Blog Archives
Dreams Are Important
The Other Disney follows a former baseball player and his family as unexpected setbacks test their resilience, priorities, and ability to find joy in what they already have. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I was inspired by the realization that rich families can visit Walt Disney World often and even take it for granted, while poor families can only dream about seeing what has been called “the happiest place on earth,” even for only a day. Having visited Walt Disney World and taken advantage of the free transportation, such as the Sky Rides, monorails, boats, buses, and trams, as well as the free attractions, such as the exotic animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, live music and movies at various resorts, and nightly fireworks, I realized a family could visit Walt Disney World and have a wonderful experience, even if they couldn’t afford the expensive hotels, restaurants, or theme parks. I wanted to share my discovery with families that had more dreams than means, and cast a literary vote for the best things in life being free.
How did the story change from your initial concept to the finished novel?
I write all my novels backwards. I write the ending first, and then record how the characters make it from the start to the finish line. So, the only changes from my initial concept to the finished novel are the addition of ideas I get along the way that enhanced the narrative without changing the plot. These additions may come in the form of supporting characters, minor subplots, or just little-known facts.
Why was it important that Andy’s identity not be defined entirely by baseball?
Andy idolizes his father, and as is true in many strong father-son relationships, Andy realizes that his father’s dream in life to play major league baseball was cut short by a career-ending injury. So, Andy falls in love with baseball just as his father did, but he does so cautiously, realizing that what we do professionally is not as important as who we are. His caution is supported by the humble means of his family, and his realization that dreams are important – even the ones that don’t come true.
What do you hope families might take away from the D’Isignys’ approach to a budget-conscious vacation?
The greatest memories of a vacation rarely take into account how much money was spent as much as they do how the time together brought family members closer.
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After he apprehends a fleeing shoplifter, Val D’Isigny is unexpectedly fired from his job as a security officer at a large North Carolina home improvement center. Unemployed and short on cash, it appears the devoted father will be forced to break an earlier promise and cancel his son Andy’s birthday trip to Walt Disney World.
When all hope for the family’s trip appears to be lost, wife Eleanor searches the internet and comes up with a plan that will allow her family to spend Andy’s 10th birthday at Walt Disney World for nothing more than the price of groceries and gasoline. Her plan includes sleeping in their truck at interstate rest areas, eating food brought from home, and riding the free transportation at Walt Disney World, like the monorail, cable cars, and boats that link the various parks and resorts, and enjoying its free attractions, like the African zoo, resort movies, and fireworks.
Will Eleanor’s plan bring her son the birthday party he dreams of at Walt Disney World?
How will a day in the land of magic change the lives of the D’Isigny family?
The Other Disney
The Other Disney, by Bernard Leo Remakus, is a warm, family-centered novel that blends sports fiction, inspirational fiction, and family drama into a story about character, resilience, and finding value in what you already have. At the center is the D’Isigny family, whose surname is pronounced “Disney,” a coincidence that gives the novel both its title and its running joke. Val D’Isigny is a former professional baseball player and Army MP trying to build a stable civilian life with his wife, Eleanor, and their son, Andy. When Val unexpectedly loses his security job just as ten-year-old Andy faces a disappointment of his own in Little League, the family’s plans, including a promised birthday trip to Walt Disney World, suddenly become much more complicated.
Some of the book’s strongest material comes from its baseball storyline. Remakus clearly enjoys the details of the game, and The Other Disney works surprisingly well as baseball fiction because practices, strategy, coaching, sportsmanship, and youth-league politics all have a real role in the plot. Andy is especially appealing. He’s talented without being defined solely by talent, and his decision to give up a coveted spot on the Dodgers so an older boy can have one says more about him than any home run could. Later, Val takes over a struggling team of overlooked kids, and the novel turns their season into a lively underdog story. The climactic game against the powerful Browns has plenty of baseball maneuvering, from bunts and base running to a memorable triple play, but the larger point is about what kids learn from the adults around them.
