by T. M. Parris
Walter put his fork down and dabbed his mouth again, sensitive enough not to say anything for a space, not to look at her until she’d composed herself. He was waiting for her.
“So,” she said eventually, her voice sounding impressively close to normal, “If not Russia, then where?”
He put the napkin down, folded his hands on the table and looked at her with his thoughtful, knowing eyes.
“I do have something in mind,” he said.
The Clarke and Fairchild Readers’ Club
Thanks for reading my book!
I would love it if you could take the time to review Moscow Honey. It’s really exciting for self-published authors like me to put our books directly in front of potential readers on Amazon. However, with millions of books out there, how do readers know what they’re going to like? Seeing what other people think definitely helps readers to choose.
It’s also very helpful to me! Opinions of real readers, not my friends or my mum, are incredibly valuable because it’s you that I’m writing for, and I want to get better and better at writing great stories and creating worlds for readers to inhabit. It doesn’t have to be super-long or stunningly witty: even if it’s just one sentence or two that’s absolutely fine. So please, if you have a moment, do click here and leave a brief – and of course honest – review on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
If you like the world of Clarke and Fairchild, please stay in touch! Join the Clarke and Fairchild Readers’ Club here. Claim your FREE copy of Trade Winds, a short story featuring John Fairchild and set in Manila. It takes place before Reborn, the first in the series, and before Fairchild and Clarke meet. There’s also Crusaders, a short story set in Croatia featuring Rose Clarke’s fall from grace from the British intelligence service. These stories are not available on Amazon but will be available to members of the Readers’ Club. You’ll also get offers and updates directly from me, and previews when new releases come out. You can unsubscribe at any time!
Those links again:
Join the Reader Club: https://www.subscribepage.com/tmparris_moscow_honey
Leave a review on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B08LBSN8SK
Leave a review on Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/create-review?&asin=B08LBSN8SK
Author note
In the summer of 2011 I travelled by train from London to Beijing via Moscow, Irkutsk and numerous other places. Having seen it in the summer, I then decided to repeat part of the journey in the dead of winter, a highlight of which was a walk on the solid ice of Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake. I also went to Georgia in 2016, both Tbilisi and the Caucasus mountains, but the town of Lali doesn't exist. It's partly based on Gori, Joseph Stalin's home town which was invaded by the Russians in 2008, but the location and geography have been completely re-invented to fit the story.
My research for Moscow Honey included the following books, which influenced the story heavily:
Russia by Martin Sixsmith (2011). This book covers the sweep of Russian history, repeating themes of brutal events, mass suffering and the cycle of suffocating central control, then a promise of release followed by even tighter control again. Plenty of events in Russia's history such as the storming of the Dubrovka theatre siege in 2002 which left over 100 Russian citizens dead, not to mention the USSR's cover-up following the massive radioactive leak at Chernobyl in 1986, demonstrate that human life is indeed held cheap in this part of the world.
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev (2015). A journalist and broadcaster's experiences working in Russian media. From this book I learned about the allure of the oligarchs and the women who seek them, as well as the status and respectability of provincial mafia leaders.
Mafia State by Luke Harding (2011). A journalist's short-lived stint in Moscow before being thrown out by the Russian government. From here I learned about the FSB's home incursions as suffered by Harding himself, the secret room in the British Embassy (which has passed into folklore), and the village made up entirely of women, two of whom were indeed called Olga.
One Soldier's War in Chechnya by Arkady Babchenko (2006). A conscript's experience serving in Chechnya, the brutality of hazing and the whole experience of war. In one episode the writer enters an abandoned flat and imagines it's his own, which gave me the idea of Boris holed up in the flat in Lali.
The Angel of Grozny by Asne Seierstad (2007). This fearless journalist showed up in Grozny alone just after the start of the first Chechen war. I have nothing but admiration for her. She writes about a blond girl in an orphanage, who is in some ways the inspiration for Katya. Some of her descriptions of post-war Grozny I've used for Lali, although the circumstances are quite different.
