Oliver Dowson, Author
@oliverdowson.bsky.social
Author of 'The Repurposed Spies' series. Before retiring and turning to writing, CEO of a multi-national energy data management company. Passionate about travel - I've visited 150 countries for business and pleasure, and user them as settings for my books.
Reposted by Oliver Dowson, Author
Spies on Safari by @oliverdowson.bsky.social
July 20, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Spies on Safari by @oliverdowson.bsky.social
Industrial Espionage is going on all around us... it's not just fiction like in The Repurposed Spies books!
www.latintimes.com/man-hired-eu...
www.latintimes.com/man-hired-eu...
Man Hired by European Tech Company to Spy on Rival American Employer Confesses Amid Espionage Case: 'The Truth Will Set You Free'
A man confessed to spying on U.S.-based company while working as a secret informant for European rival, claiming he was paid by the company's CEO.
www.latintimes.com
April 11, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Industrial Espionage is going on all around us... it's not just fiction like in The Repurposed Spies books!
www.latintimes.com/man-hired-eu...
www.latintimes.com/man-hired-eu...
So here I am, sitting in my hidey-hole garden room, writing about real human spies, while all the time that little device that looks like a speaker in the corner is listening to my every word.... or is it?
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
Would ALEXA Become the Greatest Spy Ever?
In the spy world, one of the most effective ways to gather intelligence about someone is by bugging their private space at their home or workplace. That is typically hard to do. Legally, it requires o...
www.dailykos.com
April 1, 2025 at 4:12 PM
So here I am, sitting in my hidey-hole garden room, writing about real human spies, while all the time that little device that looks like a speaker in the corner is listening to my every word.... or is it?
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
My latest book review - summary:
"I was absorbed from the very beginning. It’s an MI5 spy novel, but one has to suspend credulity, as there are just too many entirely unrealistic situations. But extraordinarily enjoyable"
Full review on Goodreads
#BookSky💙📚
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
"I was absorbed from the very beginning. It’s an MI5 spy novel, but one has to suspend credulity, as there are just too many entirely unrealistic situations. But extraordinarily enjoyable"
Full review on Goodreads
#BookSky💙📚
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Oliver Dowson's review of The Enigma Girl
5/5: Despite the length (and the author’s note at the end says it was originally even longer), for me it didn’t feel a page too long – I was absorbed from the very beginning. It’s an MI5 spy novel, bu...
www.goodreads.com
January 6, 2025 at 12:38 PM
My latest book review - summary:
"I was absorbed from the very beginning. It’s an MI5 spy novel, but one has to suspend credulity, as there are just too many entirely unrealistic situations. But extraordinarily enjoyable"
Full review on Goodreads
#BookSky💙📚
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
"I was absorbed from the very beginning. It’s an MI5 spy novel, but one has to suspend credulity, as there are just too many entirely unrealistic situations. But extraordinarily enjoyable"
Full review on Goodreads
#BookSky💙📚
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
My book review of the day: Fearless by MW Craven. Great book in many ways, but not for me... read my thoughts via the link.
#BookSky
📚💙
www.goodreads.com/book/show/61...
#BookSky
📚💙
www.goodreads.com/book/show/61...
Fearless (Ben Koenig, #1)
The first thrilling Ben Koenig book from The Sunday Tim…
www.goodreads.com
December 8, 2024 at 4:23 PM
My book review of the day: Fearless by MW Craven. Great book in many ways, but not for me... read my thoughts via the link.
#BookSky
📚💙
www.goodreads.com/book/show/61...
#BookSky
📚💙
www.goodreads.com/book/show/61...
If you are a self-published author and would like me to buy, read and review your book, post details here. No sci-fi, fantasy or romance. Reciprocity not expected but always appreciated. Last year i made the same offer in another group and posted 22 reviews, so this is a genuine offer. #BookSky 💙📚
December 6, 2024 at 10:45 PM
If you are a self-published author and would like me to buy, read and review your book, post details here. No sci-fi, fantasy or romance. Reciprocity not expected but always appreciated. Last year i made the same offer in another group and posted 22 reviews, so this is a genuine offer. #BookSky 💙📚
I've finally got around to writing my thoughts on the dozens of books I've read this year, so watch for more posts! Starting with a favourite www.goodreads.com/book/show/20...
The Proof of My Innocence
When Phyl, a young literature graduate, moves back home…
www.goodreads.com
December 6, 2024 at 6:57 PM
I've finally got around to writing my thoughts on the dozens of books I've read this year, so watch for more posts! Starting with a favourite www.goodreads.com/book/show/20...
Reposted by Oliver Dowson, Author
We're doing a special Christmas Shopping day (and we really want to make £1,000 today to help with rent and bills), with 10% off all purchases and orders! Pop in, order via DM or post here - you could pick them up at next Saturday's Xmas party! Come support a co-op indie bookshop.
November 30, 2024 at 11:47 AM
We're doing a special Christmas Shopping day (and we really want to make £1,000 today to help with rent and bills), with 10% off all purchases and orders! Pop in, order via DM or post here - you could pick them up at next Saturday's Xmas party! Come support a co-op indie bookshop.
Just finished my tax return (I think) - at least six weeks earlier than any previous year. Not as scary as I thought, so I must have forgotten something or done something wrong... probably six weeks now before I dare press the "submit" button!
November 29, 2024 at 5:47 PM
Just finished my tax return (I think) - at least six weeks earlier than any previous year. Not as scary as I thought, so I must have forgotten something or done something wrong... probably six weeks now before I dare press the "submit" button!
