Welcome to my world!

Since The Sharpest Point of the Triad is the first book that I have coauthored, I want to give some background of how this novel came about. My wife, Carmen whom I affectionately nicknamed Tazz, short for Tasmanian devil, went on an Alaskan cruise after we both retired. On the cruise, we met Orval and his wife, Suzanne. Both couples had a few meals together where the various discussions, as usual among new acquaintances, led to what did you do before you retired. I found it fascinating that Orval had been a nuclear submarine captain. I told them about my various endeavors and that I was an author. When we got home from the cruise, I decided to send some of my novels to them.

It wasn’t too long after sending the books, that I received a phone call from Orval asking if I would be willing to write a historical fiction novel about the role the nuclear submarines played in bringing the Soviet Union to the bargaining table with the United States to reduce tensions in the Cold War. I’ve had several people ask me to coauthor a novel with them in the past, and I had always refused for various reasons. However, after several conversations with Orval, I was interested, but Covid was sweeping the world. The main problem that I foresaw was that you could write what I knew about submarines on the cover of a matchbook with space to sign my name. Orval told me that his problem was that he was a mathematician and if he wrote a novel, people would throw it in the trash after reading the first page. WOW! What a pair to write a historical novel!

During our initial discussions, Orval asked me if we should develop an outline. I think that I shocked him telling him, “I’m like the “Mad Hatter”. I somewhat know the start and finish of a novel that I’m writing, but I don’t know how I’m going to get there.” Being he was a disciplined mathematician and naval submarine commanding officer, I don’t think he could comprehend my thought process. We did know how the nuclear reduction talks ended, but we had to flesh out how it came about within historical content. I supplied the covert activities out of my imagination loosely adhering to historical facts (you’ve got to have some spice and spying to keep the story interesting). 

Orval supplied the information about submarines. Pulling information out of a submariner is like pulling eyeteeth without anesthesia. I said, “But Orval, I found three references on the internet. It’s common knowledge!” Orval would answer, “It’s classified… You can’t use it.” Now I know why they call it the “silent service”. Without him, I couldn’t have written the submarine narrative. I’m sure that he couldn’t have written the law enforcement and spy narrative. It was a very good combination of knowledge. It’s a story that needed to be told. I hope you enjoy it. Plus, I hope that you learn something about our great nation and the people who serve.