“I worked with the world’s best spies” — my story in my own words
I recently appeared on the fantastic OMG Stories video podcast, talking about my journey from crime reporter to thriller writer, and the spies I worked with along the way.
Here’s the blurb — if you get a chance to watch, I would love to know what you think!
In this episode of OMG Stories: Up Close, bestselling thriller writer Ava Glass reveals the extraordinary real-life experiences that shaped her spy novels — including the time she worked inside the UK government alongside intelligence officers.
Before she became an author, Ava was an award-winning journalist covering crime in the US, from her first day reporting on a body pulled from a river to navigating high-pressure investigations. But it was a chance job offer in London — writing about terrorism for the government — that took her into a world few people ever glimpse.
She shares what it was like walking into a secure intelligence building for the first time, discovering she’d been secretly vetted by a colleague who wasn’t who she claimed to be, and learning how real spies operate.
From secret training exercises and high-stakes security scenarios to the quiet “war” happening behind closed doors, Ava explains how intelligence agencies work to prevent attacks — and why the public can never know the full story. We also talk about:
How she realised a woman she befriended was actually testing her
The paranoia and secrecy of working around intelligence officers
Why spies never truly work alone
The tension between politics and intelligence
How her experiences inspired her bestselling novels
From crime reporting in the American South to navigating Britain’s intelligence community, this is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at the real world of modern espionage — and the truth behind the fiction.
