I’m honored to have the talented David C. Cassidy leave this five star review of my airline thriller, Calamity.
Not only is David a talented graphic artist, he’s a gifted writer too. Check out his novels, Velvet Rain, Fosgate’s Game, and The Dark.
I will soon be republishing my first airline thriller, The Cover-Up. It will have some editing changes, the addition of an author’s note explaining how the story was conceived, and the first chapter of the novel that follows it, titled, Coerced. To signify the change, I’ve commissioned the incredible David C. Cassidy to create the stunning cover you see at the left for both the EBook and paperback.
If you’re looking for a cover-artist/book-formatter who is a dream to work with you should consider David.
Until the novel is re-released, here is the author’s note that’ll be in the new edition:
While trying to come up with an idea for an airline thriller, I looked back over my twenty-five years of pretty routine flying and considered some of the situations I’d encountered. I’ve had to divert from the intended destination because of weather, sick passengers, airport closings, and mechanical issues. Luckily, I’ve never had to divert because of rowdy passengers like some of my brethren have. It would be a stretch to dramatize what is a pilot’s typical day to make into an exciting plot.
I gave some thought to having a terrorist problem, but decided against it for several reasons. I didn’t want anything I dreamed up to be something terrorist might try. I would also give away some of the security procedures that have been implemented since the attacks on nine-eleven.
During this brainstorming I remembered a few years prior a routine line-check, what the FAA calls a route check, by an FAA inspector who didn’t say much during the flight.
Unlike Ernest Norman in this book, almost all of the FAA Inspectors I’ve encountered are good people doing what is often an unrewarding job. It also has to be frustrating working around aviation but seldom being able to sit at the controls of an aircraft. There are a few who like to exert their authority by making airlines, mechanics, or pilots feel their licenses are on the line.
Most of the time the inspectors giving the line-checks will interact with the crews easing the tension that always rises when pilots feel they’re being watched. The feeling is similar to when a police officer follows the car you’re driving. When I get a quiet one who doesn’t attempt to converse with us, I question if they’re trying to be out-of-sight-out of-mind so we can do our jobs as we would without them there? Or, scrutinizing our every move and word hoping we’ll do something wrong so they can issue a violation.
My line-check went fine with no issues for the inspector to discuss after we had parked at the gate. But during the flight, I wondered if a situation arose and I made a decision the inspector disagreed with and thought the safety of the flight was in question, what might he do?
I ruminated on that thought for some time and asked myself: What would happen if I followed the inspector’s advice and it caused an accident? What would the FAA do to prevent the lashing they would take in the media? I had to have the crew in my story follow the inspector’s recommendation during a critical phase of flight when there wasn’t time to discuss the safest course of action. A blown tire on takeoff from a short runway that ended above and beyond the water’s edge fit my needs.
As mentioned in the story, blown tires on takeoff are very rare and seldom cause accidents. Intimidating inspectors are also extremely rare.
If you enjoyed the book, I would appreciate it if you would leave a review on Amazon, GoodReads, or your online retailer of choice so that other readers considering the novel will get an idea if it’s worth a read.
If you’re a lover of horror and thrillers, reward yourself with an early Christmas present and preorder David C. Cassidy’s latest novel, The Dark.
This astonishing tale of supernatural horror will be released in print and eBook on December 15, 2014. Caution: If you begin reading on the day of its release, you’ll probably put off shopping, work, buying plane tickets to Grandma’s house, and will be considered this year’s Scrooge.
Here are some details about the book.
IT KNOWS WHAT YOU WANT.
IT KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED.
In denial over his father’s death in a horrific accident, Kelan Lisk has grown fearful and withdrawn. For this meek and bullied child, a burning desire to tame a deadly sledding hill consumes him, drawing him inside a wondrous place where anything is possible … including his father. But as this strange new realm spills into this one, twisting an innocent little boy into an agent of evil, the world is forever changed, devoured by an even greater evil—the Dark.
After a year of plodding along, rewriting, thinking, rewriting some more, I’m pleased to announce the release Calamity, the next airline thriller that my two protagonists, Kyle and Lori Masters, get themselves caught up in.
Here’s the tagline and blurb:
Would you put your family on a Contrails Airline flight?”
Contrails Airline flight 1917 descending to land at Denver airport during a snowstorm loses power to both engines. The aircraft glides to an unplowed runway, violently coming to a stop in a snowbank.
