Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction and Non-fiction

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  • 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
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    • Dive-abled: The Leo Morales Story
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You are here: Home / Archives for Diving

Diving continues for Miskito Indians—and so does paralysis

May 6, 2013 By Eric Douglas

IMG_0854.jpgIn February of 2010, I began this blog by talking about a trip to Honduras to work with a doctor there as he treated Miskito Indians who dived for lobster on scuba. I ended up visiting Honduras four times as I worked on a documentary project about the situation, including one trip to accompany a news crew from NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams.

My colleague, Dr. Mathias Nochetto, and I were stunned when we made it La Ceiba, Honduras to see the clinic run by Dr. Elmer Mejia. Dr. Mejia was treating more than a hundred Miskito Indians every year, most had been severely disabled by decompression sickness—“The Bends.” They dived between eight and 16 times a day to 100 feet or more for up to 12 days. Their living conditions on board the industrial dive boats were deplorable, living without even basic sanitation for nearly three weeks at a time on board in extremely close quarters.  They harvested the lobster as many as four days boat ride from shore. That meant if they were injured while at sea, they had to wait four days before they could see a doctor.

Douglas_Daylight-CDS_007.jpgOn my second trip, I met with members of the Handicapped Lobster Divers Association. They told me that they had more than 2000 members and knew of another 400 or so divers who had died from diving. To be a member of the organization, they had some level of diving-related paralysis. This is out of an estimated 10,000 Miskito Indians involved in the lobster industry.

Dr. Mejia has had great success treating the divers. In spite of the delay to treatment, a large percentage of the divers leave his facility able to walk again after being carried inside. He has had to fight government obstruction, crime, unsafe working conditions and an overall lack of interest from the community carrying out his work. On that first visit, Dr. Mejia told us that there was a motion to suspend scuba diving for lobster in 2011. It didn’t happen. The government decided to continue diving and leave the markets open, in spite of the problems.  That last two year extension was set to end on June 30 of 2013.

National Geographic News Watch just called for Honduras to stop diving, but it didn’t happen. They have already decided to continue diving for another two years.

I’ve had people ask the question why they should care. “It’s not as if they have to dive.” Nearly all of the lobster hand caught on scuba comes to the United States in the form of lobster tails. That is hundreds of tons of lobster tails per year. We, the people of the United States, have created this market and we need to understand where our food comes from. There is no difference in this than sweat shops in third world countries churning out cheap shirts and jeans. Whenever a there is a fire in a building housing these workers, killing them by the hundreds, we are morally outraged—at least for a brief period. I see lobster advertised nearly daily on the television. It isn’t just a luxury food anymore.

I really don’t want the lobster industry to go away. There is nothing else for the Miskito Indians to do. I have been to their homes and seen where they live. I simply want us to harvest them in a safer manner. There is no excuse for killing an entire sub-culture of people simply to feed our appetite for cheap lobster. As a diver, I hate to see my chosen sport used to destroy lives. This is something many of us do as a recreation.

Watch the documentary video For Cheap Lobster I prepared two years ago. It follows three diving populations, but focuses on Honduras.

Visit my website for more information, photos and links to other stories on the topic, including from National Geographic, NBC, the New York Times and CCTV. It focuses on three populations of divers, but focuses on Honduras.

I didn’t have anything to do with this project, but some filmmakers created a documentary on the situation from the Nicaraguan side of the Miskito Coast: My Village My Lobster..

Filed Under: Adventure, Diving, Documentary

Fiction meets reality in Wreck of the Huron

March 25, 2013 By Eric Douglas

I recently got a very interesting email from a reader — Steve Lovell of Bristol, England. He was reading my fourth novel Wreck of the Huronand wanted to tell me about a true story related to the wreck. You can learnmore about the Huron here.

Most of what I learned about the wreck came of the reading PROCEEDINGS OF COURT OF INQUIRY ON THE LOSS OF THE HURON from Wednesday, December 5, 1877. The wreck happened in the early morning hours on November 24, 1877. The inquiry was held less than two weeks after the actual wreck.
In one scene, I followed William P. Conway, the watch commander on the USS Huron, as he swam ashore and then helped rescue some of the other men who survived the wreck. What I didn’t know about was the actions of Antonio Williams. He was also on the ship and was side-by-side with Conway coming ashore. Williams wasn’t mentioned specifically in the inquest and he wasn’t interviewed because he was still in the hospital recovering from his injuries.

