Kent’s Comments (group member since Jul 03, 2014)

Kent’s comments from the Espionage Aficionados group.

Feliks, In response to your post, my name is Kent Hinckley and the author of "Hearts, Minds, and Coffee," a Vietnam peace odyssey. I'm currently working on a Russian espionage thriller. Let me also say: I enjoy the book recommendations and comments. I have read a few books that I never heard of because of this group. Thanks to all.

Feliks, My marketing company set me up 6 months ago and decided to do it again now. I'm surprised you haven't heard about it. It's a great Goodreads feature. It exposes books to readers in the genre who check it out via reviews etc. They sign up, and then Goodreads selects 10 people. To be honest, the people they select are those who write frequent reviews.

So readers get exposed to a book they might not find easily, the author benefits from the reviews. A win-win situation. I am not a tech savvy guy but I'm sure Goodreads has a place where these books/contests can be located. Last time, I received 548 people who signed up. Then I sent out the 10 copies to the winners and benefitted from their 4 and 5 star reviews. One still has to write a good novel, but it's another way to gain exposure. Have a good weekend. Best, Kent

Feliks, Just to let you know that I have entered Goodreads give aways for my book, "Hearts, Minds, and Coffee." The giveaway ends Jan 21. Best, Kent

Feliks, I'm not sure what kind of foot is under me, but I appreciate any recommendations as to Russian history mainly 20th century and if you know about anything cultural that is well written, I'm open. Many thanks for your help Best, Kent

Felix, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I agree with you that any writing effort is a daunting experience. I enjoy thrillers and espionage stories, and love to tell a story. The challenge I face is to develop a magical suspenseful story with action and penetrating words. Emotion needs to fit in there as well. As for the espionage aspect, I served in Intelligence in the Army and lived in Asia for five years which gave me an terrific perspective.

I don’t know if readers in this genre as you say are diminishing or not, but I’m assuming they comprise a large group and not just juvenile readers.

You asked what my personal motive is. Plain and simple, I enjoy suspenseful stories and enjoy the writing process. I’m tailoring the novel to appeal to readers of course, but in reality I am writing for me too. I self-published a Vietnam peace novel, “Hearts, Minds, and Coffee,” recently and it has received excellent reviews, so I am encouraged.

My structure, plot, etc. have benefitted by critiques from my story editor, and an agent has expressed interest to represent me, but until she sees the completed story, there are no guarantees.

The main thing is to enjoy the process, and I find if I focus on a coherent story, it translates to assisting me with coherency in my life — if that makes sense.

Thanks again for your thoughts. I appreciate all the info that I have received from this group. I have read books that I enjoyed but never heard of before. So Goodreads is working. All the best,

I am writing a Russia-USA espionage book. I would love to read novels in this area. Does anyone have suggestions? Many thanks. Happy New Year. Kent Hinckley

Any new Russian espionage novels?