My plan for next week!
November 27, 2024 at 12:52 PM
My plan for next week!
Thrilled that I'm now getting more unsolicited 5* reviews, even from Spain, Belgium, Australia and USA. One says "With exquisite syntax and rich vocabulary, Oliver Dowson has once more caught by surprise the reader in every corner of every chapter." Just dropping a suggestion for Xmas presents!
November 27, 2024 at 11:06 AM
Thrilled that I'm now getting more unsolicited 5* reviews, even from Spain, Belgium, Australia and USA. One says "With exquisite syntax and rich vocabulary, Oliver Dowson has once more caught by surprise the reader in every corner of every chapter." Just dropping a suggestion for Xmas presents!
Finally got to see the Lehman Trilogy last night. Phenomenal acting, amazing set, but incredibly long (3h 25m). Only criticism is that the downfall of Lehman is rushed into 2 mins at the end and not clear how they survived the Wall St crash of 1929. But...
November 27, 2024 at 10:58 AM
Finally got to see the Lehman Trilogy last night. Phenomenal acting, amazing set, but incredibly long (3h 25m). Only criticism is that the downfall of Lehman is rushed into 2 mins at the end and not clear how they survived the Wall St crash of 1929. But...
Finally got my November newsletter out - apart from my own delays, had to migrate to a new platform as my old emailing system no longer works... The new one means I can artistically lay out emails with pix etc - but I suspect many won't open that kind of newsletter as it will look too commercial.
November 24, 2024 at 4:12 PM
Finally got my November newsletter out - apart from my own delays, had to migrate to a new platform as my old emailing system no longer works... The new one means I can artistically lay out emails with pix etc - but I suspect many won't open that kind of newsletter as it will look too commercial.
An excellent article with interesting stats
I was thinking about some of the less obvious ways twitter went wrong, and what I think they were trying to achieve. And wrote about it.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/bluesk...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/bluesk...
BlueSky, X and Carrying Water in a Sieve
BlueSky may be small, but it seems to be making waves, as the 'X-odus' has been in full effect. Millions have moved from the former Twitter to BlueSky, for a whole series of reasons.
www.linkedin.com
November 23, 2024 at 3:38 PM
An excellent article with interesting stats
I think one joy of travel is making all the arrangements myself - I'd never use a travel agent. So, whilst I agree AI might help, it's odd that an agency promotes it - surely the best reason for AI here is to eliminate travel agents altogether! (nothing personal) travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/ai-...
AI ‘can enhance’ business travel, Amex GBT poll finds | Travel Weekly
But concerns raised over data security, accuracy and reliability
travelweekly.co.uk
November 21, 2024 at 1:05 PM
I think one joy of travel is making all the arrangements myself - I'd never use a travel agent. So, whilst I agree AI might help, it's odd that an agency promotes it - surely the best reason for AI here is to eliminate travel agents altogether! (nothing personal) travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/ai-...
I get my best inspiration for writing from travelling - not just the places, but the people, the food, the atmosphere... The Irish online publication writer.ie has kindly just published this article I wrote for them: www.writing.ie/tell-your-ow...
Inspired by Travel by Oliver Dowson
Travel is my Number One passion, and I’m hugely fortunate to have been able to visit so many countries - up to 150!
www.writing.ie
November 20, 2024 at 4:55 PM
I get my best inspiration for writing from travelling - not just the places, but the people, the food, the atmosphere... The Irish online publication writer.ie has kindly just published this article I wrote for them: www.writing.ie/tell-your-ow...
Reposted by Oliver Dowson, Author
Word of this morning is ‘procaffeinate’: to put everything on hold until you’ve had sufficient amounts of coffee.
November 18, 2024 at 8:15 AM
Word of this morning is ‘procaffeinate’: to put everything on hold until you’ve had sufficient amounts of coffee.
Reposted by Oliver Dowson, Author
we've made a starter pack
it's a start
we'll be adding to it
need to find folk first
go.bsky.app/TqmieGP
it's a start
we'll be adding to it
need to find folk first
go.bsky.app/TqmieGP
November 18, 2024 at 11:33 AM
we've made a starter pack
it's a start
we'll be adding to it
need to find folk first
go.bsky.app/TqmieGP
it's a start
we'll be adding to it
need to find folk first
go.bsky.app/TqmieGP
I wrote my modern-day industrial espionage novel "Spies on the Silk Road" knowing little of the ancient history. But in this article I just found I now learn there were real spies, involved in the real silk trade, plying the Silk Road 1500 years ago... www.historiamag.com/stealing-the...
Stealing the secret of silk: the first international industrial spies? – Historia Magazine
Jemahl Evans tells how the Emperor Justinian authorised two monks to steal the secret of silk manufacture in a bid to save the Byzantine Empire
www.historiamag.com
November 17, 2024 at 5:57 PM
I wrote my modern-day industrial espionage novel "Spies on the Silk Road" knowing little of the ancient history. But in this article I just found I now learn there were real spies, involved in the real silk trade, plying the Silk Road 1500 years ago... www.historiamag.com/stealing-the...
Hello World! Well, hello Blue Sky community. Like so many others, and probably for similar reasons, I'm new around here and anxious to make like-minded friends, so "likes" and "follows" are all appreciated and will be reciprocated!
November 15, 2024 at 4:32 PM
Hello World! Well, hello Blue Sky community. Like so many others, and probably for similar reasons, I'm new around here and anxious to make like-minded friends, so "likes" and "follows" are all appreciated and will be reciprocated!