Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction and Non-fiction

  • Home
  • Mike Scott Thrillers
    • Held Hostage: Search for the Juncal
    • Water Crisis: Day Zero
    • Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
    • The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water
    • Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
    • Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
    • Heart of the Maya: Murder for the Gods
    • Wreck of the Huron: Cuban Secrets
    • Guardians’ Keep: Mystery below the Adriatic
    • Flooding Hollywood: Fanatics at the Dam
    • Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
  • Withrow Key
    • Lyin’ Fish
    • Tales from Withrow Key
  • Agent AJ West
  • About the Author
    • Publicity and Interviews
  • Nonfiction
    • For Cheap Lobster
    • Heart Survivor: Recovery After Heart Surgery
    • Oral History
      • Batter Up!
      • Memories of the Valley
      • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
      • Capturing Memories: How to Record Oral Histories
    • Dive-abled: The Leo Morales Story
    • Keep on, Keepin’ On: A Breast Cancer Story
    • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
    • Russia: The New Age
    • Scuba Diving Safety
  • Free Short Fiction
  • Other Fiction
    • Sea Turtle Rescue and Other Stories
    • River Town
You are here: Home / Archives for Diving

Diveheart: Imagine the Possibilities

November 13, 2013 By Eric Douglas

Jim Elliott’s mantra is “Imagine the Possibilities.” He doesn’t just say it over and over, though. He lives it.

IMG_3850 In 2001, Elliott founded Diveheart as a volunteer, nonprofit organization to help people with disabilities learn to scuba dive. Diveheart began in Chicago, but Elliott has taught classes in more than 200 cities in the United States and even more around the world. Diveheart has served as a conduit for thousands of people with disabilities to learn to dive, or divers and dive instructors to be adaptive dive buddies and instructors.

About a year ago, Elliott contacted me about creating new training materials for Diveheart Adaptive Scuba Instructors and Adaptive Dive Buddies to use to train Adaptive Divers. Adaptation is what it is all about. Adaptive Divers adapt to their individual situations and adapt standard scuba skills to their own abilities. If they can perform those standard skills with adaptations, they become certified scuba divers. If they need assistance with skills such as ear clearing, swimming or regulator recovery and clearing, for example, they will earn a Diveheart Adaptive Diver certification and will dive with two Adaptive Dive Buddies.

IMG_3142For Elliott, the magic comes when he takes someone from their wheelchair and gets them in the water. It doesn’t have to be an amazing reef or some mysterious shipwreck. Life-changing experiences happen every day in a pool. Adaptive Divers experience weightlessness and freedom in the water and then start thinking about all the other things they can do. Diveheart also works with disabled veterans. Often, these veterans are depressed and have feelings of loss following amputations. In the water, these men and women feel “whole” and realize they can do anything. Elliott says he often sees changes happen after a single session.

The project has included hundreds of hours of editing, revision and discussion. It took two trips to Florida for me to understand exactly what it takes for Adaptive Divers to dive. The hardest part for me was comprehending the level of bravery and trust. Imagine trusting your dive buddies so much that you will jump in the water and make a dive without the ability to swim on your own, or pinch your own nose to clear your ears. There are blind divers who experience the thrill of being weightless, but have to trust their buddies enough to willingly step out and fall into the water. The fear of drowning could be overwhelming, but these divers do it anyway; for the adventure and for the opportunity to have new experiences.

IMG_3772In May, we spent a week in Key Largo shooting training video segments at the Jacobs Aquatics Center and on a dive boat donated for our efforts by Rainbow Reef Dive Center. The staff and boat crew from Rainbow Reef, under the direction of owner DJ Wood, provided tremendous service and joined in on the shoot, holding reflectors and serving as on-screen talent.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00060]
Rather than being exclusive or proprietary with these materials, Elliott plans to make them available to the entire dive industry for use as reference tools for any dive instructor or buddy who works with Adaptive Divers and wants to learn from Diveheart, and Elliott’s, experience. The project is in its final stages. Some last minute edits and the Adaptive Diver and Adaptive Scuba Instructor and Dive Buddy manuals will soon be available, along with an online training system for use by adaptive dive buddies and instructors. Last week, I joined Elliott, Wilhelmina Stanton and a few volunteers at the Diveheart booth at the DEMA Show in Orlando, Florida to announce the program and begin talking to the dive industry about the new program and materials. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

DH Instructor FrontThis is the first of three blog posts about Diveheart and the development of a ground-breaking set of training materials to train adaptive divers and adaptive dive buddies and instructors to learn to scuba dive. Next week (November 18), I’ll talk about the video shoot process for filming training materials and the third installment (November 25) will include lessons I’ve learned from working with Elliott and some of the Adaptive Divers I’ve met through Diveheart.

