What do you think?
LOCH NESS: A Lake Monster Adventure
The Loch Ness monster is real!
Except the love of Tom’s life, not to mention the local Scottish government, want no part of it…
…that is until a strange curse embroils him in an obsession he cannot shake.
Now, Tom must prove the creature's existence to remove the ancient curse while overcoming suspicious locals and a powerful government. His quest for love turns into a fight for survival. He'll need more than daring to save their lives.
But will he discover the secret in time?
Interview with the Author
What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?
Two character and conflict. I love bringing out characters and their struggles as they go after the things they want. I begin a character not with a description, but with an action, some verb that defines them. When they gravitate toward their habitual action, right or wrong, they invariably run up against another character with a different action, and that brings the conflict. Who is going to budge? Who is going to give in? What if neither gives in? Woa! Then you have those thriller scenes where things blow up. That makes great conflict, great scenes, and great page-turning memories.
What inspired your idea for Loch Ness?
I’m a closet dinosaur, monster, and cryptid enthusiast. I’ve always been fascinated with dinosaur bones and what creatures existed, and what would happen if they were still alive. I also discovered several shows about bigfoot and strange encounters on cable TV. One of those shows was called Mountain Monsters, a show about several West Virginia monster hunters trying to find strange creatures in the Appalachian Mountains. I once tweeted a picture of my dog, Buster, as we watched the show, and the lead hunter, Trapper, followed me for that tweet. I was hooked. He didn’t follow many people back, but he followed me. One day, Trapper’s Facebook group posted a book about the Loch Ness monster. I thought, “What would it be like to hunt for the Loch Ness monster?” I didn’t know, so I ordered a copy of the book, read it, and then decided to write a novel about it.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
Boy, am I planning a sequel! The truth is I’m in the middle of it, and things are just getting going for Tom, Marella, and Sean. In fact, their success in the first book unlocked an even darker mystery that begins to affect the whole town of Thurwick. It turns out that curse was far worse than anyone realized. Yes, the local government has it in for Tom, but there are other forces at work that are far more dangerous.
Would you and your main character get along?
Tom’s a fighter, like me. I played Division I football, and I had no problem facing guys who weighed a hundred pounds more than me. But Tom has a tendency to think first of using force and that’s where he needs to learn. Sometimes the best way to win is to get into the correct position before the other guy and avoid the fight. As Sun Tzu said, “To win without fighting is best.” Unfortunately, Tom doesn’t often learn that lesson, and he faces some hard consequences because of it.
Except the love of Tom’s life, not to mention the local Scottish government, want no part of it…
…that is until a strange curse embroils him in an obsession he cannot shake.
Now, Tom must prove the creature's existence to remove the ancient curse while overcoming suspicious locals and a powerful government. His quest for love turns into a fight for survival. He'll need more than daring to save their lives.
But will he discover the secret in time?
Interview with the Author
What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?
Two character and conflict. I love bringing out characters and their struggles as they go after the things they want. I begin a character not with a description, but with an action, some verb that defines them. When they gravitate toward their habitual action, right or wrong, they invariably run up against another character with a different action, and that brings the conflict. Who is going to budge? Who is going to give in? What if neither gives in? Woa! Then you have those thriller scenes where things blow up. That makes great conflict, great scenes, and great page-turning memories.
What inspired your idea for Loch Ness?
I’m a closet dinosaur, monster, and cryptid enthusiast. I’ve always been fascinated with dinosaur bones and what creatures existed, and what would happen if they were still alive. I also discovered several shows about bigfoot and strange encounters on cable TV. One of those shows was called Mountain Monsters, a show about several West Virginia monster hunters trying to find strange creatures in the Appalachian Mountains. I once tweeted a picture of my dog, Buster, as we watched the show, and the lead hunter, Trapper, followed me for that tweet. I was hooked. He didn’t follow many people back, but he followed me. One day, Trapper’s Facebook group posted a book about the Loch Ness monster. I thought, “What would it be like to hunt for the Loch Ness monster?” I didn’t know, so I ordered a copy of the book, read it, and then decided to write a novel about it.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
Boy, am I planning a sequel! The truth is I’m in the middle of it, and things are just getting going for Tom, Marella, and Sean. In fact, their success in the first book unlocked an even darker mystery that begins to affect the whole town of Thurwick. It turns out that curse was far worse than anyone realized. Yes, the local government has it in for Tom, but there are other forces at work that are far more dangerous.
Would you and your main character get along?
Tom’s a fighter, like me. I played Division I football, and I had no problem facing guys who weighed a hundred pounds more than me. But Tom has a tendency to think first of using force and that’s where he needs to learn. Sometimes the best way to win is to get into the correct position before the other guy and avoid the fight. As Sun Tzu said, “To win without fighting is best.” Unfortunately, Tom doesn’t often learn that lesson, and he faces some hard consequences because of it.
371 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 29, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 3, 2024
This book took me forever to finish. The plot was one that I was really excited about. The Lochness Monster is one of my favorite things to learn about and I was looking forward to this book.
While the plot was decent, the writing was AWFUL! I hated reading the Scottish characters and trying to determine what they were saying, the main character was poorly developed, and the flow was choppy.
The main character Tom seems to have been written as though this is the author's hero version of himself.
Overall, would not recommend this.
While the plot was decent, the writing was AWFUL! I hated reading the Scottish characters and trying to determine what they were saying, the main character was poorly developed, and the flow was choppy.
The main character Tom seems to have been written as though this is the author's hero version of himself.
Overall, would not recommend this.
May 15, 2020
Is it real
He came from America and found a mystery. This is more than a romance it is a romance inside a huge mystery. I encourage everyone to read to the end because everything gets all shaken round. It's a very good book with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in to make for an excellent read.
He came from America and found a mystery. This is more than a romance it is a romance inside a huge mystery. I encourage everyone to read to the end because everything gets all shaken round. It's a very good book with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in to make for an excellent read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews