The Model Spy

Author's Note

Inspiration for The Model Spy came to me when I was 15. I was a freshman in high school and I was supposed to be writing an essay on the Franco-Prussian War. One thing led to another (as it often does when it comes to the internet) and instead of researching the Red Cross and its role in France, I was looking at images of Paris.

I can’t really describe how the rest of the plot came to me. That very afternoon I had abandoned my research paper altogether and instead was writing a rough draft of The Model Spy in my school notebook. The models, fashion industry, and CIA all kind of just came together out of nowhere and flowed.

I spent over three years researching and writing TMS. In eleventh grade I even pretended to be a CIA agent for my mandatory career project. It was a risky move considering I needed to pass the project in order to graduate high school. By some miracle I was not laughed out of the school and I passed with flying colors. Either the administrators in charge were finally happy to see a career that wasn’t lawyer, teacher, or doctor, or they really believed I was a spy and wanted to stay on my good side. Either way I acquired a lot of information that helped me build up the story of TMS.

After nearly a dozen drafts of the story, I sent it out for publication my senior year. I did it on a whim. I was experiencing an existential crisis and realized I didn’t know what to do with my life. I sent out the manuscript to one of the biggest agents in the industry and two months later I received my (well-deserved) rejection letter.

For the next year I never even opened the file in which TMS was saved. I couldn’t bear reading it or even seeing it. I spent those twelve months writing bits and pieces of different novels. I even finished a new novel I was rather proud of. Yet Zach, Laura, and Fred kept sneaking their ways into my thoughts. I found myself constantly wondering what they would do in certain situations.

This past June I discovered Wattpad and I realized I wanted to share my stories with readers and make them happy. That wasn’t happening with my stories simply hiding in the hard drive of my laptop. I desperately wanted to join Wattpad, but I needed a story. I tried to think of stories I could write, but I realized I had a story I wanted to share all along: The Model Spy.

I went through every chapter and edited it (and finally realized how awful that first draft was). I uploaded a new chapter every week, or tried to at least, and you, my loyal readers, seemed to like it! I can’t thank you guys enough for reading every chapter and voting and sharing your enthusiastic comments of support, advice, and even guesses as to who the murderer was. I’m so thankful you all enjoyed the story and that you all joined me on my Wattpad adventure. I never thought my story would get one read, let alone the amount of reads it has gotten so far and it is all thanks to you guys. You are the best!

Now, I don’t want to get all sappy because this isn’t a goodbye. There is much more to Laura’s story. I have a sequel planned and partly written, a short story from Zach’s point of view, and a fourth and final book in The Model Spy Series. So for those of you going “What about ZAURA!?,” you can all breathe a sigh of relief. I promise Zaura will happen…but not right away. I like to keep you guys guessing!

Thank you for everything, to both my followers and my silent readers! You made my first experience on Wattpad so memorable! And please, to all my silent readers, let me know what you thought! Go back and vote on chapters you loved, comment on your thoughts, maybe even fan so you know when updates on the sequels come out! I love feedback and it only helps me improve and make the stories the best they can be for you guys!

I look forward to more great times here on Wattpad. And look out for the continuation of Laura’s story! Thank you again for simply being amazing!

                                                                                                  Keri Ann

PS- I would like to thank @alexisziao for the new, beautiful cover! I loved it as soon as I saw it! She has been such an amazing wattpad-friend since I joined the site! She is not only really kind, but such a talented writer! Please go check out her profile :)