borrowed her last name for the character
of Alexander Sepiol. And Byron—Peter’s university boyfriend—was the name of one
of our cats. Like Peter’s Byron, ours was very needy.
10. It
took me only three weeks to write “St. Peter in Chains” but over two years to
write the rest of the book!
EXCERPT
December
196x
“Get him out or take him out.” Peter’s heart
was in his knees, but he made sure it didn’t sound in his voice.
Noise on the line as Jules Maier shifted.
Peter pictured him tucked up in a dark, cramped flat with too-low ceilings and
flimsy furniture. It would be perpetually damp there. Musty. And yet Jules
would still somehow manage to look perfectly put together. Jules rolled out of
bed perfectly put together. It was sinful.
“After all that work to get him in?” Jules
asked.
Perfectly put together but, Peter was reminded,
also a tad whiney. Gordon had once told Peter he couldn’t think of the men out
in the field as real people, not if he wanted to be able to do the job well.
“Don’t think of them as men you’ve met, had lunch with, drinks with,” Gordon
said. “Think of them as characters in a book or players in a game.” Peter had
wondered at the time whether Gordon thought of him that way, but he’d been too
afraid of the answer to ask.
And now, with the file open in front of him
and the face of Alexander Sepiol staring back from his desk, it was difficult
advice to take. Peter closed the folder. “You know how this goes, Jules.”
A heavy sigh. “I’ll try to get him out, of
course.”
“Don’t waste any time,” Peter instructed.
“And, Jules?”
“Hmm?”
Peter imagined the arched eyebrow, the tiny
smile. He was probably wearing one of those goddamned turtlenecks. “Get
yourself out as soon as you can. I don’t want to have to send anyone in after
you.”
* * *
He hoped the drive down to Oxshott would
clear his head, but his mind continued to jump from Jules to Alexander and back
again. Why wouldn’t Alexander leave Germany? How could they coerce him? Had
Alexander already given them away? If so, to whom? Was Jules really doing
everything he could?
Probably not. Jules was lazy. But if
Alexander had leaked, Jules was also in trouble. Along with a half dozen more
people in Brandenburg’s Frankfurt.
Peter was surprised to find he’d arrived, his
musings having stolen the time. The grass in front of the Lessenbys’ was dead
with winter and flat with cars. Peter added his TR3 to the fleet.
He didn’t bother to knock; he never did at
the Lessenbys’, and with the party, no one would have heard it anyway. Gordon
and Elinor held it every year at the holidays, this odd assemblage of people
whose jobs were to be quiet and unseen, Gordon a gaunt anti-Fezziwig.
Peter spotted him standing near the
fireplace, Trevor Tillholm planted squarely in front of him, and he started in
that direction, but Elinor Lessenby caught sight of Peter and moved in,
arresting his progress. Her oversized hat forced him to rock back a bit on his
heels; he then took a full step backward as her oversized body followed the
brim.
“Peter!” she shrilled as she held out a hand.
“How did you sneak in without any of us noticing? Oh!” she laughed, not waiting
for him to answer, “no, I know, it’s what you do!”
.
AUTHOR BIO
M Pepper Langlinais is best known for her
Sherlock Holmes stories. She is also a produced playwright and screenwriter.
She lives in Livermore, California.
Contact Information
Website: http://pepperwords.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/mpepperlanglinais
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sh8kspeare
Blog: http://pepperwords.com
Any Others:
Purchase Links
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fall-and-rise-of-peter-stoller-m-pepper-langlinais/1123106771
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/598079
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