NTSB investigator Lori Masters’ team is assigned to investigate the accident of a foreign manufactured aircraft that began flying in the U.S. in the last six months by a startup airline.
Lori’s team encounters data being stolen that would tell them what happened during the accident flight and witnesses murdered. The lives of Lori, her husband Kyle, a Boeing subject matter expert, and her daughter are put in danger.
Someone doesn’t want the cause of the accident discovered.
You can download the book onto your Kindle reading device here:
The paperback version will be available in a week or so and can be found at the same address.
If you want to read the first chapter of this novel, and my other two, click here:
https://dana-griffin.com/category/first-chapters-of-my-books/
Thank you stopping by.
So far, I’ve read and loved two of Jennifer Chases’ novels: Dark Minds and Dead Burn, both with Emily Stone as the protagonist. I’ll read more of her books as my “To Read List” shortens.
Since I’m such a good reader and write reviews of books, (yeah, I’m encouraging others to do the same) I contacted Ms. Chase and pointed her to my website so she could read my reviews.
From this acquaintance, she asked if I’d like to participate in a blog hop. If you go to her website listed below, you can read the first chapter of my upcoming novel, Calamity.
But before you leave this page, click on the You Tube link below to watch a short video that introduces you to, Emily Stone. It’s worth your time.
Thanks for stopping by.
Crime has a new nemesis and her name is Emily Stone. She will continue to hunt serial killers and child abductors as long as they are out there.
This is her life. Tag along with vigilante detective Emily Stone in a first time ever “live action” novel short film. Be sure to watch it full screen, turn up the volume, and enjoy.
***
Check out the Award-winning EMILY STONE THRILLER SERIES available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Smashwords, and most online and book retailers.
***
You can find Jennifer Chase and all of her books at:
I’m pleased to reveal the cover of my next airline thriller, Calamity. The amazing David C. Cassidy took my vague suggestions and worked them into this eyebrow-raising, smile-inducing cover.
I’ve sent the manuscript off to be edited by Susan H. Gottfried, the editor of my previous novels. I look forward to seeing the magic she works. I’ll post the first chapter of the novel after I get the manuscript back from her.
SIZZLING THRILLER HOT BOX RELEASE:
8 SIZZLING THRILLERS FROM 8 BEST-SELLING AUTHORS
Get Yours Today
Smashwords (99c)
It is my pleasure to host the release of The Hot Box. A bundled book containing eight thriller authors at an incredibly low price. A couple of these authors I have read and highly recommend. The others I can’t wait to read their offerings in this bundle. Below are the list of authors and a blurb for their story.
Steven Bannister – Fade to Black – Allie St Clair is young and brilliant and today she’s been promoted to Detective Chief Inspector at New Scotland Yard. But the time for celebration is short. Something is wrong in rain-swept London. Very wrong.
John Paul Davis – The Cortes Enigma –1581: It appeared in the west as the sun was setting, a distant silhouette like a fire on the water. Twelve hours later it appeared again, this time much closer to the mainland. Who was on board or where they came from remained a mystery. No trace of the vessel was ever found.
Never Released Before:
C R Hiatt – Sanctioned Kill –Destined for Danger. Sanctioned to Kill. Hot on the trail of an international weapons ring, covert agent Kyra Ray finds herself caught in the cross-hairs of a ruthless arms dealer in the perilous mountains of war-torn Afghanistan. Closing in, the mission takes an unexpected and near-deadly turn in the high-stakes drama of New York City, where Kyra is mysteriously spared by an assassin sent to kill her. Retrained as an assassin and given strict orders to take him down, Kyra becomes trapped in a game of cat-and-mouse that will put her life on the line and her directive to the test—her sanction to kill.
David Leadbeater – The Razor’s Edge –Trent, Silk and Radford are the Razor’s Edge and the best spy team in the business – until the government they toiled, served and bled for, disavowed them.
Andy Lucas – Race Amazon –James Pace, ex-RAF helicopter pilot and amateur cameraman, is still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life when a child’s bullet nearly kills him.
Karen Perkins – Dead Reckoning –A historical adventure of piracy, love and revenge in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century.
C K Raggio – Heron Park –A small Long Island town erupts in a panic when a woman and her dog are found savagely murdered on a popular hiking trail.
Mike Wells – Wild Child –A fast, suspenseful thriller with an ending that you’ll never see coming.
I’m pleased to be part of a group promoting author Scott Bury’s new novel, Army of Worn Soles. I look forward to reading it when it is released. Here’s Scott’s blurb:
1941: Their retreat across Ukraine wore their boots out—and they kept going.