I’ll also be releasing a new Jackson Pauley/Withrow Key short story with a character inspired by Diveheart. The story is called Caesar’s Gold..

Filed Under: Adventure, Books, Diving

Queen Conch short story features Mike Scott

October 14, 2013 By Eric Douglas

The fifth story in the Withrow Key series of short story adventures has two guest characters and sets the stage, in terms of character development, for the novel Wreck of the Huron.

Mike Scott, the hero of all four of my dive adventure novels is passing through Withrow Key and decides to drop in on his old friend Jackson Pauley. Everything is going fine until Sarah shows up. She is an environmentalist with a story that both men have trouble believing, but something about her convinces Mike to help her out and check out the story she is telling. From there, things really get interesting.

Without spoiling the story, Sarah shows up in Wreck of the Huron as a researcher on board a university research vessel with mysteries of its own.

Queen Conch

05 queen conchQueen Conch is a protected species in the United States, but smugglers are catching them close to Withrow Key for restaurants in Miami. In the process, they are tearing up the coral reefs and creating an environmental disaster. It is up to Jackson Pauley and Randy Littlebear to determine if this is simply an illegal fishing operation or if there is something bigger going on. Is someone making a land grab to build condos on Withrow Key?

This is the fifth Withrow Key adventure short story. Set on a bypassed key in the Florida Keys, life moves a little slower and a little weirder.

Each story in the Withrow Key adventure short story series features scuba diving, adventure, boats, the ocean and mystery along with beautiful locations and scenery. Jackson Pauley and Randy Littlebear get a visit from Mike Scott, international news photographer and the main character from the Mike Scott adventure series.

Queen Conch is available as a FREE Kindle download October 14 and 15. Get your copy today while the offer lasts!.

Filed Under: Adventure, Books, Diving, New Releases

Harvesting divers still dying all over the world

September 27, 2013 By Eric Douglas

IMG_1665In spite of efforts from various organizations over the last several years, men (and yes, they are almost exclusively men) use scuba equipment to harvest lobster, conch and sea cucumbers among other things from the ocean floor. They do this with little regard for themselves or the environment, often overfishing the area. In the process, nearly all of them have injured their bodies so completely only a few of them are even fit to dive at all. They all have various levels of paralysis and nerve damage.

When I’ve written about this before, I’ve had people comment that the divers should just stop diving and do something else. Or, people have said, it isn’t our fault, we don’t make them dive.

In a sense, we do make them dive. We insist on cheap seafood so we can “all-you-can-eat” ourselves into obesity. As long as we are willing to buy these products, without insisting on sustainable sources for them, we are responsible. There is no difference between this and sweat shops or child labor being used to create the cheap goods we use and throw away when we are done with them. Yet, the moral outrage that is directed at sweatshop labor is nonexistent for harvesting divers.

Nearly two years ago, I traveled to Honduras for the fourth time (There were additional trips to Brazil and Mexico to meet with other groups of divers as well) to meet with and talk to Miskito Indians who dive for lobster; this time it was with a crew from the NBC show Rock Center. In January of 2012, they aired a two part segment (with additional online footage) called Lobster Trap. They used articles I had written on the subject as background material and I was interviewed on the show as well. I just learned yesterday that Lobster Trap won the 2013 RFK Book & Journalism Award for International Television. The segment’s producer Catherine Olian and the reporter Natalie Morales were specifically honored.

The RFK Journalism Awards recognize outstanding reporting on issues that reflect Robert Kennedy’s dedication to human rights and social justice, and his belief in the power of individual action. Winning entries provide insights into the causes, conditions, and remedies of human rights violations and injustice, and critical analyses of the movements that foster positive global change.

