Frederick Harrison

I am a retired U.S. Intelligence Officer with long service, initially as a U.S. Navy officer, in the National Security Agency, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and the Senior Intelligence Service of the Central Intelligence Agency. I've been writing virtually all of my adult life, beginning as editor and columnist for my college newspaper through many analytical studies and reports created during my service as an intelligence analyst. I began writing fiction with a series of screenplays: dramas and romantic comedies. A prospective agent in Hollywood liked the script for my drama, An Opaque War, but recommended that I turn it into a novel, which he thought would be more readily salable. In doing that, I came up with a major plot twist that radically changed the relationship between the main characters, creating a high level of dramatic tension shared by the reader who is aware of circumstances unknown to the book's characters. Upon completing the novel, I went back and rewrote the screenplay, which is currently in the script department of Sony Pictures.

Since then, I have written six additional novels, the latest, "November Station," published in July 2015. While each one is independent, in the sense that they need not be read in order or are individually incomplete, they do have continuing characters who serve to carry forward my primary narrative which seeks to realistically portray the lives of people caught up in the rush of events driven by acquired intelligence and the concerns it engenders. These are both high and low level officials, Americans and foreigners, friends and enemies. In each of the novels, I have placed my characters in real world situations of which the reader will be aware: a terrorism threat in New York City, insurgencies in Pakistan and Afghanistan, piracy in Somalia, and partisan politics in Washington.

For a change, between novels, I've been writing shorter pieces about characters and events unrelated to the world of Intelligence and spying. I now have a collection, comprising a novella and eight short stories, for which I'm seeking a publisher. Its title is "Hiding in Theaters and Other Stories."

I still reside in the Washington D.C. area and maintain contacts in the intelligence and law enforcement communities. The professionals I know, both active and retired, read and criticize my manuscripts and buy the published books to send to friends and relatives. Their approval is a great source of appreciation. I am offering "An Opaque War," the first novel in my series, to the Kindle generation at a token price as an introduction to my continuing characters and the complex world they inhabit.