Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction and Non-fiction

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Halloween Flash Fiction

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My contributions to the Halloween Flash Fiction collection for 2015. If you want to read the other submissions in this year’s collection, you can do that here.

Refreshing Rain

The man smiled, for the first time in what felt like ages. The gentle rain sounded like magic on the leaves in the forest. He turned his face to the sky to catch the first drops.

He had given up hope on ever feeling rain drops on his face again. The cool rain water was just what he needed to get his spirits back.

They were preparing for the Samhain festival, the ancient rite signaling the end of the growing season, with a human sacrifice.

Now, if he could just get out of the pit before the priest came back.

 

Trick or Treat

Annabelle Evans never hands out candy. She says she’s too busy. Or doesn’t have any money. Or has to go out. If she didn’t spend her money on heroin, it would be different.

She lives in the last trailer on the row. That means we have to walk down there for nothing. Just in case.

This year, everyone’s planning to just trick her. No one is going to ask for treats.

Whoever got here and put up crime scene tape all over the place is an absolute genius.

It looks just like there’s been a murder in the trailer park.

 

This story is a bit of an homage to the Cowboy Junkies song Murder, tonight, in the Trailer Park.

“Sea Turtle Rescue and other stories”now available!

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sea turtle near Grand CaymanEveryone gets excited when they see a sea turtle in the water. They are just cool and fun to watch.

When my girls were young, after reading innumerable Magic Treehouse books with them, I decided to write them their very own chapter books to read. The first story was Sea Turtle Rescue and sea turtles still hold a special place for us today. Over the years, I wrote three more children’s chapter stories with the same characters and now, for the first time, all four stories are available in one place. Three of these stories were published as part of the Newspapers in Education program, making them available in serial form for kids from all over the country to learn about the ocean. They were published in places as far apart as Bermuda and Iowa.

Sea Turtle Rescue cover artThese stories are great for kids (or grandkids) interested in the ocean, history, sea turtles, sharks and science. The two main characters are young girls, but boys like the stories as well. My step-nephews tell me how much they like the stories all the time.

“Sea Turtle Rescue and other stories” is available in softcover for $10 and in ebook format for $5.99. The ebook is available through Kindle, Nook and most of the other ebook retailers. You can download it in multiple ereader formats through Smashwords.

Many thanks go out as well to Rick Melvin for three of the inside illustrations and to my older daughter Ashlin Douglas for the cover art.

Description

Two young girls move to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and learn about the ocean and life on the coast. There are four early chapter books in this collection, written for readers six- to nine-years-old. The stories are exciting but also include information on science, the ocean and history.

Sea Turtle Rescue is an ocean story about protecting sea turtles. When an injured sea turtle shows up near their home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Jayne and Marie, along with their friends Javier and Monique, search the beach to find the turtle’s nest and protect it from danger. They know the time is getting short and if they don’t find it soon, the eggs might not get a chance to hatch.

Fight for Fort Hatteras is a history story about the civil war. Jayne and Marie take a school trip to visit the site of a Civil War battle near their home on the Outer Banks. Marie wanders off and finds herself in the middle of the battle and afraid she may never see her family again.

Hurricane! is a science story on hurricanes hitting the coast. Jayne and Marie are faced with Hurricane Erin bearing down on their seaside town. Do they evacuate or stay with their father and protect the aquarium?

Swimming with Sharks is an ocean story about sharks and their value. Jayne and Marie love the ocean and enjoy spending time out on the water with their parents. For them, sharks are beautiful creatures, not something to be feared. But an up close and personal encounter makes Marie think twice.

You can read a number of reviews from the separate stories on the book page..

Sunday Gazette-Mail: Review of Return to Cayman

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Option 1WV Book Team Review: Diver challenges a war on coral in the Caymans

By Cat Pleska
WV Book Team

“Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage” by Eric Douglas. 238 pages. Visibility Press (2015).

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — “Return to Cayman” is the sixth in a series of novels Eric Douglas calls the Mike Scott Adventures.

In each book, Mike Scott is a photojournalist and diver who gets himself involved in some serious crime-fighting. In the latest novel, the plot involves a crime that has global repercussions riding on a “red herring” — that is, it seems what’s at stake are the coral reefs around the Grand Cayman Islands and being able to save them, but in fact the possible damage is much more far-reaching than anyone dreamed.

The story begins with the arrival of Mike Scott to visit old friends Kelly and Tanya, residents of Grand Cayman, an island with a population of 56,000. Kelly and Tanya own a dive resort, Sunset House, but Tanya is also working with the Department of the Environment to protect and restore the coral reefs surrounding the island, which are crucial to the diving industry.

A coral reef represents hundreds of years of growth of tiny, living sea creatures that form hard (mostly) outcroppings on the bottoms of oceans, especially around islands or just off shores of continents. Coral beds are the nurseries for small fish, who in turn are in the feeding chain for larger fish, the kind humans use for food. Besides natural disasters, such as hurricanes, that can devastate coral colonies, man-made destruction — by the massive anchors of cruise ships, agricultural runoff and dock development — is increasing.

