Hi there, I am thinking about writing a spy/thriller novel but I have a question, my idea revolves around a the relationship between a married couple, who are both spies, and their daughter, the husband is a British spy and the wife is a French spy, the plot would take place during both the 1980's and present day, both the husband and wife know their spouse is a spy for their country. I'm wondering if this is even plausible to begin with, can spies from different countries/agencies even get married? if so then how would it work? If it is not plausible then what other ways could I make it work? Thank you.
Here are some links I dug up, just with a quick google search. Hopefully you can get some ideas from them. It's good to be doing a lot of research before you actually start writing your story, in case it turns out your scenario isn't possible. The last link has to do with what it's like to be a real British spy, so that might be a lot of help. Good luck, and remember: Google is your friend! The more you can refine the question you're asking Google, the more likely you are to get precisely what you need to know. https://strandmag.com/how-to-write-convincing-spy-fiction-about-highly-classified-subjects/ https://www.rachelamphlett.com/behind-the-scenes/how-do-i-research-a-spy-novel/ https://writersinthestormblog.com/2014/07/truths-of-spycraft-you-dont-see-in-fiction/ https://writershelpingwriters.net/2018/07/spy-novels-how-to-nail-the-character-of-an-espionage-hero/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/45953932
Isn't that a similar premise to an Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt movie? Mr and Mrs Smith. There're likely legal problems with your scenario. I'd imagine a person already married to a foreigner might not have got interviewed to begin with, let alone hired as a spy. And contractual obligations would probably prevent a spy from marrying a national from an enemy nation. I don't know, but these would be my assumptions. At the same time, who cares about realism, to some extent? It depends on your genre. If it's commercial, you can probably just make up some excuse as to how it's possible. Like... both spouses hold dual nationality and I dunno, one passport slipped through the system. Or maybe the characters had revoked their original nationality officially on the surface and that's how it looks in all the systems, only the secret spy agency knows it's not true and in the background they've retained it, or something. Make something up. It's fiction.
