Paul Dark is a complex character and Jeremy Duns has exquisitely crafted his plot so that the reader finds themselves rooting for Dark who would stereotypically be a "bad guy." I asked Jeremy how difficult it was to crawl beneath Dark's skin.

"Dark is really a villain, but because the story is told from his perspective our attitude towards him is perhaps a little different than to, say, the Jackal in Frederick Forsyth's The Day of The Jackal. I wanted to crawl beneath this character's skin because I thought it would provide an interesting perspective on the Cold War, and because there *were* British agents who spied for the Soviets in this way, and I wanted to try to explore why and how that might have happened. Dark is partly based on the 'Cambridge Ring', a group of mostly upper-class Englishmen who spied for the Russians during the Cold War, and I read a lot about them, especially about Kim Philby. There are elements of several of those men in Dark, but unlike them he is trapped by the Soviets into working for them - and, of course, once you choose sides in a war like this, it's not very easy to back out. Dark is a very uncompromising character in some ways and once his voice emerged he was quite forceful - I found I couldn't really make him do things he didn't want to!"

This is a Cold War tale that pulls the reader into the complex political battle of the Biafran War. Jeremy grew up in Africa and Asia combining his multi-cultural background with intense research, he paints a realistic picture of a capsule of time influenced by the desires of the world's largest super powers. Turning away from the traditional insightful psychological British spy novel, Jeremy infuses his plot with edge-of-your-seat suspense and FREE AGENT hits the stands as a thriller to be reckoned with.

Publisher's Weekly concurred with a starred review. "Duns terrific debut will draw comparisons to early John le Carré, though the lead character, turncoat British Secret Service agent Paul Dark, is a complete original...Seldom has a thriller plot taken more unseen turns as Paul searches for the truth about his past and reality of his present.  Readers will eagerly await the sequel."

With that said, I asked Jeremy what the future holds. "FREE AGENT is the first of a trilogy featuring Paul Dark, with all three books taking place in 1969 (with the occasional flashback). I've just finished writing the second novel, Free Country, which is mostly set in Italy, and I'm currently editing that as I research and outline the third book, Free World. Free Country will be out this time next year and Free World a year after that."
 
Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentleman, and join me for a ride into the Dark age. I'm buckled in and ready to go!

Julie Korzenko is a senior paralegal at a boutique domestic law firm in Atlanta. Her first book DEVIL'S GOLD hit the shelves in March of 2009. Publisher's Weekly stated that "Fans of Alex Kava, Shannon, McKenna, and Suzanne Brockmann will hope to see more of Cassidy and Jake." She is currently wrapping up its sequel ANGEL FALLS.