Antonio Williams received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day making him the oldest recipient of the award. (Until just before World War II, servicemen could receive the award in peacetime. Now it is only given for actions during war.)

Williams was born in Malta in 1830 and came to the United States in 1867, after being shanghaied and serving aboard a whaler in his youth. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1890—the same year he retired from the Navy. He later moved to England, his wife’s home.

The Secretary of the Navy, in sending the medal to Antonio Williams, wrote “It is shown in evidence that upon that occasion, the wrecking of the U. S. N. steamer Huron, you gave up whatever chance of life a foothold upon the wrecked vessel offered by taking to the sea, with Ensign Young, on a small balsa in the attempt to carry a line to the shore for the relief of your ship-mates. The effort failed by the shortness of the line. Four times capsized on the balsa, and nearly drowned, you reached the shore, where, before you were clear of the undertow, and notwithstanding your bruises and worn condition, joining hands with your companion, you helped with him to haul two men out of the water, and afterward, joining hands with him again, and running back into the surf, hauled out two more. It is also shown that you rendered material assistance to the weak and exhausted men whom you had saved.”

In an interview with Harpers Weekly he was asked “Did you think you would reach the shore?”

“Yes, I did; and every time the sea knocked me off the balsa I set my teeth the harder together, and made up my mind to do my best. The sea off that coast of North Carolina would take me and throw me clear off of the balsa and then I would have to get back again. I was very much battered and bruised, as was Mr. Young, but he was as brave as you ever find them. If we had only known that we were 300 yards from the shore we might have done better, but we could not see. It was pitch dark. I said to myself the wind and the sea must fetch us up somewhere near the shore, and we worked about three miles of a course on that balsa before we struck the beach, and we struck it hard, I tell you. Of course I must have been used up, but I didn’t know it then… I saw more work to do, and I forgot the pains in my back, where the seas, or a spar, or something struck me. I was three months in hospital before I got all over it. I never was a strong man after it; though my nerves were just as good as ever…”

Later in his career, Williams was at sea on the Corvette Yantic and faced another severe storm. Harpers Weekly wrote: when it was thought that the Yantic would founder, (Williams ) strapped on his medals, and declared that if he went down he would still carry his decorations for manly and honorable conduct about him. “That’s the belt I put them in, and I wear it for three days-until the medals hurt my back. The sea make the bronze medal a little green, but the gold one is just as bright as when my adopted country give it me.”

Williams was buried at Greenbank Cemetery in Bristol with honors. The minister who officiated said he was struck by Williams’ idea of Christianity and his preparations for the afterlife. Being a man who obeyed orders all of his life, Williams said “when the order came from his Captain to go aloft, he would be ready to obey.”

Reader Steve Lovell noted that he visited Williams’ cemetery plot and it was run down and very plain. He cleaned it up and placed a cross of remembrance on it. He is currently waiting for a reply from the US Consulate and the Veterans Administration to see about getting the grave restored. Lovell has no connection to Williams; he just wants to see the proper respect and honor paid to a hero.

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Filed Under: Adventure, Books, Diving

Re-release of Guardians’ Keep

March 18, 2013 By Eric Douglas

*** Update ***
Download Guardians’ Keep for FREE
Wednesday, March 20 through Friday, March 22 2013 you can download the latest edition of Guardians’ Keep for FREE directly through Amazon. Share the news with your friends!

Follow this link and then click on the Guardians’ Keep cover to go to Amazon.

https://www.booksbyeric.com/order.htm
***

The publishing world is changing and in general that is a great thing for readers and a good thing for authors, too. Authors now have greater control of their work and how it is promoted.