The novel shifts gears when the D’Isignys finally head to Florida, and this section gives the family adventure fiction side of the book its most distinctive hook. Because they can’t afford theme-park tickets, hotels, or restaurant meals, Eleanor devises a Walt Disney World birthday built around free transportation, resorts, sightseeing, animals, boardwalks, movies, fireworks, and food brought from home. That premise gives the title a second meaning: this is literally “the other Disney,” an experience built around everything surrounding the expensive attractions. These chapters have the relaxed feel of a family travel story, but they’re also where the novel’s ideas about gratitude and resourcefulness become most concrete. Andy’s delight in monorails, boats, the Skyliner, and a homemade birthday celebration works because the book has already established that he measures a good day by who he shares it with, not by its price tag.
As wholesome family fiction and inspirational contemporary fiction, The Other Disney is earnest about the values it wants to celebrate. Kindness tends to travel from one person to another, generosity creates unexpected opportunities, and the D’Isignys repeatedly influence people simply by treating them well. The final stretch brings those themes together when a chance encounter with another family changes the D’Isignys’ future in a dramatic way, while still keeping the story rooted in the relationships among Val, Eleanor, and Andy. Remakus writes in a straightforward, highly accessible style, with plenty of dialogue, baseball humor, and domestic detail. Readers looking for a hopeful family novel, an underdog sports story, and a feel-good tale about making the most of limited circumstances will find The Other Disney easy to settle into and clear about what matters most to its characters.
Pages: 88 | ASIN : B0FTFDK9NK
Odyssey in The Congo
Breakwater Bay follows a journalist who is headed to Madagascar for a diving vacation where he instead winds up sucked into a shady rescue mission in lawless Somalia. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
A video popped up on YouTube about a pushboat pushing 6 barges up the Congo River with 300 Congolese living in a shantytown aboard the barges. It captured my interest and I found myself researching The Congo for a possible story. It just took off from there.
How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?
This book was a different style for me. It was more about the journey and the characters encountered on that journey. It was an odyssey in The Congo and beyond. I tend to write fast-paced stories, so it was easy for me to balance the elements.
Did you find anything in your research of this story that surprised you?
Yes. The pushboats and barges on the Congo River were intriguing as well as the use of child slave labor in the illegal diamond mines. I also wanted the book to create awareness of this sad/abusive situation.
Can you tell us more about what’s in store for Emerson Moore and the direction of the next book?
I’m developing a book that’s centered on the Lake Erie islands. It’s in the early stages. I will be releasing Not Alone At Home, a humourous Thanksgiving tale, this fall. It’s a sequel to the successful Alone At Home. I’m currently writing a romantic mystery set in Southport, NC. It will be released next spring.
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Investigative journalist Emerson Moore thought he was headed for sun-soaked relaxation on a diving trip to Madagascar. But when he crosses paths with a smooth-talking, down-and-out British reporter, everything changes. Sucked into a shady rescue mission in lawless Somalia with his old friend “Mad Dog” Adams, Moore soon finds himself deep in the heart of the African continent—on a journey far more dangerous than he ever imagined.
From skirmishes with Congolese militias to a harrowing expedition up the treacherous Congo River, Moore and his crew dodge corrupt security forces and bloodthirsty bandits. The deeper they go, the darker the secrets become—until they uncover a clandestine diamond operation near Kisangani that could shatter lives and fortunes.
As the chase takes them from the jungle shadows to the polished corridors of Antwerp, Moore discovers a chilling link between the illicit diamond trade and a powerful U.S. real estate empire. And when violence erupts back home in Put-in-Bay and Chincoteague Island, Moore must confront the terrifying truth before chaos spreads—and more blood is spilled.
High-octane, globe-trotting, and relentlessly thrilling, this electrifying adventure grips you from the first page to the last, perfect for fans of Nelson DeMille, Clive Cussler, and Brad Thor.
Breakwater Bay
Breakwater Bay throws you headfirst into an old-school, high-stakes adventure with plenty of attitude and grit. It kicks off with a mysterious body found in the trunk of a stolen Camaro, and then quickly pulls back the curtain to reveal a tangled backstory involving a globe-trotting investigative reporter, shady characters, hidden agendas, and some very sketchy rescue missions. The story shifts between Lake Erie and far-flung places like Madagascar and Somalia, where a journalist named Emerson Moore finds himself (once again) in way over his head. Alongside his buddy, the rough-and-ready Mad Dog Adams, Moore takes on everything from Somali pirates to drunken Brits with questionable motives.
