Inspiration for Madeline
by Roselyn Teukolsky

Inspiration for Madeline — During my professional life, I taught high school math and computer science, an occupation so all-encompassing it didn’t allow any time for writing stuff other than equations, computer code, and notes to parents.

Writing fiction was a hazy goal for my future retired self. I knew I wanted to create a strong female character who was a brilliant computer scientist, someone who could code like a demon.

So I conjured up Madeline, a larger than life version of myself, who was smarter than me, braver than me, taller than me, and utterly fearless. She jumped out of airplanes to skydive, something I would never do. She broke into her colleagues’ offices, hacked their computers, and had meetings in the woods in the dead of night.

In Madeline, I had a character who would set my imagination free to roam in places I would never personally go. I was never a hacker, though I taught many students who were. I observed some of their computer shenanigans, and built Madeline out of all these potential future criminals.

In short, I had huge fun creating this brilliant, fearless version of myself and setting her loose in the Computer Science Department of a large university.

Madeline is intrepid. Read A Reluctant Spy and see how she finally cracks the code.

A Reluctant Spy is available from Graveyard Press in paperback, ebook, and audio wherever books are sold.

—A Reluctant Spy by Roselyn Teukolsky—