publicity

“…Ex-CIA agent Plame and suspense author Lovett make a good team, spinning a brisk tale of espionage in vivid European settings and adding some surprising turns (including the relivious affiliation of the deadly zealots), together with a conclusion that will leave readers hungry for the next in the series.” ~ Michele Leber, Booklist starred review Fall 2014

“What a team! Valerie Plame, a former CIA covert spy, paired with Sara Lovett, one of the most talented suspense novelists at work today. In this the second of the Vanessa Pierson series, the ex-spy and writer begin with an explosive–literally and figuratively speaking–scene at the Paris Louvre that leaves the reader breathless. Don’t expect to recover your breath soon. Pierson, the brash and clever CIA covert ops officer, dashes off to Amsterdam to Venice and to Istanbul in pursuit of a mastermind intent on creating ever greater threats to world peace.” ~James McGrath Morris

“Combine Valerie Plame’s insider knowledge of the CIA, international espionage, and the intricacies of nuclear proliferation with Sarah Lovett’s track record as an author of thrillers and you have an action-packed, atmospheric, and at times scary yarn. I am not a particular fan of spy fiction, but this was so enjoyable I may have to re-think that. While I’m sure much of the detail that could have been included was prohibited by the CIA, I enjoyed getting a little closer look at the CIA world of “Operations.” And as a reluctant traveler, I felt transported to Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna. The global “feel” is reminiscent of James Bond. A fast paced, easy read. But its verisimilitude has double edge: it may leave you cringing at just how dangerous the world is, and how many thanks we owe the unsung heroes who work to protect us from evil and hatred.” ~B. Mann

Valerie Plame’s dispatch from her river of no return
By Miller Hudson
November 4, 2013
Blowback is a spy story co-written by Valerie Plame with the thriller novelist Sarah Lovett, featuring a CIA operative, Vanessa Pierson, who is intent on protecting the world against the proliferation of nuclear weapons — much like Plame herself before she was “outed” as an undercover agent by Scooter Libby and others in the Bush White House during the aftermath of our Iraq invasion. Plame, who is married to Ambassador Joe Wilson, recounted that tale in the non-fiction Fair Game. It sold well enough that her publisher suggested she consider penning an espionage novel based on her own experiences as an undercover agent. Blowback is the result and likely the first in a continuing series featuring Vanessa Pierson.
>>Read the entire review

Boston Globe: Valerie Plame – an interview
By Amy Sutherland
November 16, 2013
After Valerie Plame’s cover as a CIA operative was blown in 2003, ending her espionage career, she had to reinvent herself. The former spy has become the author of spy novels. “Blowback,” her first mystery with co-writer Sarah Lovett, follows a female CIA agent. Plame’s book tour recently brought her to town.
>>Read the entire review
Lost assets: Valerie Plame and Sarah Lovett’s “Blowback”
By Bill Kohlhaase
November 1, 2013

Valerie Plame, the former CIA covert-operations officer, will tell you she never lost an asset (the CIA term for a human information source). Vanessa Pierson, Plame’s fictional counterpart (notice the initials) loses one to an assassin’s bullet in the first chapter of Plame and Sarah Lovett’s spy thriller, Blowback. More killings follow. Pierson is a covert-operations officer who’s tracking a man named Bhoot — “the world’s most dangerous international nuclear arms dealer,” according to Blowback’s jacket copy. How much of Plame can be found in Pierson’s character?
>> Read the entire review

“I couldn’t put it down! BLOWBACK is beautifully written, incredibly well-informed and an amazing treatment of profound female courage. Though thrillers are not usually a genre I follow, I would follow Plame’s heroine Vanessa Pierson anywhere — this book transcends genre!” ~Naomi Wolf

“Want to read a thriller about the real CIA and how it actually works? Then dive into this corker from former agent Valerie Plame and Sarah Lovett.” ~James Patterson

“Great storytelling, real insider authenticity, and above all a fascinating main character in Vanessa Pierson. And maybe those initials are not a coincidence—sometimes fiction can reveal things that nonfiction can’t.” ~Lee Child

“Plame and Lovett have hit a home run in their fiction debut. The opening scenes of Blowback are filled with a shattering realism that only someone like Plame, who has walked the walk and talked the talk, could inspire. Vanessa Pierson is a flesh-and-blood field operative whose life literally depends on not really trusting anyone, not even those on her side. Action aplenty, what sets this story apart from many of its kind are the insights into Pierson’s (and Plame’s) mind and the nuanced details that really matter in the world of intelligence operations. Blowback is an outstanding addition to the thriller genre and ushers in a writing team that I hope will enthrall us for years to come.”
~David Baldacci

“Blowback is one wild ride, a riveting cat-and-mouse game set within the world of international terrorism, covert operations, blackmarket WMDs, and brutal assassinations. Plame and Lovett know their stuff cold and have written a realistic, vivid, fast moving story full of shocking twists and unexpected turns. This is truly an epic thriller–the first in what promises to be a fantastic series. I highly recommend it.” ~Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Monster of Florence and co-creator of the legendary Pendergast novels

“Blowback is a stunning debut novel by former CIA agent Valerie Plame and suspense writer Sarah Lovett—a thriller rich with international intrigue and details of spycraft and secret ops that only an insider could bring to the genre. It’s a well-told tale of high stakes and lives on the line, starring a brilliant, edgy protagonist I can’t wait to see more of. A powerful read.” ~Linda Fairstein

“With an alpha female heroine and a plot as familiar as her own backyard, Blowback is a stunning debut. Here’s to many more.” ~Steve Berry

“Plame, the now ex-CIA agent notably exposed by the Bush II White House, mines her experience as an operative in this debut novel. She shines a bright light on illegal international arms trading to show how its tentacles reach deeply into the intelligence activities of the West’s spymasters.… A tightly wound, vigorously deployed thriller echoing the real-life stories of CIA agents and their enemies.” –Library Journal (starred review)

You’re publishing a book this month called “Blowback,” a spy novel written with Sarah Lovett. Why fiction?
I’ve always been really dismayed at how female C.I.A. officers were portrayed in fiction. They’re always these cartoonish, cardboard characters, big on sexuality, big on gunplay. I wanted to depict something more realistic but still entertaining. (From an interview by Jessica Gross in the New York Times

“The novel is well paced with the proper impending sense of worlds colliding and lives in danger. I wasn’t sure who to trust – including Vanessa! Some of the chapters were written from other characters’ perspectives, not just Vanessa’s. I liked reading through “the eyes” of different characters. I thoroughly enjoyed Blowback! If you like spy novels or thrillers, I highly recommend it!”

–review from firsttoread.com