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Writing THE BLUE PEARL….

If any of you are interested in the process of writing a thriller such as THE BLUE PEARL, to be released in a few days (10/22) let me take a moment to explain mine. First, my wife and I took the exact cruise as is the background for the novel. In addition to visiting the ship’s bridge and getting a rundown on the navigation and steering systems, I spent fairly extensive time interviewing the crew, including the security officers. This was the third large ship I’ve spent time on, in addition to dozens of smaller vessels and owning and sailing my own ketch, so nautical terms are not foreign to me. I took a tour of the inner workings of the three ships, with the exception of the engine rooms which are off limits to passengers. Of course a plethora of plans and descriptions of ships of all kinds are available online. The European places visited in the novel were visited and enjoyed, including the restaurants, by my wife and me and I returned from each of the three trips with over two thousand photos. We did not travel to Algeria or Libya, as I did not travel to North Korea for the writing of THE K FACTOR, however extensive travel and yes, sub rosa, works have been written by those who have done so in more peaceful times. I have, however, visited the majority of locales I write about. Google Earth now takes the curious traveler on a virtual journey to those places of interest, in my case deep into the Sahara. The incredible coverage of exotic locales by National Geographic and other documentary sources do wonders. The CIA offers a handbook on each and every country in the world. I do not speak Arabic, however a beta reader who is Arabic and Muslim was kind enough to correct my attempts at utilizing web assets. Of course, it helps to have a knowledge of firearms and I’m an avid shooter who’s had some training and possesses a number of weapons and a concealed carry permit good in 36 states. In addition we’ve attended many seminars at FBI and ATF&E facilities. Many ocean-going ships, including cruise ships, are dual fueled as is the fictional Blue Pearl. The ship we enjoyed, which will remain unnamed, was not, but having many thousands of cubic feet of LPG onboard added to the suspense in a way I couldn’t exclude. I hope you enjoy No. 10 in THE REPAIRMAN series, THE BLUE PEARL, as much as I enjoyed preparing for and writing the novel.

Quick as a cat, Sampson spins and grabs McDuff by the throat with a ham-size hand, and by the crotch with the other. McDuff grunts, his arms flailing, legs kicking, as Sampson picks him up high over his head, then screams as Sampson takes a half dozen strides and heaves him a half dozen more strides out into the stream. Then Sampson stands with hands on his hips as McDuff flops and screams as the current takes him. 

“I can’t swim, I can’t …” and he goes under, comes up spittin’, then goes under again. Shep runs along the bank, barking. I swear he’s smiling, and he sure doesn’t dive in to the rescue.

Pa has been coming our way and is witness to most of this but now runs and plunges into the stream and, in seconds, is dragging McDuff to the bank.

Sampson merely climbs back into position on the cart and whips up George and Mark and moves ahead of the big wagon. 

McDuff is on his back in the mud, coughing and hacking, spitting river water, when Captain Cox comes galloping up. “What the hell happened here?” he snaps at Pa and leaps off his mount.

Pa shrugs. “McDuff lost his footing I guess. He doesn’t seem to swim too well.”