Today we have something a little different. Recovering attorney turned author, S. Lee Manning sits down to interview Kolya Petrov the protagonist of her debut thriller, Trojan Horse. Learn more about the author and her book at her website.
S. Lee: Hi, S. Lee Manning here interviewing Kolya Petrov, the protagonist of my espionage novel, Trojan Horse. So, Kolya, would you like to introduce yourself?
Kolya (rolls eyes): Not particularly. And you already mentioned my name.
S. Lee: You agreed to do this, don’t be a jerk.
Kolya: I was drunk when I agreed. But okay, sorry, I will endeavor not to be a jerk.
S. Lee: That would be appreciated. So how did you become a spy?
Kolya: I’m an intelligence operative, not a spy. A spy is someone inside a country or organization who gives information to the other side. I’m the person who obtains the information. If you’re going to write espionage novels, you should know the difference. But, to your question: I obtained a law degree, practiced law for six months, and found it unbearably tedious. Meanwhile, my childhood best friend was heading up a crime syndicate in Brooklyn, terrorizing people from my old neighborhood, and killing people who I knew and liked. I offered my services to the FBI, and after closing down the syndicate, I was recruited by the Executive Covert Agency.
S. Lee: And do you enjoy your job?
Kolya: I did until everything you did to me in this book.
S. Lee (shifting uncomfortably): So, can we talk about Alex?
Kolya: No.
S. Lee: I thought you agreed not to be a jerk.
Kolya: I agreed to let you interview me, about me. I did not agree to you interviewing me about Alex.
S. Lee: She’s a strong woman. You don’t think she can take care of herself?
Kolya: Of course, she can. She can also talk about herself if she wishes. Please feel free to ask her any questions you want.
S. Lee: Next blog, maybe. Right now, I’m interviewing you, and I am interested in your feelings for her.
Kolya (crosses his arms): Yob tvoyu mat.
S. Lee: I know what that means in Russian, and it’s very rude.
Kolya: No ruder than your intruding into my private life. My feelings for Alex and my relationship with Alex are out of bounds.
S. Lee (irritated tone): Okay, fine. Switching topics, did you celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year?
Kolya: I had some challah with honey. Not bad. But that was the extent of it.
S. Lee: Your experiences in Trojan Horse didn’t make you more interested in exploring Judaism?
Kolya: Do you think that experiencing violent anti-Semitism would make me believe in something I didn’t believe in before?
S. Lee: It’s been known to happen.
Kolya: Not with me. I’m proud of my Jewish heritage, but I was agnostic before Trojan Horse, and I’m agnostic now. Being Jewish doesn’t just mean practicing the religion. It’s complicated.
S. Lee: You don’t have a Jewish name, and you don’t look Jewish.
Kolya: What does that even mean? You do know that there is no such thing as looking Jewish. There are blond Jews like me. There are brown Jews. There are Black Jews. The name Petrov comes from my grandfather on my father’s side, who wasn’t Jewish, but my other grandparents were. Can we change the topic?
S. Lee: Sure. So, what are your future plans?
Kolya (cool stare): I was going to ask you that myself. I personally would like to work up some new jazz standards on the piano and catch up on reading. But I have a bad feeling that you’re going to have me hanging off a cliff somewhere in the book that’s scheduled to be published next July.
S. Lee (smiles tentatively): There’re no cliffs.
Kolya: I was speaking figuratively. But I’m ending the interview now so I have time to enjoy my life before you try to kill me again.
S. Lee: Okay, thank you for sitting down with me. Oh, for God’s sake, you could wait until I finish before walking off. Anyway, this was S. Lee Manning speaking with Kolya Petrov.
Trojan Horse
A Kolya Petrov Thriller
American operative Kolya Petrov is tracking Mihai Cuza, a descendant of Vlad the Impaler. Kolya suspects him of planning meltdowns of nuclear power plants around the world, but every time Kolya gets close, a member of his team dies in agony. Margaret, the head of Kolya’s agency, seizes upon a devious plan to place a Trojan horse on Cuza’s computer. But for the plan to succeed, she must betray one of her own agents. She chooses Kolya, a Russian-Jewish immigrant with no family, for the honor. Kolya is initially unaware that he’s been set up for kidnapping and torture. Realizing the truth, he must choose between stopping a plot that could kill thousands and protecting his own life and the life of the woman he loves.
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