January/February 2018: The Bermuda Connection by Robert Rapoza "Discussion" *Spoilers*

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

Our January/February Member-Author Group Read is

Synopsis

Archeologist Nick Randall is haunted by a recurring nightmare that may be tied to the abduction of a woman he’s never met. As he searches for clues, assassins attack and nearly kill him, forcing him into hiding. Nick’s son, John Randall, a talented Bioengineer, finds himself engulfed in his own mystery. Having developed a drug that erases traumatic memories, his research partner suddenly disappears. While searching for him, John makes a terrifying discovery. He has been part of secret, psychological military project, and their henchman will stop at nothing to get his research—including murder. John narrowly escapes, only to find he is now wanted by the authorities.

Their paths cross when they are both drawn to a mysterious woman on the Island of Bermuda. But they must find her and solve the riddle before evil forces unleash a horrific weapon on humanity.

Let's read and discuss!!!

[Robert]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks to the group for choosing my book for the January/February member-author read. I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and discussing the book.

Cheers!

Bob

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

I just started reading this and it definitely starts out fast. I'm already drawn in and wanting to know what is going on.

[Robert]

Thanks Lisa, that's great to hear. Hope you enjoy the rest.

Bob

[Robert]

That was my plan. I wanted to hit the ground running and set the tone to be high action. I took Dean Koontz's advice, from his book "How to Write Best Selling Fiction." He advised writers to error on the side of action, when in doubt.

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

Robert wrote: "That was my plan. I wanted to hit the ground running and set the tone to be high action. I took Dean Koontz's advice, from his book "How to Write Best Selling Fiction." He advised writers to error on the side of action, when in doubt ..."

Since I like a lot of action in my books, I have to say that's really good advice!

[Kristy]

I’m a little late getting started on this read but I breezed through the first eight chapters on the treadmill yesterday and I quite enjoyed the quick action-packed nature of the read so far. I’m curious about the dream aspect of the story and where that is going. Is it a problem that I haven’t read the first book? Will I be missing any essential info? I assume it has to do with the Peru references.

[Robert]

Hi Kristy,
Thanks for the great questions. The dream sequence ties into how Randall meets one of the secondary characters of the book, who is part of the main story arc. This has a very light tie back to the first book, but not much. You're right about the first book having taken place in Peru, but you won't miss much by not reading the first book, other than getting to know Nick Randall better. I've written each book in the series to be stand alone reads. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

[Alan]

Just finished reading this, without reading the first book. I am also fairly new to the group.
The action was definately fast. I enjoyed the story line, but personally felt that the antagonists were one (Chinese) too many. It is just my quibble and having finished the story not distracted by it.
Because of the "history" alluded to in Peru, I am going to do some backtracking and find out what Nick Randall was up to in his previous adventure.

[Robert]

Hi Alan,

Welcome to the group! Thanks for checking into the discussion about the group read of my book, and I'm glad you enjoyed the story line. Please let me know if you have any questions about the book or about Randall's experiences in Peru.

Bob Rapoza

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

Hi all, I just wanted to check in and say that I am about halfway through. I had to put it aside for a bit but am back into it. Plenty of action to enjoy so far!

Also, welcome to the group Alan!

[Robert]

Hi Lisa,
Glad you're enjoying it so far! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to answer them. Thanks to everyone who's jumped into the discussion!

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

One thing I'm really enjoying is the "family affair"element to your story. I love the idea of having a father, son, and daughter all working together in this adventure. It's a unique, fun twist that you don't come across too often. I'm curious as to what made you decide to incorporate the entire family into this book/series?

[Robert]

This is one of my favorite questions. Thanks for asking! This is the intersection of two different concepts. First, family is very important to me. I have a son and daughter, and Sam and John are names which my wife and I discussed, and didn't use, for our own children. Even Randall's wife's name is a nod to my wife, whose middle name is Ann. The second reason I chose the family twist is attributable to Clive Cussler. In an interview, when asked to give advice to new writers, Mr. Cussler explained his own success was based on taking a strong genre, and finding a unique twist. For Mr. Cussler, it was taking the action adventure / thriller genre and putting it into and under the water by creating NUMA. Following his advice, I decided I would take the same genre and make my twist be the family angle. I am rotating Sam and John's appearance in each novel. Sam gets the odd numbered books, and John gets the even numbered books. I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my third book THE DEVIL'S HEART, featuring father and daughter, and I'm half way through my fourth book WASHINGTON'S GHOST, featuring father and son.