Honestly, one of the first things that grabbed me was the pacing. Bob Adamov wastes zero time—Chapter 1 has a dead body in a trunk. And just a few pages later, we’re in Madagascar watching Moore and Adams get dragged into a so-called “rescue” mission that sounds more like a barroom tall tale than something you’d actually sign up for. The dialogue between characters—especially the dry, sarcastic banter between Moore and Adams—is a real treat.
Now, don’t get me wrong—this book is a total popcorn read. But what makes it rise above the average thriller is Adamov’s knack for creating vivid settings. He doesn’t bog it down with flowery prose—he just drops you in and lets the mood soak into your skin. That said, the story does flirt with chaos at times. When Moore and Adams agree to help a washed-up British reporter rescue a supposedly kidnapped teen, I couldn’t decide if I should roll my eyes or buckle up. Turns out, it was both. The whole setup was a con, but that twist made me laugh more than groan.
Gordy, the Brit. He’s infuriating. He lies, manipulates, and nearly gets everyone killed in Mogadishu. I wanted to throw him overboard right alongside Adams, who threatens just that at least twice. Still, I gotta admit, Gordy adds a touch of tragic comedy to the whole ride. The dude’s a mess, and maybe that’s the point. His wild, unreliable energy keeps things unpredictable, even if you spend half the book yelling at him in your head.
Breakwater Bay is one of those books you read for the ride. It’s for people who like their thrillers with exotic backdrops, lots of action, a sprinkle of absurdity, and characters who feel like your uncle’s crazy fishing buddies. It’s part mystery, part buddy comedy, part “what-could-possibly-go-wrong?” travelogue. If you’re a fan of Clive Cussler, or if you just want to kick back and follow a fast-talking reporter into mayhem, this one’s got your name on it.
Pages: 288 | ASIN : B0F2GG7LJ8
Do What You Love
On Wahoo Reef follows a PR executive from Atlanta who quits his job to open a scuba diving operation in the Caribbean. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
In twenty-plus years of working as a scuba instructor and boat captain in the Caribbean, I’ve met a lot of visiting divers who fantasize about doing just that, without realizing how much hard work goes into running a small business in the tropics. Something’s always breaking. Something’s always going wrong. Nothing works the way it should. Getting parts from the hardware store isn’t an option when there is no hardware store. The pretty beaches, palm trees, and hammocks are for tourists.
Many readers will be able to identify with Wally. Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your character’s life?
Some of Wally’s predicaments are so close to real life, I winced as I wrote them. The dread of opening the boat’s engine compartment every morning to see what broke overnight. Will we be able to cover payroll at the end of the week? It costs how much to repair that? But there are good memories, too, the reasons you stay in spite of all that. I drew on those for the scuba diving scenes, for the nightlife scenes, and for making the island itself a character in the book.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Do what you love, and keep doing it no matter what obstacles pop up to complicate things. Every job has complications and negative aspects, but if you’re doing what you love, they’re worth the trouble.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
In a Sandy Lie’s protagonist is an unqualified land surveyor sent to Blacktip Island to scout land, on the sly, for golf course construction. He discovers the island is geologically useless for golf, but sends back glowing, bogus reports while using the company expense account to have an extended stay in the tropics. It’s a small island, so the locals know he’s hiding something, and concoct all kinds of wild rumors to explain his motives and doings. More comic misadventure in the same vein as On Wahoo Reef. It will be available as soon as I can get it finished.
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Wally Breight’s a miserable-in-his-job P.R. executive who dreams of escaping to happily-ever-after in the Caribbean. When he stumbles across a run-down scuba diving operation for sale on Blacktip Island, he snaps it up and settles into paradise. But paradise has other ideas. His dive boat’s a lemon. His business partner proves the age of piracy isn’t dead. Scuba guests are scarce. And a free-spirited dive mistress might party him into an early grave. If Wally can’t get a handle on paradise, pronto, he’ll be leaving Blacktip Island faster than a coconut in a hurricane.
