Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction and Non-fiction

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Begin with a spark

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When I write fiction, I begin with a spark of an idea and then the rest of the story grows around that. Cayman Cowboys was my first novel and really my first attempt at writing fiction. I was visiting Grand Cayman, conducting some training for local dive instructors, when a friend took me out to do a little sightseeing. After making a dive on the East End of the island, we stopped to look at the blow holes. Over the years, waves have eroded the iron shore—exposed and jagged limestone coral that now stands above the ocean surface—and when waves crash into the shore, water shoots straight into the air.

I remember walking across the iron shore thinking that if I fell, I was going to bleed. Heavily. And then I started thinking/imagining how scared someone would have to be to run across the iron shore and what it would do to them. That became the first scene I wrote for Cayman Cowboys. Afterward, I had to go back and get the story to the point that a girl would be so scared she would run across the iron shore and then had to create the story that came afterward.

Every one of my novels has that same sort of spark; a scene that literally popped into my head that caused me to start writing.

The following is an excerpt from my first novel Cayman Cowboys. It became the seed for the entire novel. It isn’t the key to the story (we don’t need a spoiler alert here), just where it started.

 

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from an abandoned house directly behind where the men were meeting. They heard the sound of a young woman yelp in pain.

“Check it out and find out who’s in there,” Walker ordered. The Lincoln’s driver and both men from the third car rushed toward the house. Samson started to go as well, assuming this was one of the duties his boss was paying him for, but Walker reached out his hand and held him back.
Seeing the men come rushing out of the darkness, the girl, who was just sleeping in the house, ran out the side door to get away.
All three men shouted after her and one fired a gun into the air, hoping it would make her stop. It didn’t. Scared beyond all comprehension, the girl ran faster. She was a runaway, hiding out from her family and the law. Waking up from a sound sleep, she thought it was the police coming to take her back to her abusive father in the U.S. She had tried to run away before. When she was caught and taken home, the beatings were worse than before.
Quite possibly the last thought the girl had was that these men would never take her back to her family, no matter what happened. She ran from the sandy soil covering much of the island directly onto what the locals call iron shore, limestone rock left over from millions of years of coral buildup that has been eroded over the years by the rain to form jagged edges and crevices. Even in solid shoes, iron shore is treacherous. At night, with nothing more than sandals on her feet, no light and fleeing in a panic, the girl didn’t stand a chance.
Not being from the island, she had only set foot there just a few days before. Using money she had stolen from a small liquor store near her home to buy the ticket and a friend’s passport to gain entrance to the island, she had fled during the night. She had read stories in magazines about the island and thought it sounded like a wonderful place to escape. She hadn’t had a chance to learn the land yet. She didn’t realize just how treacherous running across the iron shore could be, especially down by the shore where the wave action had made things even more hazardous.
She fell. Hearing the men’s voices, she stood up bleeding from her shoulder and tripped again just a few yards away. This time she tore a jagged hole in her leg. In agony, she struggled to her feet and tried to run again. Turning to look, she saw the lights the men carried swinging back and forth. Knowing she had to get away, she struggled to her feet one more time, pain searing through her body, already dying from the increasing blood loss from a torn artery in her thigh, she fell for the last time in a crevice between the rocks at the water’s edge.
She could hear the gentle sounds of the small Caribbean waves lapping against the rocks and the iron shore coast. When the waves hit the shore just right, the water would work its way through the rocks and blast straight up into the air, like a blowhole from a whale.
“Do you see the girl?”
Nah, I don’t see anything. I’m not even sure there was a girl.”
“Someone was out here, but I can’t find her,” the men argued at the edge of the iron shore field.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not climbing across this stuff at night.”
“You’re right; she couldn’t have gone this way. Let’s check the other side of the road.” 

 

The thing is, there’s a spark in everything. Every project, every idea, everything you think about doing begins with a spark. The key to moving forward with anything is finding that spark, that idea that moves you and then building on it. Sometimes it will move forward in fits and starts and other times you will feel like you are going backward.

The most important thing is to keep fanning the spark. The rest will come.

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Find what moves you

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A few years ago, I got into a debate with a friend about exactly what “success” meant. I’m ashamed to admit that I was on the more traditional side of that argument—money made, books sold, best seller lists, recognition and so on. I maintained that I was nowhere near successful.

Over the last couple years, I’ve taken a hard look at how I want to spend my days and what’s important to me. My definition of success has shifted significantly.

