“Birdwatching Pretext”

Spy School in Parrot Park (Amazon Books)

   “Death is part of many religiose ceremonies, death & redemption a culture of hope for many to carry them through the trying times that are part of every life. Sarah accepted death as a natural part of the process but not now, at some later date, not now here in a Ghillie suit in the dark on a brushy hillside
Sarah Fowler wasn’t like other people. Most people look, but don’t really see, they listen, but don’t really hear. Sarah wasn’t like that. She was an experienced birder and a trained observer despite her young age. She was also a Spytreker, an amateur spy with her own agenda.”

• I write spy procedual novels. Three books in the Ian Scott series are sold by Amazon Books.
• The chapter titles for “The Perfect Pretext” are listed below.
  I wrote training materialls for Military Intelligence Officers for many years.
  CHAPTERS
  1. Falcons on the 14th Floor
  2. The Indagator  
  3. Spy School  
  4. Monkey Puzzle Park  
  5. The Secret of Secrets  
  6. Bird of Passage  
  7. Sometimes an Honorable Profession  
  8. Odd Birds  
  9. Beauty, Nobility & Death  
  10. The Nighthawk Pretext  
  11. The Fools’ Phone  
  12. Old Crows & Cleaning Stations  
  13. The Shadowed Owl  
  14. Owl Pellets  
  15. Fly Away  
  16. Bowerman Basin
  17 Epilogue  

‘Fiction
literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or
situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include the novel, short story, and novella. The word is
from the Latin fictiō, “the act of making, fashioning, or molding.” (Brittanica) 2/22/2025

I write Fiction & Non-fiction. The Reviews have been Good!
I will post Reviews by verified purchasers soon. WMJ

Laura Adams Review

THE PERFECT PRETEXT is a compelling thrill-ride with a stellar set-up – Ian is a birdwatching professional who might just use his passion for other, sneakier motivations. But who knows? Because a lot of what you need to spy coincides with what you need to ride, and with inspiration drawn from the author’s own experiences, this book soars above the rest in the genre. Dare I say it takes flight and lands in that beautiful destination we all long for in a book of this nature — unexpected twists and turns and an ending you won’t expect! I loved how Johnson kept me guessing and questioning my own reliability as a reader. I am gifting my dad this book for the holidays because he loves birdwatching, and I think the author’s take on just how interesting these hobbyists can be, will delight him. Ian is pretty BA, honestly. I have a whole new appreciation for spies, lies, and bird watching people. Like, what are they up to? If you’re looking for a read that’s a bit escapist, very witty, and full of the unexpected, then look no further and hit the buy button. Even if you’re not looking for these things, I don’tthink you will regret this riveting read that I devoured in one sitting.

(I don’t know Laura Adams, but she bought the book from Amazon, and I love the review! WMJ)

Steganography is a method of hiding information inside another message or physical object so that the information is not evident to the casual observer. The first use of the term was in 1499 in a paper on cryptography disguised as a book on magic. I wrote about steganography in The Business Espionage Report and have seen messages hidden as code in tufts of grass in a scetch of a mission landscape in California.
   In steganography a secret message appears to be part of some other image or cover text. The secret message does not attract attention. Cryptography protects the contents of a message but attracts attention, steganography conceals the fact that a secret message is being sent.
   Steganography coding may be inserted inside a document file, image file, or other program. Large files are ideal because of their size. A sender might start with an ordinary image file and adjust the color of every hundredth pixel to mean a letter in the alphabet. Someone who is not looking for it won’t notice the change. Steganography was in use in Greece in 440 BC and is still in use today, at least in training. Old methods are often overlooked in a digital setting.

The Perfect Pretext (3 Book Series) is being reviewed by verified buyers in the publishing industry. I don’t know the reviewers and look forward to their comments. It is an interesting process. I will keep you posted!
William (Maxon) Johnson

You Were Right About the Book Cover!
   The bright cover of “Spy School in Parrot Park” is very different from the covers of the other books in the Ian Scott Series, “The Perfect Pretext” and “The Baranof Pretext.” (Amazon Books)
   I had offices across from the park in San Francisco at that time and saw the parrots every day. The book is a work of fiction, but the parrots are very real. The parrots are noisy and inquisitive, they poke their beaks into everything, but I missed the bright little buggers when I retired and moved North. I’m still on the Pacific Flyway with lots of local birds and birds passing through on migration. A birders dreamscape year-round. I live near the Salish Sea with Swans in season, and I love the swans, but I still miss the noisy little Parrots. I look for them whenever I return to San Francisco.     

