From his 2008 Q & A with Kerry Lengel of The Arizona Republic:
Q: You started writing Volk's Game while on a business trip to Russia, looking into selling manufactured homes there.The Page 69 Test: Volk's Game.A: It was the craziest trip I'd ever taken. It was like a Third World country just beginning the Industrial Revolution. People didn't understand financing, they didn't understand risk of loss, they didn't understand what we consider the blocking and tackling of business. So it was a non-starter from the get-go, but it was a really interesting experience, and the guy leading the charge was a Russian army general, probably ex-KGB, but you just don't know. Kind of a short guy and always with bodyguards, and he became somewhat of a model for the character known as the General.
Q: And Volk himself?
A: I was staying at the National Hotel, which is where the CIA used to stay to look down on Red Square. Lenin's Tomb has all these steps, and when the ICBMs would roll through Red Square, depending on where you stood was a rough hierarchy of who had power and who didn't in the Kremlin. All of this stuff is right out of a Le Carre novel.
I'm looking down, I can't sleep, I'm jetlagged, and watch this guy...[read on]
My Book, The Movie: Volk’s Game.
The Page 69 Test: Volk's Shadow.
Visit Brent Ghelfi's website and blog.
--Marshal Zeringue