Shipwreck in Paradise follows a marine investigator who joins forces with the Australian Navy and a research team to discover the truth behind the disaster. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I have always had a strong affinity for anything maritime-related. Most of the people in my family have been seafarers, and I spent most of my childhood visiting cruise ships. All of this family legacy eventually led me down a path to become obsessed with shipwrecks or disasters at sea type of documentary series and movies.

When I first time saw a photo of the actual World Discoverer shipwreck from 2000, I felt compelled to craft an adventure-style plot inspired by it. I was immediately hooked, and that’s how the story began to evolve.

Nick Diamantis is a well-written character who blends personality and technical proficiency into someone that readers can trust and want to get to know. Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?

Thank you for your kind words. That was exactly what I aimed for with him as a main character.

Nick is a composite character of different real-life people, including myself. From the get-go, I wanted to make him similar to my age, late 20s, so that we could potentially share similar thoughts, feelings, fears, and worries.

This, in turn, made it way easier to articulate his emotions and actions as his adventure unfolded.

The one thing we definitely share is the constant seeking of purpose and what is really meant for us as persons. What is it that we can bring to the table in order to make a difference in our world? For me, it was discovering writing. As for Nick, I will let the readers find out themselves when they read the book.

The action scenes were expertly crafted. I find that this is an area that can be overdone in novels. How did you approach this subject to make sure it flowed evenly?

You point out a really good topic with modern adventure novels. I tried taking my experience from reading such novels and constantly having that in the back of my mind when crafting my own scenes.

I always aim to strike a balance with the scenes being entertaining and interesting to read through, while at the same time being comprehensible enough for the reader to visualize.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?

Yes, Shipwreck in Paradise is the first book in the series featuring maritime investigator Nick Diamantis. My goal is to have the sequel ready for release during 2024. I have a really good idea of where I want to take the character next and can’t wait to immerse myself again in the world I have created. Fans can expect the same high stakes, plenty of globe-trotting action, and a personal odyssey for Nick with an alternative history premise.