β Scribed by Daniel Silva
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
It was supposed to be the start of a pleasant weekend in London for master art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon and his wife, Chiara. But a deadly pair of bombings in Paris and Copenhagen has already marred this lovely autumn day. Then, before he can stop a man he suspects is about to launch a third attack in Covent Garden, Gabriel is knocked to the pavementand he can only watch helplessly as the nightmare unfolds.
The haunting memory of his failure to stop the massacre of innocents is still fresh when Gabriel is summoned to Washingtonand plunged into a deadly confrontation with the new face of global terror. An elusive American- born cleric in Yemenonce a paid CIA asset whom Allah has granted "a beautiful and seductive tongue"stands at the center of the explosive plague of death and destruction. And the worst is yet to come...
Amazon Exclusive: Daniel Silva on Writing * Portrait of a Spy* with a Pencil
While on book tour, Ive been surprised to find that readers are fascinated by how writers actually write. Most readers hold in their mind an idealized image of the novelist at worka figure in a trendy urban coffeehouse, a solitary figure walking along an empty beach. The truth, however, is seldom so romantic.
Before going any further, let us stipulate that, much like the hero of my novels, the art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon, I am something of a creature of habit. I work seven days a week, from early in the morning until six thirty in the evening, when I stop to watch the evening news. My work clothing never varies: gray sweatpants by Russell Athletic, a long-sleeve T-shirt by L.L. Bean, fleece Acorn moccasins, and discount cotton socks from Marks & Spencer in England. Occasionally, visitors to our house will catch a glimpse of this outfit, but, for the most part, my wife and children tend to shield me from public view. As a rule, I dont answer the telephoneunless it is a family emergency of some sortand I dont read e-mail. I nibble rather than eat. Portrait of a Spy, like all the Gabriel Allon novels, was fueled largely by McVities digestive biscuits.
I have a computer, of course, but I really do most of my actual writing in longhand, on yellow legal pads. I prefer to work while lying on the floor rather than at my desk. This annoys my wife because she took a great deal of time and effort to have a desk custom made to fit my office. When I showed her a photograph of Muriel Spark, one of her literary heroes, writing in longhand stretched across a floor, she was only partially mollified. Sometimes we talk about living somewhere other than Georgetown. Secretly, the very idea terrifies me. After writing 14 books in the same room of the same house, I am afraid I have lost the ability to work anywhere else.
As for my writing instrument of choice, it is unquestionably the pencil. There is something about the sound it makes scratching across the page that, for me, is the essence of composition. The pencil is the antithesis of all things cyber and e, a means of returning, however briefly, to a world that is unconnected and unwired. A pad and pencil do not freeze or crash. There are no viruses or error messages. If a thunderstorm knocks out the power, the words will still be there when the lights come on again. And then, there is the satisfying natural rhythm of the work itselfthe turning of the completed page, the sharpening of the dulled point, the fortnightly disposal of the fluffy wooden shavings.
Lately, I have been hoarding pencils. Im not sure precisely when it began; I suspect it had something to do with the death of the typewriter. An irrational fear gripped me, a fear that pencils were next. If the typewriter could go extinct, how could the lowly, environmentally hostile pencil possibly hope to survive in the brave new world? I now order my favorite brandthe Paper Mate Mirado Black Warrior No. 2by the case. I am reasonably confident I now have enough pencils on hand to see me through the next several novelsthough, if I happen to misplace a pencil, I will search the house thoroughly before removing a new one from its special drawer and sharpening it for the first time. To sharpen a virgin pencil is, in a sense, to commit an act of assisted suicide. It saddens me.
I wish it were not so. I wish I could write on a computer while traveling on an airplane or sitting in a strange hotel room, but I cannot. I have become a prisoner of my office. I need my floor, and my Mirado Black Warrior No. 2 pencils, and my McVities digestive biscuits. I hoard them, too. I keep them on a special shelf in the storage room, next to my socks from Marks & Spencer.
Copyright Daniel Silva 2011. All Rights Reserved.
'Allon is the 21st century Bond - elegantly paced, subtle and well-informed. If you haven't read Silva before, try Portrait of a Spy - and then go back and read the series.' Daily Mail 'Sexily brooding Allon... must be the most famous superspy not played by Daniel Craig' Daily Telegraph 'In true Bauer fashion, shoot-outs, kidnappings and international terror plots follow Gabriel Allon wherever he goes' USA Today 'Silva builds tension with breathtaking double and triple turns of the plot' People
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### Amazon.com Review **Amazon Exclusive: Daniel Silva on Writing _ Portrait of a Spy_ with a Pencil** While on book tour, Iβve been surprised to find that readers are fascinated by how writers actually write. Most readers hold in their mind an idealized image of the novelist at workβa figure in a
### Amazon.com Review **Amazon Exclusive: Daniel Silva on Writing _ Portrait of a Spy_ with a Pencil** While on book tour, Iβve been surprised to find that readers are fascinated by how writers actually write. Most readers hold in their mind an idealized image of the novelist at workβa figure in a
*Art restorer. Assassin. Spy.* Gabriel Allon has been hailed as the most compelling creation since "Ian Fleming put down his martini and invented James Bond" (Rocky Mountain News). A man with a deep appreciation for all that is beautiful, Gabriel is also an angel of vengeance, an international oper
Gabriel Allon has been hailed as the most compelling creation since "Ian Fleming put down his martini and invented James Bond" ("Rocky Mountain News"). A man with a deep appreciation for all that is beautiful, Gabriel is also an angel of vengeance, an international operative who will stop at nothing
After failing to stop a suicide bomber attack in London, master art restorer and assassin Gabriel Allon is summoned by the CIA and is faced with an organization riddled with dissent--and ill-equipped to deal with the deadly new face of global jihadist terror.
Paperback, 480 pages Published 2011 Suspense fiction featuring Gabriel Allon, master art restorer and assassin. Haunted by his failure to stop a suicide bomber in London, Gabriel Allon is summoned to Washington and drawn into a confrontation with the new face of global terror. At the center of th