My BOOKS
Smugglers' Blues
There has been silence for a long time, but now it is time to tell the story...
A true story of a smugglers' adventure covertly transporting seventeen tons of illegal marijuana across the open seas. Bear witness to the highs and lows of our smuggler's dangerous journey as he sets sail from North America to Asia, and back again. Re-live the gritty details of dodging pirates, surviving at sea and the dodgy dealings of silent partners and orders given at the end of a telephone. Celebrate the wild wins and the enjoyment of finding sanctuary in paradise, and hang your head when it all comes to an end.
It’s been twenty years since that morning on the deck of the Panamco II when I heard, “Terry Cubbins, you have the right to remain silent…anything you say, can, and will, be held against you…”
The Garden of Evans & Other Short Stories
This is a humorous and remarkable collection of nine tales that ask the questions:
Can nuclear war solve climate change?
Can an ageing hipster artist make more money by being dead?
Should artificial intelligence stay artificial?
Can saving one downing bug help save the cure for cancer?
Can spending time with your loving older brother, land you in a federal prison camp?
These stories touch on our instincts, the choices we make and the impacts of others. So set sail and boogie your way across the synchronicities of fate, join the hunt in the search for Bigfoot and prepare yourself for one hell of a ride! One moment it’s love that cures all and the next; we’re burned with a distasteful sense of hope for humanity. From powerful world players, to the literal survival of man, and even the average Joe flailing at making his rounds in this crazy world, The Garden of Evan’s has it all. So sit back in your hammock and relax, as you embark on this literary journey. There’s plenty of pit stops along the way, so a bookmark always comes in handy.
They'll Come A Time
With the war in Viet Nam winding down, navy veteran Sonny Williams returns home to Seattle and learns his older brother, Tim, has been suckered into hauling marijuana for a smuggler known only as 'the old man.' To make matters worse, Tim's kidneys are failing and he will soon need an operation to save his life. To extract his brother from the old man's grip and to raise some fast cash, Sonny makes a one-time deal to sail as the engineer on the Intrepid, a ship that's sailing from San Francisco to Thailand and bringing millions of dollar's worth of pot into the U.S. While the crew of the Intrepid makes repairs and refuels at a small town in Malaysia, Sonny falls in love with a beautiful local woman and vows to return for her once he completes his mission. Murder and betrayal become the game changers that compel Sonny to return to Malaysia on a different ship, not for love, but for vengeance.
The Stringer
Newly hired at the San Francisco Chronicle, stringer Michael Fletcher is looking to secure the future of his wife and daughter by landing the next big story. But Michael’s marriage is tested when sparks fly with Dr. Laurie Scott, who he meets while investigating three professional athletes who died in separate “accidents” over a six-month period. The pressure mounts with the arrival of an encrypted message about the deaths of the athletes that is eerily reminiscent of the work of the Zodiac Killer, who terrorized the Bay Area in the late 1960s. Alone in his pursuit of the source of the cryptic message, Michael must track a potential killer while keeping his marriage intact as his path continues to intersect with that of the beautiful Doctor. Fast-paced crime dramas won’t skip a page while solving the mystery of The Stringer.
Life in the Left-Hand Lane
Jim Swanson was a catcher in Little League when a friend told him he should give up the position.
“Why?” Jim asked. His pal clued him, “Because you’re left-handed, is why.” In high school, Jim’s girlfriend observed, “You’ll never make varsity as a catcher, you know.” Jim asked why not; “Duh! You’re left-handed! Hel-loow?”
It wasn’t until 1975, after Swanson graduated college with an All-Conference baseball career that someone said, “Hey! You’re a left-handed catcher! I can use you!”
The voice belonged to Bing Russell, actor and owner of the Portland Mavericks, an Independent, Single-A team in the Northwest League consisting mostly of misfits who partied hard, ignored traditions, and played loudly. They also beat the Major League franchise teams and set attendance records everywhere they went. Swanson fit right in the team that included Bing’s son, Kurt Russell, and former New York Yankee, Jim Bouton.
Then in 1977, after five years of shenanigans from an independent team with an owner better known as the deputy sheriff on Bonanza, Major League Baseball muscled the Mavericks out of existence.
With the Mavericks gone, Swanson set sail for Seattle, where he kept the party rolling by opening the first underground comedy club in the Northwest called Swannies. A young left-hander named Jerry Seinfeld was Swannies’s first act. Ellen DeGeneres and Cheech and Chong soon followed. Located close to the Kingdome Sports Arena, Swannies became a favorite watering hole for athletes and celebrities. Baseball and comedy. What’s not to love?