I am proud to have a small part in this story and hope that this award will continue to draw attention to the problem of harvesting divers throughout the world.

If you want to read more about this problem, view a short film I put together on three groups of harvesting divers, or watch the NBC show Lobster Trap, you can find the links on the For Cheap Lobster Page..

Filed Under: Diving, Documentary, Photography, Travel

Sea Turtle Rescue: In four languages and counting

July 18, 2013 By Eric Douglas

Sea Turtle Rescue was the first children’s book I wrote for my daughters. Sea Turtles have become a special thing for us as well. When we are out, especially at the beach, we will buy sea turtle jewelry (for them, not me) or other mementoes that include sea turtles…because of that story.

 

Sea Turtle Rescue is now available in four languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. Russian is only available in paperback as Kindle does not support the Cyrillic alphabet. The other three languages are available for both Kindle and paperback. 

In many ways, sea turtles are the “canary in a coal mine” for the oceans. If sea turtles are healthy and thriving, the oceans are too. And if the oceans are thriving, we are all thriving. What I really like about this story is it includes information on protecting sea turtles, while presenting two young girls as strong and passionate characters.

 

I hope this story inspires your family like it has mine. 

Below you will find descriptions of the book in all four languages, with links to the book on Amazon. You can read previous blog posts about the story:

  • Re-release of Sea Turtle Rescue
  • Early Reviews
  • Original Blog post when it was published by Oceana
Sea Turtle Rescue
Kindle and Paperback

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.

 

Sea Turtle Rescue is written for children 6-9-years-old with illustrations drawn by elementary school students. The story is exciting but also includes information on how to protect sea turtles and their nests.

 

O Resgate da Tartaruga Marinha (Portuguese Edition)

Kindle and Paperback

 

Quando uma tartaruga ferida aparece perto de sua casa nos Outer Banks, na Carolina do Norte, Jayne e Marie, junto com seus amigos Javier e Monique, vão à praia em busca do ninho que ela deixou para trás, para tentar ajudar a proteger os ovos do perigo. Eles sabem que o tempo é curto e que se não encontrarem o ninho logo, pode ser tarde demais.

O Resgate da Tartaruga Marinha é um livro para crianças entre 6 e 9 anos de idade, com ilustrações feitas por alunos que cursam o ensino fundamental e estão nesta faixa etária. A história é uma envolvente aventura que traz também informações sobre como proteger as tartarugas e seus ninhos.

 

Спасение морской черепашки

Russian: Paperback (Cyrillic Alphabet not yet supported on Kindle.)

Когда раненая морская черепашка появилась около дома Джейн и Мари в местечке Аутер Бэнкс Северной Каролины, девочки со своими друзьями Джайвером и Моникой, отправились на пляж, чтобы найти черепашье гнездо и спасти его от опасности. Ребята знали, что времени совсем мало и, если они не смогут вовремя найти гнездо, то дети черепашки никогла не появятся на свет.

История «Спасти морскую черепашку» написана для детей от 6 до 9 лет. Иллюстрации созданы детьми начальной школы. Увлекательная история содежит полeзную информацию о защите морских черепашек и их гнезд.

 

El Rescate de la Tortuga Marina (Spanish Edition)

Kindle

and Paperback

Al aparecer una tortuga marina cerca de su casa en los Outer Banks en Carolina del Norte, Jayne y Marie, junto con sus amigos Javier y Monique comenzaron a buscar el nido de la tortuga para ponerlo a salvo de los peligros. Sabían que tenían poco tiempo y que si no lo encontraban pronto las tortugas no tendrían ninguna posibilidad de romper el cascarón.

 

El Rescate de la tortuga marina está escrito para niños entre los 6 y 9 años y ha sido ilustrado por alumnos de escuela primaria. Es una historia fascinante que además brinda información sobre cómo proteger a las tortugas marinas y sus nidos.

.

