Why does a former Army intelligence officer turn to writing erotic thrillers? In this interview, Ken Boehs—who once performed surveillance and intelligence collection for the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency—talks about why he wrote a novel about a web of deceit, manipulation, and sex interspersed with FBI and CIA clandestine operations.
“During my career in Washington, D.C.,” said Boehs, “I wrote hundreds of analyses and reports, as well as proposals to the government in response to their solicitations for work. I had plenty of fodder to write a novel along with the knowledge of intelligence community operations from an insider’s perspective. And many times I considered writing one, but job time constraints kept me from doing so.”
Other former intelligence officers have also turned to writing thrillers, but how and why did Boehs select this particular genre? “I liked the idea of a brother/sister pair of ‘bad guys,’ said Boehs. “It gave me an opportunity to interject a controversial element into the novel. Electra and Barry Vador are half siblings with a common father. When they were teens they developed a sexual attraction for each other, consummated it, and in the story it becomes an important psychological element in their relationship. Genetic sexual attraction was first broached in ‘Oedipus Rex,’ the Athenian tragedy by Sophocles, circa 429 BC…[it is] also found in Moll Flanders and Le Morte d’Arthur.”
Boehs said that the plot for “The Tilted Truth” came to him while his brother was involved in a legal trial. “I started on ‘The Tilted Truth’ in late August 2011 after sitting in a courtroom for hours on end listening to a convoluted case involving the brother of my wife. He was conned out of a lot of money by an old friend. When he suspected he was swindled, he went on a vendetta to recover it. But, his quest took a bad turn. He was set up by an interlocutor, entrapped by the FBI and arrested.”
The trial seems to have been exactly what Boehs needed at the time. He said, “Elements of the case stirred me. I had my own theories of what led up to his charges, considering that truth practiced by the prosecution’s witnesses seemed illusory. It was the catalyst I needed. Around my suppositions I created an expanded highly fictional story, developed characters and subplots from my imagination and experience, and then seasoned it all with years of intelligence world insight.”
“The Tilted Truth” is the first installment in a trilogy called “Desire is a Vicious Mistress.” Boehs is hoping that his background will attract readers’ attention. “My years associated with the intelligence community gives me an insider’s perspective that only a few other authors can claim,” he said. “My skill is presenting a story by weaving information in a manner that comes across as realistic to the reader without undue reliance on acronyms and exhaustive detail common to many spy/thriller stories. I attribute this skill to years of preparing analyses and reports where the ability to succinctly write is a virtue.”
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Learn more about Ken Boehs on his website at www.Kenboehs.com.
