The Foreign Service Journal - October 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2017 53 AFSA NEWS Book Notes ATense and Thrilling Read: Enemy of the Good On July 13, AFSA’s Book Notes series continued with Foreign Service Officer Matthew Palmer speaking about his new thriller, Enemy of the Good (G.P. Putnam’ Sons, 2017). AFSA President Ambas- sador Barbara Stephenson introduced Mr. Palmer and praised his books for mak- ing the Foreign Service more accessible for those who do not understand its role. “No one does a better job making real what the Foreign Service does,”Amb. Stephen- son said. She read a brief pas- sage from the book, in which Palmer describes the process of traveling to a new posting. Enemy of the Good is Mr. Palmer’s fourth novel and the first to feature a female protagonist, Kate Hollister, a second-generation FSO stationed in Kyrgyzstan. Discussing the novel, Mr. Palmer stated that it was a challenge to write a female character, but that he did not want to define the character by her gender. He also spoke about the complexity of set- ting the action in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan and the balance between real- ism and fiction in the book. Following the presentation, Mr. Palmer participated in a Q&A session. He responded to audience questions about his writing process, the impor- tance of character develop- ment and scene setting for a non-Foreign Service audience, and the influence of his family on his writing career. Visit www.afsa.org/video for a recording of the event. n FSO and bestselling author Matthew Palmer at AFSA headquarters, where he spoke about his latest novel. AFSA/ALANSAUNDERS AFSAWelcomes New Foreign Service Officers On Aug. 11, six members of the newest U.S. Agency for International Development class attended a luncheon with newly elected USAID Vice President Ann Posner (center). The group discussed the realities of life in the Foreign Service and the benefits of joining AFSA. AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson (fourth from left) and incoming AFSA FCS Vice President Daniel Crocker (sixth from left) were very pleased to welcome 11 members of the newest Foreign Commercial Service class of Foreign Service officers to a luncheon at AFSA headquarters on July 12. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK AFSA/GEMMADVORAK