by Glenn Meade
4. So many times in Snow Wolf, people’s fates hinge on a single moment. The traffic guard at Turgenev Square stops Alex and Anna yet opts not to report their presence. Lukin fails to fire a bullet—and receives one. A wolf appears at an accident scene and chooses to eat the dead rather than attack the living, so Lukin lives. The Kremlin guards don’t thoroughly examine Slanski at the door of the dacha, and he’s able to fulfill his plan. As a writer, can you explain the power of single moments in a person’s life story?
Single moments can sometimes define whether we live or die, can’t they? Fate, ill-fate, luck, bad luck—at best or worst they can destroy or glorify our lives. Choice plays out the same way—sometimes we take a wrong turning and our life may veer toward a bad place; or the opposite may happen.
The same applies to fictional characters, and as a writer you’re always trying to push a character towards a defining precipice—how they react when they’re faced with such a precipice illuminates their personality, shows them up as the kind of person they really are.
5. Another of your strengths is crafting breathtaking plot twists. How important is the element of surprise in a story? Who, in your opinion, are masters at using surprise to enhance their storytelling?
It’s huge—I think all readers look forward to the surprise twist, and try to anticipate them. So in a way the writer has to second-guess and modify accordingly to maintain the element of surprise. Who are the masters? Any top-ranking fiction writer worth his salt will have some element of surprise built into each chapter or book. As for my own favorite, I like Harlan Coben.
6. If you could choose to be one of the characters in Snow Wolf, which would you like most to be? Why?
Lukin is probably the most normal, the most humane, despite being the “bad” character. He hasn’t got right on his side but has a heart and soul. Plus, he has that interesting old prewar BMW—I’d like one of those. . . .
7. You must be a great student of world history to write your thrillers. Are you studying specific eras right now? Which ones intrigue you?
I loved history in school. Once I visit a place of historical importance my mind tends to run riot imagining what it must have been like to live during that era. I still have dreams about visiting Pompeii, some years ago—that was mind-blowing. No, I’m not reading about any particular eras right now but I sometimes find myself mulling over ideas for books set in certain periods. The twentieth century in particular intrigues me—so much occurred. World War One, World War Two, the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the advances in science and medicine, the huge social and economic changes, space travel. The twentieth is where it’s all been happening lately. . . .
8. In this story, President Eisenhower says, “If I learned one thing that night in the jungle it’s that you cut your losses when you have to, and you take your pain.” What do you think of Eisenhower’s convictions about such dilemmas? Is it ever too costly to cut one’s losses? Why or why not?
I’m sure it can be—I can think of a few personal life events where it has been painful as well as costly. As for Eisenhower, I admired him. He was very much a caretaker president, but a good one. I remember visiting the offices of Senator Bob Dole in Washington. On his wall is a framed, signed letter written by Eisenhower—and delivered to President Roosevelt—stating that he, Eisenhower, as a US military commander, bore full responsibility in the event of the failure of the D-Day landings. I was impressed by that written offer of personal accountability.
9. Alex Slanski is a formidable character. Cold-blooded yet empathetic, he’s as able to kill and mutilate as he is to mourn his lost family. He tells Anna, “What would please me? To be able to walk in my father’s garden again. To smell the scent of apple trees and cherry blossoms. To be with my parents and brother and sister once more.” Alex is a picture of innocence lost. Can such a person ever truly enjoy life again? Given the chance, could Alex?
People can and do survive huge tragedy—human nature is incredibly resilient. But in Alex’s case, for the sake of the story, he was a lost man, gone over the edge, haunted by his past and set on exacting vengeance. The fact that he hankers after the idyllic times, and the loving family that was taken from him as a child, shows his essential goodness, even if he was doomed by those who destroyed his young life. I guess a point I often make in my books is that evil has such a profound and destructive effect on us all; an effect that can ripple across the ages and cause such enormous anguish, even long after the event.
10. At the end of her account, Anna tells Bill Massey, “Life rarely surprises us with happy endings.” Do you believe this? Are happily-ever-afters as rare as Anna says they are?
Not always. Life is life, full of highs and lows, and we all get a share of unhappy in our lives. But I’m an optimist by nature, and optimists always hang in there, ever hopeful. Our Powerball numbers may never come up—and we know that—but we keep praying and buying the tickets, and I guess that’s what is important.
Look for more heart-pounding thrillers from Glenn Meade!
Hailed as "the next Da Vinci Code," internationally best-selling author Glenn Meade's thriller revolves around an ancient parchment of the Dead Sea Scrolls that brings out startling new revelations about the words of Jesus Christ.
A Thriller Second Messiah
* * *
Two bodies discovered in a Russian mine shaft uncover dramatic questions about Russia’s deposed royal family the Romanovs—supposedly they were all killed in the Revolution, but is it possible the beloved and charismatic Princess Anastasia survived?
A Thriller Romanov Conspiracy
* * *
After a massacre at a prison camp in the Bosnian War, a young girl is found alone, clutching a diary, so traumatized she can’t even speak. Twenty years later, the last witness to these brutal crimes must hunt down those responsible to learn what happened to her family in this heart-pounding thriller.
A Thriller Last Witness
* * *
In this riveting thriller, a British agent and a beautiful German woman find themselves entangled as they unravel an international plot to bring about the Fourth Reich.
A Thriller Brandenburg
* * *
ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!
© FRED CANNON
GLENN MEADE was born in Finglas, Dublin, in 1957. His novels have been international bestsellers, translated into more than twenty languages and have enjoyed both critical and commercial success. He worked in the field of pilot training for Aer Lingus for many years and as a journalist for the Irish Times. He now writes full-time.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
Facebook.com/HowardBooksSimonandSchuster
Twitter.com/Howard_Books
authors.simonandschuster.com/Glenn-Meade
We hope you enjoyed reading this Howard Books eBook.
* * *
Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Howard Books and Simon & Schuster.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
Howard Books
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1995 by Glenn Meade
A slightly different version of this work was published in 1997 in Great Britain by St. Martin’s Press.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Howard Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230
Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Howard Books trade paperback edition May 2015
HOWARD and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Interior design by Jaime Putorti
Cover design by Bruce Gore
Cover image by Shutterstock
The Library of Congress has cataloged the original edition as follows:
Meade, Glenn.
Snow wolf / by Glenn Meade
p. cm.
“A Thomas Dunne book.”
ISBN 0-312-14421-0
1. Stalin, Joseph, 1879–1953—Assassination attempts—Fiction.
2. Intelligence service—United States—Fiction.
3. Americans—Travel—Soviet Union—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3563.E16845S66 1996
813'.54—dc20 96-2032
ISBN 978-1-4516-8825-2
ISBN 978-1-4516-8826-9 (ebook)