Filed Under: Books, Diving, New Releases

Early reviews for Sea Turtle Rescue

July 4, 2013 By Eric Douglas

A few reviews of Sea Turtle Rescue have come in and everyone so far has loved it! (I’m sure at some point there will be a negative review or two. You can’t please everyone…)

 

Regardless, it is gratifying that these parents and readers have enjoyed Sea Turtle Rescue so much right beside their children. 

See what they have to say!
5.0 out of 5 stars

Turtles’ Hurdles July 3, 2013

 

By KayakRenee

This book, The Sea Turtle Rescue, is an affirmation of the good we as parents, teachers and mentors of young people can do, with a little knowledge and a lot of heart, to demonstrate empathy and a willingness to do the right thing.

The father of two, Eric Douglas has penned a children’s book with a message for adults as well: Turtles, like so many animals, face manmade dangers as well as a shrinking habitat. It is up to us humans, as stewards of the planet, to do our best to help where we can to remove hurdles to a better world.

In teaching our children to save the turtles we in turn save a little bit of ourselves.

 

5.0 out of 5 stars

Daddy… we need to save some Sea Turtles. July 1, 2013

 

By DoctorDaddy

It’s easy to be an adult fan of Eric Douglas’ work, especially if you’re a diver and James Bond fan. But how well does that translate to his children’s fiction, especially this title?

Douglas is always building a dense world, but when he writes for children he doesn’t just tell us about the stilt houses along the barrier islands, he tells us why.

“But WHY, Daddy?”

If your children are like mine, that question will always be there and it is a pleasure to be able to point to the words on the page when I answer.

Sea Turtle Rescue is a great story that includes so many details about the lives of the children in the story that I am pretty sure I’ve met them and you will too.

Share this fun read with your early readers and you will get to experience the delight of knowledge AND the exuberance of a new passion.

I would tell you more about this very enjoyable book, but unfortunately Eliza needs me to help save some Sea Turtles…RIGHT NOW Daddy !

 

5.0 out of 5 stars

Ideal and educational June 30, 2013

 

By Elizabeth Gaucher

When I was a little girl, I had the rare experience of going out on the beach at night at Ocean Isle, NC, and seeing baby sea turtles emerge from their nest and make haste to the sea by moonlight. I still remember my amazement at their tiny forms, their persistence, and the odd almost primordial beauty of their quest for the sea.

Now I am the mother of a young child, and I do not think she will ever experience, firsthand, this connection with sea turtles as I did; but I can read her “Sea Turtle Rescue,” and I can talk about my memories.

Eric Douglas has done a terrific job of capturing all the things about sea turtles that fascinated me then, and his approach to storytelling is spot-on for capturing a young person’s attention now. His characters, the setting, the dynamics and dialogue, all ring true and make a child want to engage. I highly recommend this book, especially for young people who have a love of biology, wild creatures, and the sea.

 

The second book in the Jayne and Marie adventure series on the Outer Banks is Swimming with Sharks. Through July 6, 2013, it is a FREE Kindle download.
Here are a couple reviews for Swimming with Sharks as well.
5.0 out of 5 stars

Appreciation and respect for predators in nature June 17, 2013

 

By Rick C.

This is a story for children and grownups too. Eric Douglas dispels a few misconceptions and replaces them with respect for these predators along the way….following a storyline that anyone should like…!!!!

 

5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining & Interesting November 9, 2012
By Darcy Kieran – Montreal Scuba
Another easy to read story from a great scuba diving novel author: it’s entertaining and also interesting! In fact, although it is listed as a story for kids… You’ll find it fun to read as well!
Sea Turtle Rescue is available in English and Portuguese. Russian is coming soon. Swimming with Sharks is only in English.
Get your very own copies:
Sea Turtle Rescue – English: Kindle and Paperback
Sea Turtle Rescue – Portuguese: Kindle and Paperback
Swimming with Sharks: Kindle and Paperback

.

Filed Under: Books, Diving, New Releases

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • …
  • 34
  • Next Page »

Real Thugs: A Cult of Murder — Small groups of travelers have disappeared all over the mid-Atlantic without a trace. When bodies turn up with what appear to be ritual markings, FBI Agent AJ West is on the hunt for what might be a serial killer. Or something even more sinister. It’s a race against […]

View Book

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Substack
  • Threads
  • YouTube
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 ·