Maroon Rising (34 page)

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Authors: John H. Cunningham

BOOK: Maroon Rising

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I turned back to Ray. “The future is bright,” I said. “Partner.”

He scratched his head. “But I still can’t believe you did that deal—”

“Don’t start, Ray.”

“I mean I get it—but, jeez, did you do the math when you gave away 25 percent of your 10 percent? It—”

“Didn’t mean a thing to me.”

I followed his gaze out to the ocean, turquoise blue with highlights of orange on the wave crests. On the beach was the Beast, resting askew in the sand, a regal old bird indeed.

My face bent in a broad smile when I looked past her—to my other girl.

“Betty, however, means everything,” I said.

The End

Acknowledgments

Writing
Maroon Rising
provided a great opportunity to research another wonderful location, this time Jamaica. I studied the island’s rich, and varied history, and was able to meet many people who care deeply about their nation’s past, future and culture. I’d like to thank several people who contributed significantly to this effort.

First, thank you to Chris Blackwell, who I had the pleasure to meet with at GoldenEye Resort, drink some Blackwell rum, talk music, history, and Buck Reilly. As the founder of Island Records, Chris has touched all of our lives through discovering or helping to make successful many amazing musicians, including Bob Marley, U2, Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, Tom Waits, Melissa Etheridge, and many others. His family has a long history in Jamaica, and he’s involved with and very serious about historic preservation and the future of the country. It was Chris who gave me the idea that school children in Jamaica would benefit by receiving iPads, and he was very generous to allow me to include him in several scenes in
Maroon Rising
.

Also in Jamaica, my friend, Lancelot Thompson, a.k.a. McGyver, was instrumental in introducing me to, and helping me research many of the locations depicted in the story, as well as different foods, stories, trends, music and introductions to key people like Chris Blackwell and I-Wayne. McGyver’s knowledge, passion, ability to work around obstacles and his persistence was truly inspirational. And he too allowed me to portray him in the story.

Singer songwriter, Thom Shepherd, who has penned numerous #1 hits, and has over 100 songwriting credits for some of Country Music’s top recording artists, and was himself recently awarded the Country Music Association (CMA) of Texas’ Songwriter of the Year award, was also very gracious to allow me to portray him in the story. Thom is one of the hardest working and most talented people I know, and he never stops smiling. I also had the pleasure of co-writing a song with him, called “Rum Punch,” and accompanied him when he recorded it in Nashville with legendary musician, songwriter and studio owner, Jim “Moose” Brown and Noah Gordon. Thom tours nonstop and has performed for American Military servicemen and women in 17 different countries. Thom also appeared in
Maroon Rising
and it was a blast to have him ride shotgun with Buck Reilly.

Clemens and Nancy Von Merveldt, the General Managers of Strawberry Hill Resort, located in the heart of the Blue Mountain range, were also very gracious in sharing their perspectives on Jamaica, and to introducing me to other amazing people and facts about the country, as well as appear in the novel. International reggae star, I-Wayne, was kind and generous to allow me to include him in the book, and like all of the other “real people” who agreed to appear, also wanted to first understand what the book was about, and showed concern and care about the moral of the story being positive for the Jamaican people.

Another Jamaican friend, who happens to live in New York, Thremane Henry, helped me to understand history, city details, music, and had some great suggestions on settings and pertinent cultural aspects of the country. As one of a few trusted pre-readers, he also offered insight and encouragement on the plot and storyline for
Maroon Rising
.

Thanks also to my friend and publicist, Ann-Marie Nieves of GetredPR, for her unwavering support, brainstorming, energy, introductions and creativity. You’re the best. Also to Tim Harkness illustrator extraordinaire, along with John Wojciech of C-Straight, my webpage designer, and to Cathy Snipper at Island Outpost for her help in Jamaica.

Thank you to the team at The Editorial Department (TED): Renni Browne, Ross Browne, Peter Gelfan, Shannon Roberts, Morgana Gallaway Laurie, Jane Ryder, Liz Felix and Tad Daggerhart. I’ve worked with TED as my editorial team for 20 years, and they do an amazing job.

One last thing, people often ask me about my writing habits. The reality is that it takes a lot of time and inspiration to write and edit books, and given the amount of time I travel (over 100 commercial flights in 2015, so far), I thought you might enjoy seeing a partial list of cities, countries, airlines, and hotels, aside from my writing barn, where I wrote portions of
Maroon Rising
. Someday I will travel less and write more. Here you go …

New York, NY

Key West, FL

Islamorada, FL

Wellington, FL

Blacksburg, VA

Hamilton, VA

Richmond, VA

Ashland, VA

Nashville, TN

Denver, CO

Pasadena, CA

St. Barths

Jamaica

Amtrak Acela

Delta Shuttle

USAir

United Airlines

American Airlines

Frontier Airlines

NoMad Hotel

London NYC Hotel

Pier House Hotel

Strawberry Hill Resort

GoldenEye Resort

Langham Hotel

Ace Hotel

and more...

And finally, to my lovely ladies Holly, Bailey and Cortney, thank you for your love and support. Never give up on your dreams, some day they may actually come true …

About the Author

John H. Cunningham is the author of the best selling, five book, Buck Reilly adventure series, which includes
Red Right Return
,
Green to Go
,
Crystal Blue
,
Second Chance Gold
and
Maroon Rising
. Through the years, John has been a bouncer at a Key West nightclub, a diver, pilot, magazine editor, commercial developer, song writer and global traveler. He has either lived in or visited the many island locations that populate the series, and has experienced or witnessed enough craziness and wild times to keep the Buck Reilly series flowing. John mixes fact with fiction and often includes real people in his novels, like Jimmy Buffett, Matt Hoggatt, Thom Shepherd and Bankie Banx to augment the reader’s experience. Adhering to the old maxim, “write what you know,” John’s books have an authenticity and immediacy that have earned a loyal following and strong reviews.

John lives in Virginia with his wife and two daughters, and spends much of his time traveling. His choices for the places and plots that populate the Buck Reilly series include many subjects that he loves: Key West, Cuba, Jamaica, and multiple Caribbean settings, along with amphibious aircraft, colorful characters, and stories that concern themselves with the same tensions and issues that affect all of our lives.

For John’s other books and music, you can go to his website and link from there:

WWW.JHCUNNINGHAM.COM

Rum Punch

By Thom Shepherd and John Cunningham