Besieged by Barbara Demick (1996/2012). This focuses on one particular street in Sarajevo over the course of its three-year siege during the Balkan War. Again the situation in Sarajevo, a large city supported by UN airlifts, was different from the fictional stranglehold of Lali, but I've used many of the details of life under constant fire and the arbitrary nature of who lives and who dies.
I did plenty of other reading in addition to this, but at the end of the day the story comes first. I intend for these books to be accurate but impressionistic, with the focus on the story and the characters. Many things may have been changed to fit, but the inspiration for the stories comes from the research, from real places and real events.
For more on the context of the stories, I have a page on Facebook (T.M. Parris) or join the Readers’ Club
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Reborn – the first Clarke and Fairchild novel
A fast-moving thriller spanning Hong Kong, China, Tibet and Nepal
Introducing Rose Clarke and John Fairchild, both outcasts of the British Secret Service, their differing motivations bringing them together, often in conflict, across the globe.
Recently disgraced Secret Service officer Rose Clarke is given one last chance to redeem herself by tracking down John Fairchild, a notorious mercenary who has developed a global network of informants and is suspected of trading British intelligence.
Clarke’s mission takes her to China where Fairchild has links with Jinpa, a Tibetan monk whose reincarnated identity is of huge political significance. Jinpa has to flee from the Chinese authorities when they discover his secret, and Fairchild follows to try and uncover the truth of his own past. Clarke risks everything to pursue them over the Himalayas, chased by the ruthless and powerful Chinese authorities determined to stop them.
Their perilous journey in extreme conditions will take them all to the limits of their mental and physical endurance and change them for ever.
The story is a fictional hypothesis featuring a real-life figure, the Panchen Lama, considered by Amnesty International to be the world's youngest political prisoner.
Reborn is available to purchase on Amazon here.
Trade Winds
Trade Winds is a short story which features John Fairchild from the Clarke and Fairchild series of political thrillers of which this is the first, Reborn. Trade Winds takes place before Reborn, in which Clarke and Fairchild meet. It’s set in the Philippines and is a typical episode in the life of the enigmatic John Fairchild showing how he operates, who his friends are – and aren’t – and what motivates him to operate in the dangerous and morally murky world of international spycraft.
Trade Winds is available as a free download to members of the Clarke and Fairchild Readers’ Club. You can join the Readers’ Club here and claim your free story. As a member you’ll also get other offers, and I’ll let you know when the next in the Clarke and Fairchild series is out as well as sending out other offers and updates. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Crusaders
In cosmopolitan Zagreb, deep feelings of resentment and betrayal linger years after the bitter Balkan war. Tihana wants to live quietly, but within hours of a chance encounter finds herself on a dangerous path with no way out. Ambitious and committed MI6 office
r Rose Clarke should have everything under control, but events slip from her grasp with horrific consequences.
A dark, atmospheric prequel of around 9,000 words featuring Clarke's final placement before she embarks on her desperate mission to regain favour in Reborn, the first novel in the series.
Crusaders is available as a free download to members of the Clarke and Fairchild Readers’ Club. Join here! I’ll also let you know when the next in the Clarke and Fairchild series is out, as well as sending other offers and updates. And, as mentioned above, you can unsubscribe at any time.
About the author
My name’s Tracey Parris and I live in Brighton on the south coast of the UK. I’ve been a market researcher and data geek, an English language teacher, a player of the flute, trumpet and Irish whistle (not at the same time), a marathon runner, a baker of fine cakes and a local councillor.
I’ve been lucky enough to have travelled a lot, particularly in Asia and Europe, and I’ve visited most of the locations featured in these novels.
I’ve been writing since 2011, both fiction and non fiction. The Clarke and Fairchild series, my first self-publishing venture, is a result of my fascination with international travel and the moral ambiguities of the world of politics. I had the idea for the character of John Fairchild in a moment of homesickness wandering the streets of Beijing.
If you want to hear more about where the inspiration for Clarke and Fairchild comes from, join my Facebook page (T.M. Parris) or my mailing list on www.tmparris.com
T.M. Parris
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