Czechmate: The Spy Who Played Jazz: Bill Moody

Join Bill Moody, author and musician, in celebration of his latest mystery Czechmate: The Spy Who Played Jazz. Bill will be joined on stage by pianist Dick Fregulia and bassist Steve Webber for a live jazz session to accompany the reading. Czechmate is the latest installment of Moody's popular Evan Horne mystery series. Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA. Saturday, November 3, 5:30 p.m.

I asked Bill to write a few words about Czechmate: The Spy Who Played Jazz. 

BILL MOODY: 

In 1968, I found myself not only at the Prague Jazz Festival, playing with a Czech band, but also embroiled in a political hot spot when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. Based on this experience, I decided to try my hand at a spy thriller, combining the jazz festival with the invasion.  

Czechmate: The Spy Who Played Jazz was born,  but it was difficult to find it a home. I finally connected with a small publisher in 1986, but before it was released, the facility burned to the ground. By the time the insurance investigation was completed, the Berlin Wall had come down, so cold war spy novels were a hard sell.

I never gave up and kept trying over the years, finally finding another publisher now that Czechmate could be labeled historical espionage. The book is also a  lesson in persistence. It only took 26 years.  

I'll be talking about the book and my experience on November 3 at Book Passage in Corte Madera that will include a set with my trio. Hope to see you there.