I don’t normally watch “inspirational” videos, but a friend I admire, Tom Hindman, posted one this morning. I clicked on it and it moved me.(Unfortunately, the YouTube version isn’t complete so this link is on Facebook.) Take three minutes and watch it. Think about what it says and ask yourself if you’re doing what moves you.

I get frustrated when I see people complaining about their lives and what they’re doing. I want to shout, “If you don’t like your situation, change it!” On the whole it’s probably easier to complain than it is to take a risk and find something new; something that moves us. But think of all the time and energy that’s wasted.

Not everyone is creative, not everyone can write, or paint or whatever. I get that. But you can still do whatever it is that moves you. The video asks the question: “What would you do if money was no object?” That’s what you should be pursuing. No one said you have to quit your job, sell your stuff and move to Tibet. Do something on the side, take a class; volunteer or start a side business. Slowly (but inexorably) you will move in the direction you want to go.

 A friend I worked with years ago in California, Chris Rausch, is still the Materials Director for PADI. On the side, he runs his own business Master Motivators. He speaks all over helping people to find their passion. I’m sure he hopes to make it a full-time gig at some point. For now, though, he is working both jobs and everything he talks about it super upbeat and excited. Another friend of mine from college, Kelly Hines Keller, is a self-employed graphic designer, but she is also interested in film. For the third (or fourth) year in a row, she has volunteered at the Sundance Film Festival, wears herself out and has a blast every time she does it. I love that they are both finding their passions and enjoying lives. I never hear or see either of them post anything that is remotely negative. The thing is, everyone can find that sort of passion if they try.

I just saw a note that a high school classmate, Teresa (Iwrote about her earlier this year) is still struggling with cancer. She continues to fight for her life and only wants to support her family. If you’re dealing with that sort of adversity, then you get a pass—although something tells me that in Teresa’s mind she is working every day toward her real passion—health and family.   

I’m still not a “success” in terms of books sold or any of those other measurements. But I am telling stories. I am excited about every day. That’s what moves me.

How about you? What moves you? When you answer that question, your definition of success will probably shift, too. 

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Getting used to creativity

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The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it. — Hugh MacLeod

When I began this blog, it was a way to write about the travel I was doing and show friends and family where I was. I wrote about work in Honduras, Russiaand Franceamong other places.
Fifteen months ago, I moved back to West Virginiaand started a new chapter in my life. I was excited about the change and looking forward to rediscovering my home. It has influenced my writing and other creative pursuits. I feel more excited about every day than I had in a long, long time. The number of people reading this blog took off dramatically at the same time. I guess a lot of people liked what I had to say.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how to move this blog in a new direction. Sometimes it seems to be a bit scattered (not unlike my mind). First I’ll be posting photographs from a photo-safari and then talking about a new book or a new writing project and then shifting gears over to my latest documentary projects. The common theme I see in all of these posts is creativity.
I’ve been reading for inspiration lately, too. I’ve always loved to read, but most of what I’ve been reading lately has been about the act of stepping out on a limb and finding the things that move you by writers like Seth Godin and Jeff Goins.  I’ve also have the good fortune since I’ve been back in Charleston to do some work with DigiSoand that has inspired me as well.
I still plan to talk about the things I have going on and the things I stumble into along the way. I’m working on a couple big new projects including the Voices of War documentary that I plan to wrap up in a couple months and a new Mike Scott adventure novelthat should be done by summer. But I have some ideas about incorporating some fiction writing into the blog as well. The stories I wrote for Halloweenand Christmaswere a lot of fun and I want to expand on that.
I also plan to write more about the struggle to be creative. I thought of myself as a reporter for a long time after I left the newspaper business. I’ve thought of myself as a photographer. A writer. A documentarian. Today, I think of myself as a story teller.  
A few days ago, I read the line at the top of the page and it resonated with me. “The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.” I’m not 100 percent comfortable with the idea yet, but I’m getting there. I hope you continue to follow along on this journey. At the same time, maybe seeing me try and fail and try again will inspire you to find your creativity and get comfortable with it, too.
“Adventure and creativity go hand in hand. Sometimes adventures take us around the world and sometimes creativity allows us to explore the world without ever leaving home.”

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Introduction to Russia: The New Age

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The following is the introduction to the ebook Russia: The New Age. The book is a collection of articles and observations based on more than six months spent in Russia. It is not intended to be the definitive work on Russian history. Rather, it is intended as a glimpse into the lives and thoughts of Russians as they lived through one of the most turbulent periods in their history—from 1993 to present.