   I took part in a national research project cosponsored by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education to “adopt a strategy to establish job-related (and industry-specific) skill standards, built around core proficiencies, and to develop skill certificates to accompany these standards.” (Federal Register /Vol.57/ March 18, 1992) To further these goals I wrote the requirements and procedures for the CCO Training Program, based on the work of our team. The Certified Confidentiality Officer (CCO) Program was favorably cited at the National Educational Leadership Conference in 1992:

   “The U.S. Department of Education was impressed that a private organization had gone ahead on its own with this much-needed project.” (Dept. of Education, Business and Educational Standards) I published the monthly Business Espionage Report (TBER) to support the CCO program, beginning in 1986.

   A lot has happened since then. Colleges now offer classes in business research, information control, and other programs to protect proprietary information and business secrets. We are happy to see this. Time marches on.
  My textbook, “101 Questions & Answers About Business Espionage – 2024 Edition” is basic to any espionage controls and countermeasures program. It is available on AMAZON Books, along with my other publications.
   Security people involved with business espionage controls & countermeasures tell me the world is going to hell in a wheelbarrow, and they say they know who is pushing the barrow. With that in mind we will again publish our newsletter, The Business Espionage Report in this blog from time to time.  

Chapter One
“Our value systems are the guideposts of our lives, they determine who we are, how we relate to the world around us, and what we will become as our life progresses. They define us in ways that words alone cannot, since what we say is far less important than what we do.
  Adrian Warren stood on the ledge outside the window of the women’s washroom on the fourteenth floor of the financial center, looking out on a foggy night. His value systems were those of a charming, immature eighteen-year-old thief who thought that rules were made for other people. His value systems had been developed as a by-product of an undisciplined childhood and an education that was a yard wide and an inch deep. His guideposts were faulty and had led him astray.
  This was the last night of his life.”

Warning!
Urban Crow Oracle – Guidebook, p.53
by MJ Cullinane (aka Margaux Jones)

   This is a wise little book with a deck of colorful Crow Cards as affirmation. I don’t know
the author, the little book and the cards were a gift from a reader, but the message is clear.
We learn Crows use scouts perched high in trees to give early warnings of predators and
other dangerous situations. Those of us involved with Business Espionage Controls
& Countermeasures need scouts as well.
  “Warning signs appear throughout various scenarios in our lives. Sometimes it takes a
friend or someone on the outside to point out what we don’t want to acknowledge. When
this card appears in a reading, consider the signs that you have received. Do they shed
light on a situation that you may have been avoiding.
    

The Baranof Pretext (Book 3 in the Ian Scott Series)

EXCERPT

Chapter 1 – Secrets
“Our secrets define us, not what others know about us but the inner workings of our lives, the fears and apprehensions we don’t reveal to anyone. We hide our secrets from our lovers and tell ourselves it is to spare their feelings. We keep things secret from our psychologists and tell ourselves some things are none of their business. We often lie to ourselves to build an inner life we can live with, day-to-day, without wallking out the back door of our minds. We lie to ourselves, but we are ouselves, so our personal secrets remain hidden.“

This book is a work of fiction. Baranof Island and the vast ajacent areas are a hunting ground for spycatchers, including those involved with Business Espionage Controls & Countermeasures.

Buy on AMAZON

Spy Pigeons                        
   Carrier pigeons have been used as messengers in espionage for centuries. Have high speed electronics and the widespread use of drones put pigeons out of the spy business? Apparently not, according to Dr Frank Blazich of the National Museum of American History.
   Stephen Moss refers to Dr Blazich in his book, “Ten Birds That Changed the World” and points out several advantages to using pigeons as couriers. “As he (Dr Blazich) explains, thanks to large capacity microSD memory cards, a single pigeon can easily transport large files of video, sound or still images, over long distances, in a way that – unlike most drone technology – remains undetectable to conventional surveillance systems.”
   Stephen Moss is a prominent writer and wildlife television producer for the BBC.
I like his book, “Ten Birds That Changed the World.” I recommend it.