PRESS RELEASE: My FRIEND THE SPY©

Contact: Roberta.seret@gmail.com; 917-250-7035

Website: my friend the spy- https://www.myfriendthespy.com/

WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING:

“The writing has a lovely, dreamy quality, and references to Proust’s madeleines, the psychological drama film Tár, and the works of Chagall and Picasso add depth to the narrative… A lyrical work…
– Kirkus Reviews

“ What makes My Friend the Spy particularly compelling is Roberta Seret’s ability to blend fact with fiction, infusing the narrative with real-world geopolitics: Belarus’s dark complicity in Russia’s war, and the inner lives of women working in the shadows of autocracy.”
“Reading My Friend the Spy, I could not put it down until the end.”

“It felt like reading a story taking place on the contemporary stage.”
– Readers’ Favorite

WHAT UNITED NATIONS COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING:

“This book is a rare journey where facts blend with reflection, and a single insight feels capable of changing history. It blends real history with personal stories in a way that feels both intimate and mysterious. You’re never fully sure what is fact and what is imagination, and that’s exactly what makes it so powerful. It is a beautifully crafted work, written almost as if for one reader, the one who might transform themselves and, through that, transform history.
Through intimate human stories, the broader drama of an entire region unfolds.”
– S.D.L. Mission of Latvia

“My Friend the Spy is a powerful story set in the real political context of Belarus and the war in Ukraine. It is the story of a Film Professor and forms an unexpected friendship with her assistant—the wife of a Belarusian diplomat with a past linked to an authoritarian regime. As their trust grows, the narrator becomes involved in a world of secrets, loyalty, and power, where the line between observer and participant slowly fades. Based on real political realities, the novel explores how personal relationships survive under pressure and whether individual conscience can resist state violence. Part spy story, part political reflection, My Friend the Spy reminds us of the importance of truth, art, and humanity in times of war. And… I am already looking forward to the sequel, because life goes on.”
– M.I. Mission of Lithuania

“An excellent combination of a deep understanding of geopolitics and a love story. Through vivid descriptions of characters, places, and feelings, the author manages to make the reader a part of the story, and to experience the reading with their heart.”
– K.T. Mission of Ecuador

“Roberta Seret knows how to keep a secret; she’s spent years hiding the physical scars of a barbaric medical battle. But her Teaching Assistant, Laryssa, is hiding something far more dangerous: a past as the strategist for an autocrat and a present linked to the highest levels of the Kremlin. As Russian forces move through the Belarusian corridor, the two women are propelled from New York into a high-stakes investigation of war crimes and international espionage. Blending chilling contemporary facts with a heart-pounding fictional chase, My Friend the Spy explores the “chiaroscuro” of the human soul. In a world of master chess players and double agents, the narrator must uncover the truth about her friend before the clock runs out on Plan B.”
– S.K. The most distinguished and award-winning Lithuanian writer of the late 20th century

My FRIEND THE SPY©

by Roberta Seret, Ph.D.

FACT, FICTION and SECRETS IN SPY THRILLER THAT HAVE NEVER APPEARED BEFORE IN A NOVEL

United Nations professor Roberta Seret, Ph.D. infuses government secrets from Belarus with fiction to construct a story of crime, love, and global espionage in the upcoming thriller, My Friend the Spy.(Academic Studies Press, May 5, 2026)

Merging Fact with Fiction in a hybrid narrative style, My Friend the Spy uses Belarus as its political background. Set across multiple countries (U.S., Mexico, Belarus, Russia, and these countries’ involvement in the Ukrainian war), the thriller focuses on actual events. It includes themes of loyalty, friendship, and the gray zones in intelligence operations shaping moral judgement.

The Fiction is based on personal experience – Dr. Seret has worked at the United Nations for 25 years as the Founder of the NGO, International Cinema Education. Privileged by colleagues with unique insights and insider perspectives regarding historical and political affairs, she engages the reader with up-to-date current events. By becoming the narrator/protagonist in the book, she interacts with her character foil, a female Belarusian diplomat and spokesperson for dictator Lukashenko. While each woman has her own set of motives, they set out on different journeys to find the missing, unanswered part of themselves. In this creative story, Fact and Fiction blend in suspense and startling Truths.

In the narrative, reminiscent of espionage novels from Le Carré, Alan Furst and Frederick Forsyth, My Friend the Spy explores multiple themes that are character driven as well as a reflection of current, geo-political events. Interspersed are topics of CIA spying, passionate romance, questions of authoritarian power and the relationship of politics with personal motives. My Friend the Spy is replete with real events that have never been presented before in a novel.

Contact: Roberta.seret@gmail.com
Website: my friend the spy
https://www.myfriendthespy.com/

BIO of Roberta seret

ROBERTA SERET, Ph.D. is founder and executive director of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations, International Cinema Education Organization (2001 to present) that has been funded by a 5-year Ford Foundation Grant, 7-year Morgan Stanley Grant, UBS and others. Her “Global Classroom,” has invited more than 15,000 New York City students to programs at the U.N. As Director of ESL and Film for the Hospitality Committee of the United Nations, she teaches diplomats English by using Film.
website: https://internationalcinemaeducation.wordpress.com/

(For Filmeds, password is july07)

She also teaches Film at New York University, where her book, World Affairs in Foreign Film, serves as curriculum.

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR:

Indie Winner for Best Fictional Series in 2022, Transylvanian Trilogy
American Fiction Award Finalist 2022, Gift of Diamonds
NYC Big Book Award 2021-22 winner, Love Odyssey
American Fiction Award Finalist 2022, Love Odyssey
Independent Press Award 2022 Distinguished Favorite, Love Odyssey
Global Thriller Finalist 2022, Ciba, Chanticleer International Book Award, Treasure Seekers
Independent Press Award 2022 Distinguished Favorite: Treasure Seekers

Websites:

International Cinema Education

https://internationalcinemaeducation.wordpress.com/

Transylvanian Trilogy
https://transylvaniantrilogy.com/

my friend the spy
https://www.myfriendthespy.com/

NOTE:

On May 5, 2026, Roberta’s new international thriller will be available –
My Friend the Spy. (Academic Studies Press) and Secret Truths (Academic Studies Press, November 1, 2026).
my friend the spy

https://www.myfriendthespy.com/