Visit the book’s Amazon page to download a copy. And you’ll get to see nearly 100 images spanning 1993 to 2010 from Russia as well.

You can also read other blog posts about the book here and here and see a few selected images here.

Introduction


“Before 1993 I could predict the future, not now. We live all the time like we are on the top of the volcano.” Nikolay, 2008.

Twenty years ago, I visited Russia for the first time. That trip, and the place, changed my life and redirected my career in ways I never expected.
In the summer of 1992, I was working as a reporter in the Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail Metro Department and Dr. Virginia Simmons invited me to report on the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy being held at (what was then) West Virginia State College. The academy was a summer program for top students from around state. That particular year they were fortunate to have a Russian teacher joining the faculty along with two young Russian students as part of an international exchange program. Following that visit, the West Virginia Department of Education was asked to bring a group of educators to Russia, specifically to Kaliningrad, Russia, to help the city government rebuild its education system. Their text books were useless and their instructional system was outdated.
Remember, the Soviet Union only officially ended on December 25, 1991. The Russian people were struggling to recover from the dissolution of a system that had controlled every aspect of their lives for more than 70 years. I recall hearing many Russian friends say “We were told for 70 years that we had the best of everything. Now we find out we were lied to.”
Dr. Simmons asked me if I wanted to go along on that first trip to Russia. I thought about it for about half a second before taking out a loan against my car and signing up for the trip. My boss at the time, Diane Lytle (now Wallace) at the Metro Staff was kind enough to allow me to go. They weren’t going to pay for the trip, but she kept me on the payroll with the understanding that I would publish stories when I got home. That was exactly what I wanted to do so it worked out perfectly. I was the only journalist on the trip. I had a couple cameras, a rag tag collection of film (slide film and black and white negative film) and a lot of wide-eyed innocence. At the time, I’d never been out of the United States and had never been on an airplane.
The trip affected everyone tremendously. When we got home, we all ran into the problem that our friends didn’t want to hear about Russia nearly as much as we wanted to talk about it. We ended up having a couple parties to get together and share pictures and memories. Probably the most significant result of that first trip was the creation of a nonprofit foundation, called the Russia and West Virginia Foundation, with four areas of focus: education, culture, business and community. Dr. Simmons was the president.
That April we pulled off something that we shouldn’t have been able to do. The foundation hosted a visit from the Russian Presidential Orchestra around West Virginia with a final concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. It was the first time the orchestra had ever been outside of a Communist country. Consider the logistics of getting 70 plus musicians to concert sites all over the state, along with feeding them, housing them and promoting a series of concerts with just a couple months to put it all together. In hindsight, we were crazy. But, we pulled it off and got it done, largely thanks to Dr. Simmons and her attitude of not accepting “no” as an answer from anyone. West Virginia University and Dr. Phil Faini (Dean of the College of Creative Arts) were instrumental in this effort, with their knowledge of moving large groups of musicians around.
The Russia and West Virginia Foundation has organized more than 400 exchanges since 1993 for everyone from teachers to students, doctors, artists, pharmacists, cosmetologists and architects. A Russian sculptor worked with a sculptor from West Virginia and they erected a statue at Haddad River Front Park in Charleston. Several Russian folk music groups have toured in the United States and the music group The Esquires toured Russia, even ending up on Russian national television. There have been dance exchanges both ways alongside humanitarian efforts including arranging for a young Russian girl to have brain surgery to remove a tumor. It literally saved her life.  Russians have opened businesses in American and Americans have opened businesses in Russia.
True to its core, the Foundation has coordinated efforts between universities to write and publish books, public school teachers to publish a comparison of standards for the first through third grades, and nearly 100 exchanges with Russian and American students, with upwards of 25 students at a time visiting the opposite country for as much as month, staying with host families and studying language and culture. Other students have lived in Russia for up to a year while several Russian students have attended university in the United States beginning with Dmitri Saveliev. There are even 4-H programs in Korolev because of the Foundation.
Through Kaliningrad/Korolev’s connection to the Russian Space Program, Fairmont State University created a special Space Scholar program where students worked at various space-related sites and projects in the summer. Several groups of students attend the NASA Space Camp on United States Information Agency (USIA) grants.
I returned to Russia in March of 1994, this time with Dr. Simmons and Dr. Ted Calisto. They were doing more lecturing on educational processes and I was photographing everything I could and conducting interviews. In August of 1994, I did two things on the same day. 1. I quit my job at the newspaper 2. I opened an exhibit of my Russian photographs from those first two trips.
Just a few days after leaving my job, I left for Russia for the third time. This time I planned to stay for three months. I had my own apartment and a few days a week I went to School 11 and talked to English classes to let them practice. That trip was followed by another month-long trip in May of 1995. I took one more trip to Russia in April 1997 and then my career took off in other directions and I didn’t go back until 2008.
Flash forward 11 years and I was able to work out an opportunity to go to Russia and re-photograph many of the same people and places I had visited in the 1990s. Fortunately, through the foundation, we had stayed in contact with many of those people. On my return, after talking to dozens of people and exploring a number of different opportunities, and again with the assistance of Dr. Simmons and the Russia and West Virginia Foundation, I was able to put together a photo exhibit of my work that ended up being displayed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2009.
My work was part of a larger exhibit of art designed to bring people together organized by a nonprofit group in Myrtle Beach called the Global Awareness Project. One really interesting side benefit that came from that was the group decided to recognize the Russia and West Virginia Foundation in its annual calendar. They commissioned an artist to paint a picture that would represent all of the work done by the Foundation. The artist used two of my images as inspiration for the painting. It was featured for the month of July in the 2010 calendar.
After the success of the exhibit in South Carolina, we were able to take the exhibit to Moscow, Russia; Charleston, West Virginia and Bordeaux, France and back in Myrtle Beach in 2010.  You will find the 30 images, along with the Russian and English captions from the exhibit, at the end of this book.
Dr. Simmons, Ginny to everyone who knows her, was responsible for most of my opportunities relating to Russia and has had a profound influence on my career and my life. She opened doors for me I really never expected to see opened. Case in point, the opportunity to exhibit my work in Russia and France came about because Ginny met some Russian film producers on a trip to Russia in 2009 (immediately after the Global Awareness Project exhibit). She told them about my work and they invited me to exhibit my photographs at two film festivals.
What follows is a collection of stories, notes, blogs and photographs I made while traveling in Russia and working at home. I hope you find the stories and events included in here as interesting as I did when I was living through them. I remember saying in the 90s that it would take Russia 25 years to catch up to the West. They did it in less than 15.
For the record, the Russia I am talking about is not the Russia of government, policy and diplomacy. I am talking about the Russia of the people.

