Ask the Author: Peter Thomson
Answered Questions (7)
Peter Thomson
It was while I served at sea. I was the captain of a container ship on a tightly scheduled run from Singapore to Europe through Suez. Container ships cannot be late at their designated arrival ports without massive complications, disruptions to other ships and the terminals- and enormous expense. MY first voyage chief engineer had been taken in by a rogue skipper of a bunker barge refuelling the ship in S’pore. He took money to take less oil, but signed the paperwork to say he had received the full ordered quantity.
But the rogue skipper cheated him. He supplied 200 tonnes of water with the oil he delivered. This became apparent only some time after we had sailed once the water had settled out of the oil.
I found out eventually what he did when the ship would not come up to full speed. Consumption varies according to the cube root of the speed. The slower we went, the less oil we would use over a distance, but the time taken to cover that distance would be longer- and spare time we did not have. IT looked like we would not have enough oil to get to the Suez Canal ( our first next stop) if we went at full speed. We would miss the convoy on which we were booked to transit the canal to continue our journey to Marseilles.
It was quite a story. The tearful chief engineer admitted his wrong-doing to me and pressed the money he had received into my hand. It was now my problem.
We made the canal in time for our transit. We got to Marseilles on time. I received a bonus of $1500 from the charterer. How we managed to do this is a mystery that would make a great story. One day I must write it.
But the rogue skipper cheated him. He supplied 200 tonnes of water with the oil he delivered. This became apparent only some time after we had sailed once the water had settled out of the oil.
I found out eventually what he did when the ship would not come up to full speed. Consumption varies according to the cube root of the speed. The slower we went, the less oil we would use over a distance, but the time taken to cover that distance would be longer- and spare time we did not have. IT looked like we would not have enough oil to get to the Suez Canal ( our first next stop) if we went at full speed. We would miss the convoy on which we were booked to transit the canal to continue our journey to Marseilles.
It was quite a story. The tearful chief engineer admitted his wrong-doing to me and pressed the money he had received into my hand. It was now my problem.
We made the canal in time for our transit. We got to Marseilles on time. I received a bonus of $1500 from the charterer. How we managed to do this is a mystery that would make a great story. One day I must write it.
Peter Thomson
I watched with reverence the unloading of four coffins from a transport aircraft at Andrews AFB. Four marines who had been murdered while exercising in their gymnasium at a forward base in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. Then a report by the TV journalist that they had been killed by a fifteen year old village boy had me jumping out of my chair and screaming at the TV. “How did a 15-year-old village kid get inside an FOB in an active war zone? How did he get hold of a loaded AK73? What’s going on here? I spent a lot of time searching for those answers and uncovered a more sinister plot than the official ‘work of rogue jihadists’ explanation. One that threatens the lives of western forces working in Afghanistan today. I compiled this into ‘Drive For Freedom’- due for publication in December 2018.
Peter Thomson
Mostly out of outrage or anger at some injustice or unfairness that is being perpetrated against those less able to defend themselves against its ill effects. The sub-prime mortgage scam is an example and I deal with it during the course of events in my second novel. The Stopover : Potholes.
Peter Thomson
‘Drive For Freedom’. A fictional trilogy in one volume about an Afghan family who fled to the UK only to find the evil followed them.
Peter Thomson
Keep a journal to get in the habit of writing something every day.
Peter Thomson
Ability to solve the world’s problems - in print.
Peter Thomson
Come away from the main work for a day or two. Read a newspaper or magazine causing fresh ideas to emerge. Then go back refreshed and inspired to the work in progress
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more