The Start of a New Adventure / Thriller Series: Writing Book 1

Connie and I have been working away on the first book in her series for the last couple of weeks.  She didn't like the cover I used in the last post; she thought it looked too much like the Bluewater Thriller covers.  She wants her own look, so we're working on that.  Any comments would be welcome; we probably need a referee or two.

We've also had more than one set-to about her behavior.  She keeps reminding me that she's not as volatile as her friend Dani Berger.  After all, she's a little older, and she's had a few more hard knocks, besides coming from a completely different background.  She's a bit more mellow, or at least she thinks she is. Time will tell.

We're doing all right, though, in spite of some minor differences.  She was right about having a story of her own.  We're about 20,000 words into it now, and it's moving along smoothly.  She's got me hooked, at least.

After spending some time in the Annapolis, Maryland, area fitting out her boat, she's now a couple of hundred miles off Cape Hatteras on her way to the Virgin Islands.  Paul Russo, her first mate and cook, couldn't make the trip with her, so she's stuck with pick-up crew.  Kirsten and Jimmy are a mismatched couple, each with their own agenda.  Connie's suspicious of Jimmy, but she's growing fond of Kirsten.

There's trouble brewing with Kirsten and Jimmy; we're going to see just how mellow Connie is when things turn nasty aboard Diamantista, her 56-foot yacht.  I'm braced for another struggle with her as she deals with the first challenge to her role as captain.  I'm sure she'll have her own ideas about how to handle the problems that are coming her way, and I already know that she's tougher than she lets on.  That's come across clearly as she's set me straight on some of my misapprehensions in the early part of the story.