Three months after drafting him, the Soviet Red Army throws Maurice Bury, along with millions of other under-trained men, against the juggernaut of Nazi Germany’s Operation Barbarossa, the assault on the USSR.
This true story is unique in English: the personal account of a Canadian man conscripted into the Red Army, facing the of the biggest invasion in the history of warfare.
Army of Worn Soles launches June 22 on Amazon. Visit the author’s blog, Written Words, for more info and to pre-order.
Charlie here, I’m Dana’s other dog. Recently while he was away on a trip I pawed through one of his novels and had to shake my head. Not the ear flapping shake I give it when I wake from a nap, but a slower one. There isn’t a single mention of a dog in the story. After living for years with Hunter and me you’d think he’d know how much better a dog can make a story.
Here’s a short passage from one of his stories. Afterward I’ll show how much better it could be if he’d put a faithful four-legged companion in the story.
A movement outside the glass doors leading out to the pool caught Kyle’s eye. He stared, but didn’t see anything. Was he seeing things because he’d had a long day?
When he flipped the switch for the lights out back, blackness greeted him. Had the circuit breaker popped? A kid in the neighborhood might’ve sneaked over to use the pool and unscrewed the bulbs. That had happened once before.
He swung the door open and stepped out. Before he was fully through the door, he sensed more than saw movement coming at his head from the side. His Kung Fu trained reflexes took over. He leaned back, letting the punch fly past him, and latched onto the attacker’s arm.
He lurched forward, twisted, used the arm as a lever, and propelled the guy to his knees.
He kicked the extended arm hard enough to cause pain but not break it. If it was the neighbor kid, he only wanted to teach him a lesson, not cripple him.
The arm belonged to a black-clad man who wore a ski mask. The guy cried out.
Clothing rustled behind Kyle. He spun and landed a heel kick into another masked guy’s stomach.
Attacker Two let out an “Oomph” but grabbed Kyle’s leg.
Kyle launched a palm strike at the man’s throat. Before he connected, Attacker Two touched his leg with a device.
There was a flash of blue light and pain raced through his body. Kyle yelled and crashed to the patio, twitching with seizure-like spasms. His limbs seemed to have a mind of their own.
As if from a distant place, he heard Attacker Two asking One if he was okay.
“Fucker might’ve broken my arm.” Attacker Two grabbed Kyle’s ankles and dragged him towards the pool.
Kyle’s shirt rolled up. The concrete tore into his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. The majority of his twitching had subsided, but he was powerless to squirm away. He lay quivering at the pools edge.
Assailant Two leaned down. “Stay away from Stacy Herren. If we find out you’ve talked or met with her, your next warning won’t be as gentle.” His gravelly voice suggested he was a heavy smoker.
He rolled Kyle into the pool.
Now see how much better this scene would be if he’d included a one-hundred-plus-pounder like me.
Charlie began to growl before movement outside the glass doors leading out to the pool caught Kyle’s eye. He stared, but didn’t see anything. Was he seeing things because he’d had a long day? No. Charlie didn’t get riled easily.
When he flipped the switch for the lights out back, blackness greeted him. Had the circuit breaker popped? A kid in the neighborhood might’ve sneaked over to use the pool and unscrewed the bulbs. That had happened once before and Charlie had chased him off.
He swung the door open and before he could step out, Charlie bolted barking with that deep bark that would scare off the jackals from hell.
“Ahh,” a man yelled out.
Charlie had clamped in his teeth the hand of a figure clad in black. Faithful loyal Charlie gave the hand a vigorous shake.
“Get him off me! Get him off me!”
Charlie must’ve smelled someone else as he let go and turned to sink his teeth into the wrist of another man. An object fell from his hand and clattered on the patio.
Kyle picked it up and touched it to neck of the first guy Charlie had taken out.
A flash of blue light lit up the night accompanied by a buzzing noise before the guy fell to the ground and lay quivering.
Kyle twisted and touched the second man with the device. He also collapsed.
“That’s enough, boy,” Kyle said giving Charlie a pat.
Charlie let go and looked up into his master’s eyes.
“What would I have done without you, big boy?”
If you think the second scene is better than the first, let Dana know. Maybe he’ll start putting one of my brethren in his stories.
I’m at Brio, a quaint Italian café on Lexington Avenue in New York City with Sami Saxton, from Douglas Wickard’s thriller, A Perfect Husband. Sami is having a martini with lots of large green olives. Seriously. That’s how she ordered it. I’m sticking to coffee.
