In my book
Vengeance the reader learns that Reece Culver was
an Aerospace Engineer for a fictitious company named Caulder Space Systems before taking
a leave of absence to solve the mystery of his father’s cold case murder.
The next book in the Reece Culver Thriller series, book 2 - Sabotage,
which I’m writing now opens in the country of Scotland. Reece and his sometimes partner Haisley
Averton have gone there with the intent of catching trophy trout on Loch
Awe.
They are successful with their fishing, but while in the
country Reece finds significantly more than he was looking for. Some of the things he finds are good, and
much of what he discovers is bad. But,
if you read the first book you know it wouldn’t be a Reece Culver Thriller
unless he had to deal with some unsavory characters. It's what he seems to be attracted to, among other things.
As I've been researching book 2 in the series I’ve been
reading up on the country of Scotland. A
place I intend to visit in the near future.
I’ve learned from my mother that I myself have a small smattering of
Scottish blood within my veins.
The book opens near the town of Tarbert in the southwestern
region of the country. Reece and Haisley
are guests at the home of two of the main characters in the story. Reece and his friend go fishing on Loch Awe
and on the way back run into trouble.
The third book in the series is underway as well. I completed about 2/3’s of the first draft
last fall before picking book 2 back up and pressing on with it. In the third book Reece goes back to work at
his old job as an Aerospace Engineer and there at work he discovers that things
are not what they appear to be.
I’m being vague about the plots of both books 2 and 3 at
this point because they are both early in my development process. Writing, like many things, takes time and thought. In some ways it’s like making a good batch of
chili. The ingredients, words in this
case, are put into a large pan, or in my case written on a computer. Time is given for them to simmer and
age. Additional ingredients are added as the batch, or book ages. Each time the lid is taken off the cook tastes the chill. With a book each time the author finishes a draft he, or his beta readers give the book a read. The author then decides whether it's done or needs more ingredients, or time to simmer.
The other parts of my life including my day job give the
recipe for my novels time to simmer. This is something
I battle with constantly wishing I had more time to write, but for now having a
job is a necessity. All writers dream of
the day when the sale of their books will provide enough income to replace their
day job, and when that day comes they will have a new full-time job as a
novelist.