An eccentric billionaire, Jay Taylor, arrives on the island with the stated intent to save the coral. He’s planted sensors in the water that can detect problems, and he also pledges a million dollars to the Caymanian government for coral recovery and protection. But Tanya, a marine biologist well-versed in protecting the coral environment, has her suspicions. Free help is nice, but it could mean strings attached.

Mike, ostensibly along for the ride, helps his friends assess the state of the coral. He and Kelly dive to begin the survey and are almost killed when an off-course cruise ship drops anchor nearly on top of them.

Each link in the anchor chain weighs hundreds of pounds. Besides nearly ending their lives, massive amounts of coral are destroyed — and also Bubba, a huge, 1,000-pound grouper, who is considered an “old man of the sea.” How can such a massive ship be off by 100 feet coming in to dock? Could the drone flying overhead have anything to do with it?

And after Tanya is nearly killed in a bizarre car accident — also when a drone is present — the three, led by Mike Scott, begin a race not only to save the coral, but also the international banking systems that are present on the island — more than 600 banks where billions of dollars are at stake. Someone masterminds a complete shutdown of all electronic interaction with the world, essentially erecting a “cone of silence” around the island.

The chase is on to stop whomever is creating havoc. The island divers, or “cowboys” as they’re called, saddle up (that is, they don scuba gear) and vow to help the threesome save the world. Plenty of action and deception ensue, and Douglas is good at developing tension and getting a reader to turn a page, the hallmark of thrillers. A few passages seem repetitive, but my hat’s off to Douglas for creating a complex mystery involving computer sabotage. It reminded me a little of “Mission Impossible” plots.

Douglas’ own decades of scuba diving provide a realistic environment. Perhaps my favorite passage was the swim through the coral “tunnel” with its “windows” (gaps in the coral wall) that allow sunshine to come through, which is crucial for coral growth.

“Return to Cayman” is a good summer read — fast and furious — with the occasional slowdown to admire the scenery. In true thriller fashion, the novel provides not only an exciting ride, but a greater awareness of what’s happening in our oceans.

Long live the coral and Bubbas of the sea! And maybe then we’ll thrive too.

Read the follow up Q and A here:

– See more at: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20150816/GZ05/150819788/1178#sthash.EssugIIn.dpuf.

New Withrow Key novella features ScubaRadio!

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lyin fish cover finalThe ninth story from Withrow Key is the novella “Lyin’ Fish”. It is now available in print and on Kindle. Lyin’ Fish is doubly special because it features an appearance from long-time fans of the series Greg Holt and the mermaids of ScubaRadio.

“The crew from the nationally-syndicated talk radio show ScubaRadio comes to sleepy Withrow Key for a lionfish rodeo, but immediately Jackson Pauley feels something isn’t right. “Greg the Divemaster” Holt can barely dive. When Jackson spears a lionfish, Greg grabs it and gets stung. The radio show is a disaster. When Duffy, the local bar owner, goes missing Jackson, Littlebear and Zach jump into action to unravel the mystery and save their friend.”

If you’ve missed the earlier Withrow Key stories and want to read the entire series leading up to Lyin’ Fish, check out Tales from Withrow Key..

Free book and a Presale Price

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08 Life under water coverThrough the end of the day Friday, the eighth Withrow Key novella “Life Under the Sea” is FREE for download on Kindle.

“An adventurer comes to Withrow Key, planning to live on the bottom of the ocean for six months in a habitat, but he needs Jackson’s help to make it happen. They have their inevitable problems, but things seem to be working fine. Until a late-season hurricane pops up in the gulf and Withrow Key is expecting a direct hit. Jackson and his nephew Zach have to decide whether to let the aquanauts ride the storm out under the water or to rescue them and let them try it again later. As usual, nothing is ever simple on Withrow Key.”

lyin fish cover finalBut that’s not even the best news. The ninth story from Withrow Key, “Lyin’ Fish” goes on sale Saturday, August 15. Right now, the story is available at the special presale price of $1.99. On Saturday, the price will go up to $2.99. Lyin’ Fish is doubly special, because it features an appearance from long-time fans of the series Greg Holt and the mermaids of ScubaRadio.

“The crew from the nationally-syndicated talk radio show ScubaRadio comes to sleepy Withrow Key for a lionfish rodeo, but immediately Jackson Pauley feels something isn’t right. “Greg the Divemaster” Holt can barely dive. When Jackson spears a lionfish, Greg grabs it and gets stung. The radio show is a disaster. When Duffy, the local bar owner, goes missing Jackson, Littlebear and Zach jump into action to unravel the mystery and save their friend.”

Withrow Key coverIf you’ve missed the earlier Withrow Key stories and want to read the entire series before the release of Lyin’ Fish, check out Tales from Withrow Key..

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