Book jacket biographies don’t tell us nearly enough about the authors we love. That’s why Zibby Mag launched the Author Snapshot, giving readers an inside look at the lives and work of our favorite writers.

This week we’re spotlighting author Nathalia Holt and her new book, Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage.

What inspired you to write Wise Gals?

I was interviewing a woman who worked in Europe after WWII when she told me an odd story about a Nazi war criminal and an American woman whom she suspected was a spy. I became obsessed with finding out more, and to my surprise, I uncovered an entire network of American women in intelligence who served during WWII and then helped build the CIA after the war.

What books are on your nightstand right now?

I love reading a mix of fiction and nonfiction. I just finished Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney which is a great, spooky October read. I'm currently reading The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch, which comes out in January.

Where is your go-to place to write?

My office has dark red walls and no windows. It's a little bit creepy, and even the art I have on the walls is odd, but I love writing in it. There are no distractions, and no one in my family wants to go in there but me.

What is your favorite indie bookstore?

I have a few favorites! I love Bookworks, which is a small bookstore in my tiny town on the California coast. An Unlikely Story in Massachusetts is one of those cozy bookstores you can spend hours in and has a great inventory of adult and kid books. I also love Book Passage in Marin, CA, which has a wide selection, a nice cafe, and a staff that always seems to know exactly what you're looking for.

What are three books you'd recommend readers start after Wise Gals?

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists by Tracy Walder

Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence by Nicholas Reynolds

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology and love writing about nature and science, in addition to researching strong women in history.