#Rankin. Watchman.

When I started researching this book, one person whose brain  I'd just been picking begged me 'for God's sake make it realistic.' He was fed up with stories which exaggerated the 'glamour' of the spy and the ingenuity (someone's ability to think of clever new ways of doing something) of his tools of trade. However, the following six months' worth of conversation and reading left me more than a little confused. It seemed to me that the problem in writing a novel about the security service was that reality was sometimes so much more unbelievable than fiction. I showed part of the first draft of the book to my acquaintance, and he telephoned the same night. 'How the devil did you know that?' he demanded, citing one particular passage 'I made it up,' I replied, quite truthfully. 'Oh no, you didn't…' he began, and then fell silent, having said too much already…

Some of Watchman was written while enjoying the hospitality at Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers, and my grateful thanks go to the staff there.

I should also add that, really, M15's surveillance section is known as the Watcher Service. But I find the terms 'watchman' and 'watchmen' more resonant, as fans of Alan Moore

(is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books including Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell) will doubtless agree.