James Stejskal
DEAD HAND
DOSSIER: In addition to your works of fiction in The Snake Eater Chronicles series, you’ve also written five non-fiction books dealing with different points of military history. We know you love storytelling and you love history. Which genre is more fun for you to write? (Answer may or may not involve which is more financially lucrative—your call!)
STEJSKAL: I wish either one was lucrative. That said, I enjoy both, although writing [non-fiction] history about either the U.S. Army or the CIA can be a pain because of the government’s required pre-publication review process.
One of my non-fiction books, Masters of Mayhem, came about after I traveled to Syria and Jordan looking at the territory covered in Lawrence’s Seven Pillar’s of Wisdom. I went back two more times to finish my book, which is about the connections Lawrence of Arabia and the men of the HEDGEHOG (Hejaz Operations Group) have to modern special operations. That was a very good trip if you don’t mind eating a lot of canned chicken loaf and pita bread out in the desert.
That said, writing fiction is just more fun. It’s like making up your own cover story — I did that a few times — for example when I became a “freelance” photographer in Africa while working for the agency.
Remember “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”[1] It also gives the US Government a fig leaf to say: “It never happened.” To me that makes fiction more fun.
DOSSIER: You mentioned the CIA’s prepublication review process. How easy or difficult has it been for you to incorporate your experiences in SF Berlin, Africa, the Balkans, and other places into your writing? Were there elements of Operation Honey Badger in there anywhere? We all could use the spirit of the honey badger from time to time.
STEJSKAL: Honey Badgers are all over the place in my writing and if you do a good job disguising the facts, the censors can’t find it to redact it! (see my comment above about the lie that is the truth).
Someone said “write what you know.” It’s more than that — it’s write who you are, where you’ve been, what you’ve done, and who you know! All those things shape the story and make it your own. Your imagination fills in the rest. It makes writing easier when you have seen the places, smelled the smells, and your can remember the experiences. It’s good that my wife Wanda likes to travel and we’ve done many “interesting” places together!
When I was on active service, I traveled a lot and experienced many different parts of the world, usually alone or as part of a small time. Whether it was running a surveillance detection route in Eastern Europe, drinking a pint in a bar in Central Africa, or trying to get lower than a blade of grass in some God-forsaken place, those experiences all play into my stories.
It’s important in fiction and also in non-fiction to personally know the “lay of the land” to write about it better. Internet searches help but that’s just too sterile…
DOSSIER: Your father was an Engineer officer during World War II and awarded the Silver Star. What can you tell us about his citation?
STEJSKAL: My dad, George Stejskal, was an Engineer Platoon Leader when the Allies broke out after the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. His mission that day was to build a bridge across the Sauer River in Luxembourg to support the 5th Infantry Division’s assault on the German front line and from the moment they started the work until they were finished about 3.5-hours later they were under enemy small-arms, mortar, and artillery fire.
That was just one of his adventures and they inspired me to serve, which I did for 35 years. He was and remains my mentor and guide.
Last year, my brothers and our wives and I did a “Footsteps of Our Fathers” tour of where my dad and a father-in-law served in Europe during WWII. It was a great trip and we located many of the places where both had served. We also visited the cemeteries for the fallen at Omaha Beach and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium where an uncle who was killed in the Hurtgen Forest is buried. That was a fantastic and inspirational trip for the family and brought some closure. (See the citation.)
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Music/silence/a table at the Dunkin Donuts on Georgetown Pike in Langley?)
STEJSKAL: I wake up and go to work (ca. 0700) and mostly write in my quiet “office” at home in Alexandria surrounded by my stuff — my books, my souvenirs, my maps, etc., etc., etc. Film clips of Spitfires and AC-130s do show up on my screen occasionally. And then sometimes a good motivational sound track is needed, whether it’s Gnossienne No. 1, Santana, or Femi Kuti…
But even when I try to sleep, I torment myself thinking about a sticky plot point needs to be resolved. Once in a while the answer will come to me while I dream.