She looks younger than the early forties that she is and combined with her above average height I wonder why her ex-husband strayed. His loss.
“Sami, at the beginning of A Perfect Husband, you sold your house you shared with your ex-husband for many years to move to a cabin you inherited from your family in New Jersey. It seemed from this reader’s perspective the move gave you the opportunity to do some soul searching about your upbringing and marriage you might not have accomplished had you stayed in the city where you’d lived all your life. Do you agree?”
“Well, let’s just say I needed a major break from the City. I wanted a disruption. Kind of like when you move to a foreign country and you don’t speak the language, know the customs, the people… at the time it felt like the right move, the right choice. Little did I know…?”
That’s an understatement. Learning new customs doesn’t even compare to fighting for her life. “What did you hope the move would do for you?”
“Here goes Sami; wearing rose-colored glasses…I think in my mind, I had an ideal picture of the country house being my own personal Walden’s Pond. You know, solitude, peace, the great outdoors. I didn’t really get in touch with all those childhood memories until I actually stepped over the threshold. Then, they sort of all came crashing in on me… do you mind if I order another martini. If you catch Luigi’s eye, can you wave him over…thanks.”
The immediate raising and waving of my arm reminds me of the veterinarian in the story who wanted to please Sami. Get a grip, Dana. “Putting aside the fact you and your dog, Blue, came close to being murdered, do you have any regrets about making the move?”
“Other than coming close to being murdered? No. (laughs nervously) Luigi, this is Dana Griffin. A wonderful writer friend of mine. Can you shake me up another? This is my limit, though, Dana. Only two. Promise.”
I give Luigi a nod while wondering how often Sami feels the need to limit herself. Is it me, or did she avoid answering the question. “If you hadn’t had the encounter with the serial killer, do you think you would’ve come to enjoy living in your cabin? Or, might’ve spent summers there?”
“I think the idea of living at the cabin was more intoxicating than the actual reality of it. Kind of like LOVE. Thank you, Luigi. Cheers, to love… I would’ve gotten bored. It was a nice fantasy. I’m glad I’m back in New York. Blue misses the country, the woods…but this is our home. Right Blue? (Blue is curled up in a ball beside her. He looks up for a second then goes right back to sleep after a sigh) I grew up here. I love the City. Don’t you?”
“Ah… I enjoy visiting it.” It’s amazing the ability she has to turn a conversation away from herself. She doesn’t even seem to notice she does so. “During your time at the cabin, you discover clues it was used in your absence. You also discover a scarf from a young woman who’d been murdered in the woods behind the cabin. Now, do you wish you’d looked further into who and why your cabin had been used?”
“You know, once my mother died and my father abandoned the cabin, I never thought of it. I didn’t drive at the time and I was overly concerned with my father, who was in Florida living in a retirement community developing Alzheimer’s and suffering from Leukemia. I didn’t have an opportunity to even think about the cottage. What it was being used for… the thought never crossed my mind. I was working full time, living my life, going through a divorce… (a big gulp of Vodka) I did have a dear friend of mine go up and check on it from time to time. He’s a writer, also. I’ll have to introduce the two of you.”
“That’d be nice.” I sip my coffee while thinking about how we get so caught up in life we ignore signs of trouble. “Without giving away the ending of the story, or the following sequel, A Perfect Setup, how has the experience in the story changed you?”
“I’m alive. And, getting stronger every day. Drew, you know Drew… we’re taking a transatlantic cruise together this summer… to Italy… I don’t know how she ever convinced me to do that! Hopefully, it will be perfect!”
I chuckle. It seems everything in Sami’s life that is perfect is just the opposite. “Thank you for your time Ms. Saxton. Hopefully we can meet again to continue our discussion.”
“Thank you, Dana. I’m looking forward to your next novel. I loved the first two COERCED and THE COVER UP. Maybe I’ll take it along with me on the cruise… xoxo!”
I lay a credit card on the table. “Thank you, but I doubt my wife would approve of me going on a cruise without her.”
“No, no, this is my treat! Even the tip!”
If you wish to read the adventure Sami has in A Perfect Husband. You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Setup-Sami-Saxton-Novel-ebook/dp/B00E9BT8LI/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1394976012&sr=1-3&keywords=Douglas+Wickard
You can find out about her creator here: http://www.douglaswickardbooks.com/
