Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Kaplan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am the author of two bestselling spy thriller book series: “Scorpion” and “Homeland”, the original prequel novels to the award-winning “Homeland” television series. Born in Brooklyn, after dropping out of Brooklyn College and serving in the U.S. Army, I began my career as a journalist and war correspondent for the International Herald Tribune in Paris, covering events during the Cold War in Europe and wars in Africa. I worked in an ad agency in New York, including for the Beatles, traveled in South America, then moved to Israel, where I served in the Israeli Army during the Six Day War. I subsequently helped organize 100 volunteer students to start the University of the Negev in Beersheva, Israel, today Ben Gurion University, a world-leading research university in cyber security and water technology. Returning to the U.S., I worked in the computer industry, then started a technical communications company, providing documentation and consulting services to U.S. government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. I eventually left technical writing to work full-time as an author and screenwriter.
In addition to my “Homeland” and “Scorpion” books, my standalone novels include the NY Times bestseller “Dragonfire,” “Hour of the Assassins,” about the hunt for the Nazi war criminal, Joseph Mengele, “War of the Raven,” selected by the American Library Association as “one of the 100 Best Books ever written about World War Two,” and my most recent thriller novel, “Blue Madagascar,” an award-winning #1 Amazon Release. My books have sold millions of copies, won numerous literary awards and have been translated into 22 languages. My screenwriting career includes the James Bond film, “Goldeneye.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s never a smooth road – for me or anyone. In my technical documentation business, there were a lot of ups and downs. Consulting gigs I got and then lost because of budget cuts, changes in corporate direction or management. The “Dot com implosion” hurt my business badly, as did the “Financial crash” in 2008. Also, it took a very long time for me to get published as an author. For years I got rejections from editors, who often wrote that they loved my writing. For a time, I thought I was the most popular unpublished author in America. Finally, one editor suggested that I write in a genre. “Pick a genre you read just for fun,” he suggested. For me, that was spy thrillers. And John Le Carre had shown you could write serious work within the spy genre. I wrote “Hour of the Assassins” and never looked back. Still, it’s never easy. Not every book becomes a New York Times bestseller. Also, the publishing business has changed radically since I started. There are only four big trade publishers left and so many books being published that even with a fan base, it’s hard to get noticed. All you can do is write something that is compelling to you and hopes other people find it and feel the same way.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m best known for spy thrillers and am probably best known for my “Homeland” and “Scorpion” novels, though the book I’m most proud of is “War of the Raven,” a World War Two thriller that was called “Smashing, sexy and unforgettable!” by Publishers Weekly and was selected by the American Library Association as one of the “100 Best Books ever written about World War Two.” What sets my work apart I think, are two things: the quality of the writing – for example, Suspense Magazine wrote that my work “Matches the best work of the late Robert Ludlum and then surpasses it” – and authenticity. At writers’ conferences, I’ve often had present or former CIA agents tell me that my work is the most realistic of all the spy writers and that everyone at the Agency reads me.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Shortly before Robert Ludlum died, I was offered the Ludlum franchise – Bourne, Covert One, the whole thing – by his agent, Henry Morrison. I turned it down because I didn’t want anyone thinking they were getting a book by Ludlum when it was actually written by me. Bob himself called me and because I knew he was so ill and he really wanted me, I agreed to reconsider, though I knew I wouldn’t change my mind. It would’ve probably meant a lot of money, but I believe readers should know who writes what they’re reading.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.andrewkaplan.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgkaplan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5xdtutoYb4&t=15s
- Other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kaplan
Image Credits
Personal photo: Jonathan Vandiveer
