I'm not worth the crumbs from the tables of the likes of James Lee Burke, Lee Child, and Robert Crais, but these great Thriller Writers inspired me to set out on a course to produce a novel. I'd be genuinely gratified if any of my work resembles their style or exceptional ability to create a world of their own.
Some associates felt a more natural path for my first foray into the writer's world, and a project possibly less challenging would have been the creation of a book based on my business experiences. The result would have been a study on Japanese market entry solutions.
I agree that a thriller novel might be considered a leap from my everyday experiences, but I argue that a fictional story is also a powerful vehicle to showcase real life experiences. It is likely more fun to read about a businessman’s daily interactions after the application of artistic embellishment.
Some of The Courier’s pages are influenced by people met, and times enjoyed or suffered through in Japan.
I have met a Yakuza with tattoos inked from ankle to neck who claimed to have sold futures on his skin.
My work selling medical products to US Government hospitals at military installations in Asia and Europe has put me in contact with professional soldiers who generously shared stories worth emulating in thriller novels.
An evening stroll through any of Bangkok's red-light districts will allow enough research by observation to create an account worth sharing.
The process of developing The Courier started with imagining what would happen to a businessman without any military experience if he was thrown into the middle of an espionage operation.
How would he do under fire or when facing extreme challenges from evil and dangerous antagonists?
Would he man-up to survive and be capable of protecting his family.
Who would help him when everything was on the line and what would it cost him when the smoke cleared, and his life was unalterably changed?
I hope these questions are answered when you read The Courier, and you have as much fun reading the novel as I had writing and rewriting it.
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