Foreign Service Tales

About the Book

Foreign Service Tales, a collection of twenty short stories mostly set in American Embassies abroad, celebrates the diplomatic life. This is a community, with traditions and heirarchy, and there are stories about each Foreign Service specialty within an American Embassy. From a new Commercial Officer’s discovery of exotic local customs to an Ambassador’s celebratory glass of champagne, each tale offers insights for those considering a Foreign Service career.

Drawbacks include missed promotions, status seekers and political appointees after what seem to be cushy jobs. That background also creates in Foreign Service Tales settings for love, jealousy, extortion and murder.

About the Author

Career diplomat William S. Shepard is also the author of the nonfiction Consular Tales. His Foreign Service Tales, a companion collection of twenty short stories of the diplomatic life, gives the reader an insider’s view of an American Embassy, the life that the author experienced while serving as Consul or Political Officer at our Embassies in Singapore, Saigon, Budapest and Athens. Shepard’s diplomatic career was capped by service as Consul General at the American Consulate General in Bordeaux, France. He and his wife now live on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.