I.S. Berry
The Peacock and the Sparrow
Dossier update 4/16/2024
Since first meeting I.S. Berry in 2023, The Dossier continues being impressed with not only the book, but also, and more importantly, the author. Ilana is a good human who wrote an amazing story. She has my full respect, and I wish her continued success with not only her writing, but also in all of life.
Today, we celebrate the paperback release of her hit novel, THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW. She’s been gracious to give us an update with a few new questions.
DOSSIER: It’s been a long time since your initial Dossier interview that we did shortly after your book first came out. Now that it’s out in paperback and you reflect on the past ten months, what strikes you most about the impact THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW has had on your life?
BERRY: I’m so grateful for the warm reception Peacock has gotten. I think, above all, publication of my book has allowed me to call myself a writer with more confidence. With your first book, you’re plunging into a new world and don’t know if the world will spit you back out. The fact that so many have embraced Peacock is like a green light to keep going. Now I can shake someone’s hand and introduce myself as a writer without those niggling doubts.
Also, the writing community is amazing! I never knew that a community this supportive and encouraging existed. Publishing is SO hard, and becoming part of this group has been both essential and the best part of the journey.
DOSSIER: Since your debut came out in 2023, there has been a LOT of buzz from some very big media players. How has the success of writing such a successful spy novel shaped your writing as you move into doing book two, and what can you tell us about it?
BERRY: I’ve learned that you’re not going to please everyone. I think I have a distinctive writing style, which many people love and others don’t. For my second book, I evaluated: should I change my style? Try to appeal to more people? Ultimately, while I always strive to improve, I think I have to remain true to my voice. I’ve learned that having a core group of devoted readers who “get” my book is enough. And in my moments of doubt, the fact that Peacock’s gotten critical acclaim reminds me I must be doing some things right.
Book two is about an American spy taken hostage in Israel, juxtaposed against the joint CIA-Mossad assassination operation in which she’s involved. It’s a bit like a reverse Little Drummer Girl, where the case officer is female and the source male.
Original Dossier interview 9/23/2023
DOSSIER: When you were all cloak & dagger, what did you want to do after the CIA?
BERRY: Probably write! I’d always wanted to be a writer, even when I was a kid—but not necessarily a spy novelist. I read a lot of classics growing up, so I’d envisioned writing the “Great American Novel” or some kind of historical saga. Only after I’d left the CIA did I realize that espionage fiction was the right track for me. It was in my blood and wouldn’t let me go. And I’ve come to really love spy novels. I think they’re unsung in the spectrum of quality literature; they can hold as much depth as any genre, and they deal with the weightiest questions humans face: when do ends justify means, how much do you compromise yourself, what’s the truth.
DOSSIER: What thing inside your book (concept or story) surprised you most after you wrote it?
BERRY: How much I connected with my protagonist, Shane Collins. He’s a failed, alcoholic, divorced man, so on the surface, we have little in common. But we share other things: a distaste for the profession of espionage, a weariness from manipulating people and operating in a murky world, guilt about decisions we’ve made. And beneath his title of “spy,” Collins is just a guy trying to salvage his life and career, make a dent in the world. This, too, is something I—and probably a lot of people—can relate to. To me, good literature allows readers to connect with characters in unexpected, transcendental ways.
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Music/silence/closet?)
BERRY: I wrote The Peacock and the Sparrow almost entirely in a coffeeshop. I’d drop my son off at school, park myself at the closest Starbucks, order a chai latte, and write all day. It forced me to focus; there was no opportunity to slack or get distracted by TV. The baristas and I became friends; to this day, they’re some of my greatest cheerleaders. Since then, my family and I have moved to a more rural area, and working at a Starbucks isn’t as convenient. So now I work from my study…though, sometimes I still drive the extra distance for coffee and a change of scenery.
I love listening to music while writing, particularly music that fits the mood of the scene. But I never listen to music when I’m editing; it’s a less creative process (that doesn’t require musical inspiration) and it demands my full concentration.
DOSSIER: How long did it take you to go from idea to publication?
BERRY: Some ten years. It took a while to figure out that my book should be a spy novel; at first, it was more of a spy-flavored thriller. But once I figured it out, it was a pretty smooth ride (my final draft looks a lot like my early drafts). I wrote for about three years, edited for two years, then spent the next five getting an agent, finding a publisher, securing a book contract, and preparing for publication.
DOSSIER: What’s in store for book two?
BERRY: Another spy novel! This one, while fiction, will be based on my experiences as a counterterrorist spy in wartime Baghdad. I’ll be focusing on one particular operation in which I helped track down and apprehend an alleged Top Ten terrorist—only to learn later he might not be guilty, that we’d possibly detained the wrong person. In my book, an avalanche of dizzying consequences follows. Like The Peacock and the Sparrow, it’s about the fog and hazards of espionage, the things that still haunt me. Make the right move and you save a life; make the wrong move and you destroy one. I’ve found that I’m drawn to writing about the unanswered questions, the ones that will probably never go away.
Website: is.berry.net | Amazon author page
Jeff Circle 