Interview with Max Eastern, Author of Red Snow in Winter

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Red Snow in Winter?

I have always been interested in the Cold War. I wanted to write a novel set during that time and decided to explore the end of the war, when tensions were rising. My father was an intelligence officer in World War II for the Air Force. I always got the sense that he had completed some highly important missions, but he wouldn’t tell us anything. He felt compelled to keep the secrets decades later. I thought about him when creating my main character.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Red Snow in Winter, what would they be?

Oh, Julius Orlinsky’s theme song would be “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I read a lot of nonfiction, but I have also deeply enjoyed the crime fiction of Raymond Chandler and the novels of Eric Ambler. You can learn so much about writing suspense from Ambler.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Murderland, by Caroline Fraser.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

I enjoyed writing the scene when another character pulls a gun on Orlinsky while he’s searching his home, and the action explodes.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I don’t know if it’s quirky to write my novels on an old computer Tablet, but that’s what I do.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

I like this quote from C.S. Lewis: ‘Friendship … is born at the moment when one man says to another, “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…’

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

The many meanings of loyalty.