When I’m not behind a computer (and can afford to be distracted), I work on the story in my head and jot notes into a journal. I rewrite and modify my work until I can get to the keyboard.
DOSSIER: Former CIA folks who go on to write books seem like a tight-knit group, and you’ve supported Michael Frost Beckner, I.S. Berry, and David McCloskey’s books. Regarding THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW by fellow Dossier alum I.S. Berry, besides the gritty realism behind her writing, what was it about that book that really stood out to you?
STEJSKAL: Beckner, Berry, and McCloskey are three of my favorite writers right now. They write poignant and timely tales. I will say this:
Michael is not a former agency type. That said, he writes with a well-advised, insider’s perspective with stories are so on point and subtly nuanced to have been pulled from the files of Langley. He knows the game.
David has great stories that—if you didn’t know better—might be true. He puts story and character together seamlessly. Damascus Station was very good and Moscow X is even better. Accurate and realistic.
Ilana Berry is a damn good writer. What I like most about the Peacock and the Sparrow is her depiction of the Station Chief (who thinks he knows everything and is the best and brightest of all intelligence officers) and the burned-out veteran case officer, who actually does know better (most of the time). They both remind me of people I encountered in my career and either hated or loved… she bought back visceral memories.
But then there are non-Agency people to read like Herron, Vidich, Furst, Kanon, and all the classics…Fleming, Forsyth, Le Carré (okay, those 3 are also formers) — so many books and so little time!
DOSSIER: Given fellow Dossier alum David McCloskey’s success with DAMASCUS STATION and MOSCOW X, where do you see him, and this younger crop of former CIA writers going in their writing careers? Can you offer them any advice given your common background with the spy agency?
STEJSKAL: Where do I see David McCloskey (and Ilana Berry)? About 5 miles down the road ahead me… there’s a movie or two in those books.
David and I shared a good evening together on the International Spy Museum’s SpyCast with Andrew Hammond, the museum’s historian & curator. We talked about the trials and tribulations of a “former” trying to write and where the stories come from. Not to mention dealing with the PrePub Review Board.
There’s a lot of what I was thinking a year ago in that episode. That said, what I’m thinking this year is a bit darker. I’ve been influenced by events in Ukraine, Taiwan, and Gaza and the future years are not going to be easy.
My advice to future writers is to look at your world, imagine what brought us here and what it may or may not take to get us out of it, and there you have about 47 great stories. Then start writing. I would add a word of caution though… some people think they have what it takes to write a novel — and they may well have — but when and if they get that one story written then they have to keep that hamster wheel turning or they will be looking for work to pay the piper.
Don’t quit your day job because you have that one story, quit because you’re a story-teller and then keep at it, telling good, original tales, not the same old, same old stuff.
CITATION EXTRACT
AWARD OF SILVER STAR MEDAL
11 February 1945
GEORGE STEJSKAL, 2nd Lt., 133d Engineer Combat Battalion
“Lt. Stejskal led a crew of five men across a 300 yard flat to the river bank in an effort to get an anchor cable for an infantry support bridge across the river before daylight. Upon reaching the river a rubber boat was launched but as the first man entered, an enemy machine gun opened up on them, seriously wounding one man. The remainder of the men immediately dispersed, but Lt. Stejskal realizing it would soon be daylight crawled under machine gun fire and contacted all men and led them back across the flat to cover. Even though it was getting daylight, Lt. Stejskal without hesitation, courageously returned to the river leading two volunteer litter bearers to bring back the wounded man. He then kept his men under cover until machine gun fire was cleared from the river. Realizing the need for the bridge Lt. Stejskal led his platoon to the site and began construction. During the three and one half hours of construction, the heavy artillery and mortar fire continued to fall but Lt. Stejskal kept the crews intact by keeping noticeably cool, by encouraging his men, and by demonstrating an unfailing devotion to duty, thus completing the bridge in a minimum of time.
Lt Stejskal’s supreme devotion to duty and conspicuous heroism reflect the highest credit to his character as an officer and upon the military service.”
Website: Author Page | Amazon author page
[1] Albert Camus said that.
Jeff Circle 