A Reluctant Protagonist
Flotsam follows a diver that stumbles upon two murder victims. While assisting in the investigation she becomes the next potential victim. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I knew from the beginning that Ricky would be a reluctant protagonist and that it would be tied to her being a divemaster, so that was the first step. The second was that it needed to be something that was outside of the normal divemaster experience — dive accidents are something they train and any accident would reflect badly on Ricky, so it couldn’t be anything having to do with a diver. As I tried to figure this out, I decided that “place” might help in the decision. Once I decided on Palau, and its complex relationship with the Japanese, I began to research the yakuza and found a story about the yakuza kidnapping a South Korean politician with plans to weigh him down and throw him overboard into the Sea of Japan (spoiler alert: Japanese officials intercepted the boat just as the yakuza were bringing him up to the deck and he was saved)
Ricky is a complex character that even other characters have trouble understanding. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Ricky doesn’t think she’s complex. She is, at her core, conflict-averse. That’s why she tries to keep whole oceans between her and her family. But she has a trigger, which is an innate sense of responsibility. And when that trigger gets flipped, when others refuse to take responsibility and accountability that is theirs, she is stubbornly going to work to right the wrong. But there’s a better answer: Ricky is based on roughly a dozen women divemasters I’ve met over the years. They work and live in a male-dominated environment, 24 by 7. They have to know when to be conciliatory and when to be dominant. They are fun-loving but incredibly reliable once they step on the boat. For Ricky, the history that influences her decision of when to make that switch goes back to her teenage years in Hawai’i and her experience with a man who murdered her best friend.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Obviously, I’ve included a mix of local politics and environmental advocacy in the book. These are prominent in Palau’s everyday experience. In fact, when you enter Palau today, they take up a whole page of your passport with the Palau Pledge. It begins “Children of Palau, I take this pledge as your guest to preserve and protect your beautiful and unique island home.” Palau is at the forefront of the concept of shark sanctuaries and continues to expand that model. I don’t think you can tell a story about Palau without including that.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Most people will be disappointed to hear that it’s not called Jetsam. There are actually four categories in maritime law that relate to shipwrecks. Derelict and Lagan are the other two. Book two will be Derelict. I’m a big fan of Tana French and her concept of keeping the story fresh by maintaining certain elements but shifting others around in the Dublin Murder Squad. The sites change and the protagonists change. Minor characters become lead characters. I decided that I would use a primary characteristic of expat divemasters and that every book would be in a new locale. Derelict is based in the Sinai Peninsula in Dahab, a small town with a very famous (and dangerous) dive site. I went to Dahab on December 27 of 2012, one day after the new president imposed a new constitution, spurring protests and clashes throughout the country. Some of my experiences made it into the book. It will be available in June of 2022.
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When her morning dive is interrupted by a spinning tangle of chains and bodies, she is dragged into an international free-for-all. As authorities bicker, and rumors fly, the villains fight to eliminate loose ends, tracking Ricky through WWII tunnels, on a high speed chase through the lush tropical islands, and back to where it all began – the edge of her favorite cliff.
FLOTSAM
Flotsam, by Tracy Grogan, is a slow-burn thriller that follows an ex-pat to the Palau Islands named Ricky. Ricky Yamamoto is a divemaster for a local dive shop who enjoys her time underwater far more than life on solid ground. That is until she comes across two bodies during a leisure dive and gets herself tied up in a crime much bigger than originally anticipated.
Readers are introduced to the major plot almost immediately in this work of fiction. This suspenseful novel is richly detailed and builds readers curiosity leading them through the hair-raising adventures of Ricky while building up to an incredibly intense final act.
The story is broken up into specific times and wherever Ricky is currently at in terms of the story. Readers will find this type of story setup helpful in keeping track of the story setting as they try to follow the events of the investigation and Ricky’s personal life. This mystery novel presents facts and information leading the readers down many possible paths, not knowing what information will be useful to solving the mystery of the murders.
Readers who enjoy the thriller or mystery genre will be kept on their toes in this intriguing novel. This is an engaging story that readers will enjoy following just as much as they enjoy solving the mystery at the heart of the novel.
Ricky remains a mystery throughout most of the novel, leaving readers to draw conclusions until the author decides to reveal key characteristics and personality traits. This style allows readers to be their own judge of character and draw their own conclusions without the author explicitly telling them how to view a character, making the mystery more entertaining.
Flotsam is incredibly well-written and readers will find Ricky intriguing and likable. Readers of mystery and thrillers will love this travel adventure mystery that is filled with international crime and murder.
Pages: 386 | ASIN : B09KPZVJ81