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Charleston’s co-working space making it happen

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One of the best parts about working for yourself is the flexibility to take on projects you’re interested in; self assigned or for someone else. The hardest part of working for yourself is having the proper equipment and office space. The second hardest part is feeling like you’re working in a vacuum. You don’t have other creative people to talk to and share ideas.

For the last year, I’ve been working on a new documentary project called Voices of War. So far, I’ve recorded more than 48 hours of interviews with West Virginia war veterans. I have photographs of each veteran and have scanned copies of some historical images as well. While working digitally makes it much easier to collect the material and have it at my finger tips, the act of editing all together makes the project a bit more daunting. The file sizes for the recordings alone vary anywhere from a half a gigabyte up to a gigabyte and a half. My two year old laptop struggles to handle the files. And that is where West Virginia State University’s Economic Development Center and DigiSo come in.
DigiSo (short for digital and social) provides a shared work space for digital entrepreneurs to come together and produce, capture and edit their projects. There is a video/photography capture studio with green screen, an audio studio and an editing suite. There are also offices and conference rooms you can rent for meetings and such. It makes it all really convenient.
While the West Virginia economy will rely on natural resources (for the foreseeable future anyway) there is a growing digital economy. Entrepreneurs can create digital products to sell around the world. Local people are making books and graphic novels, videos, software applications and everything else imaginable…and many of them are using the facilities at DigiSo to do it. One of the greatest pluses to a place like DigiSo is the ability to work together with other creative people and share ideas. (Talking to a couple other people at the facility has already led me to add a new project to my calendar.)
There are a number of special programs running at DigiSo as well. One, called the Creators Program, is an effort to teach some of the skills these budding entrepreneurs will need to create their own programs.  Author, filmmaker and professor Daniel Boyd is one of the driving forces behind the program. Check out the DigiSo website to learn more. Do you have a great idea for a new project, but just aren’t sure how to make it happen? The Creators Program is a great place to start.
For the next couple months, I’ll be at DigiSo a couple days a week, editing the long recordings into smaller pieces and then joining the many different voices together to make one coherent and compelling story. When I began this project, I knew what I expected the outcome to be. But without the facilities at DigiSo, I’m not sure I would have been able to make it happen.

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