This is the area we'll use to post additional text and materials that I would have liked to have included in Red Sea Run but was unable to. I wrote over twice the word count which ended up in the finished project. I'd also like to have input from as many in the people in the book as possible. It would be great to hear what Tom and Robert have to say, for example. I love to have excerpts from various ship's logs, etc. Basically, Carolyn and I went through a very intense experience with about 60 very cool people. Why not have as much input and diversity of opinion as possible?

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Example: when I sat down to write RED SEA RUN I had no idea that 'Robert the Pole' (aka Zbyszek Was) would play such a unifying part in the yarn. But that is how the story flowed out of me--because our adventures together neatly book-ended the whole tale. 

Of course, this can be tricky. 

When I write, I write for my reader, not the subject. It is the reader who signs the paycheck and is my boss.... not the subject. But, of course, I'd like my subject to enjoy the story too...

Once, long ago in St. John, I wrote a profile of a sailor who read it, and immediately vowed to kill me. Luckily, he couldn't find me and during the hunt... dozens of people came up to him, hugged him, and said, "Gee, that was a wonderful story Fatty wrote about you... his admiration of you really came through..."

...anyway, by the time the guy found me, I didn't kill me... he hugged me instead. But ever since, I've been a tad sensitive when writing about others... praying that they will respond with hugs, not threats of imminent death...

...anyway, back to Robert the Pole. He recently read RED SEA RUN and said, via Facebook,

• • Gary Cap'nFatty Goodlander replied:
  • 
    
  • That's funny, Robert. You know, we read about 'other people' where there are heroes having adventures... and it seems as if its another world. But it is not. Heroes having adventures are just people like you and I behaving as best we can in... stressful situations. I certainly had no intention of making you so central to the story... but that's just how it worked out. You, me, Tom, and many others made a bit of history together. I'm glad you laughed and cried and laughed. Of course, I'm sure it feels odd to read about yourself and to see yourself as others see you. And, yes, I am sure there will be some 'pay back' the next time we meet (like you hogging all the food). But we had a wonderful & horrible adventure together. We're all still alive: still loving, still striving, still hoping...
    
    Yes, Robert, it's great to be alive... especially when we have such great friends such as yourself to write about!

Oophs!

Gene Nelson, a professional songwriter from Nashville, helped us proof-read Red Sea Run. Alas, we stupidly didn't give him the photo captions to proof... otherwise he would have surely caught the misspelling of his boat's name!

There's irony here. I think I'll write a Country & Western song about it...