Just a few weeks ago, I was able to regain the publishing rights to my third novel, Guardians’ Keep. The publisher was doing a terrible job promoting it and had it severely over-priced. It wasn’t selling, but that’s no small wonder.
I like all of my books but Guardians’ Keep is one my personal favorites. In my formative years of reading, the Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan books were hot. People stood in line to get the latest release. Those books were incredibly complex with multiple, seemingly unconnected storylines converging on a single point by the end of the story. When I started writing my own books, Clancy was one of the models I had in mind; Guardians’ Keep was the first book I wrote where I felt like I truly hit that mark.

“Dr. Francesca DeMarco, a beautiful archeologist, is searching an underwater site on the Adriatic coast of Italy. Chasing stories of a mysterious group of Guardians, she runs into roadblocks as someone is trying to keep her from discovering the truth. News photographer Mike Scott is sent to do a story on the project, but when he and Dr. DeMarco are nearly killed in the process he decides to help her discover who is behind the attacks. To unlock the mystery of the Guardians, they have to overcome a group of delusional fanatics bent to stop them at any costs. If they are successful, they might just find a religious artifact lost when the Romans overran the Temple in Jerusalem. If not, they might be locked away in a tomb for the rest of their lives.”

 

One of my favorite reviews for the first edition of the book came from Jon Rusho: 

“Guardian’s Keep is an awesome book. How can you go wrong? Chemical weapons, conspiracy, diving, exotic locations, the wanna-be bad guy that is really insane and the monologuing bad guy that claims he won’t be caught monologuing. Awesome!”

Over the weekend I re-released Guardians’ Keep in both printand Kindle editions. This Wednesday (March 20), you will be able to download the Kindle version for FREE. The offer lasts through Friday, March 22. Let your friends know to get ready.

You can see all of my novels and other books at:

  • Wreck of the Huron
  • Guardians’ Keep
  • Flooding Hollywood
  • Cayman Cowboys

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Filed Under: Books, Diving, New Releases

Inside secrets of Flooding Hollywood

February 20, 2013 By Eric Douglas

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been writing about the sparks that led to my short stories and novels. You can read about Cayman Cowboys and Going Down with the Ship here. Since I’ve just re-released Flooding Hollywood and I’m giving away the Kindle version all this week, it seemed like a good time to focus on my second novel.

I wrote Flooding Hollywood in 2005 and it came out in the Spring of 2006. At the time, everyone was writing about foreign terrorists, so I wanted to avoid that topic. But the story really didn’t come together until I was playing with Google Earth one day. The software was pretty new, having been introduced to the world in 2004 after Google bought it from Keyhole, a company financed by the CIA. (Does that surprise anyone?)
I was playing with the software, flying around southern California when I realized there was a huge body of water in the hills above LA. A little research and I discovered it was an old water reservoir that was literally poised on top of the city of Los Angeles and Hollywood. At that point, my fertile imagination took over and it became a target in my mind. And of course, since I write about diving and underwater action, I realized that would be a chance for me to work in some freshwater diving as well. I also wrote my first underwater fight scene. It’s harder than you might think…
Here are a couple little pieces of inside information about the book. I originally wrote it as a screenplay; I even registered it with the Screen Actors Guild. Then I decided to go back and rewrite it as a book. When I was writing it, the name of the female lead character was Jennifer. When it came time to finish it up, I decided to change it to Diane, but throughout the development of the story, it was Jennifer. I had imagined that maybe I could get Jennifer Garner to play that role in the film version…we are from the same hometown, although I’ve never met her. There hasn’t been a film version yet and Jennifer Garner has no idea the story exists.
You can download the Kindle version free through Friday at midnight. If you want the print version it is $9.99. After the FREE period, Kindle copies will be $4.95. For more information on the book visit my website: Flooding Hollywood. To go directly to Kindle, get it here.
As a bonus, I’ve also lowered the price on the fourth novel in the Mike Scott adventure series Wreck of the Huron. You can now purchase a print copy of the novel for $12 and Kindle editions are only $7.99. The Amazon page for Wreck of the Huron is here.
Excerpt from Flooding Hollywood
As Mike swam closer, his mind started replaying the conversation he had with Commander Light following the takedown of the terrorist cell in Mexico. He could hear Light’s voice in his ear. “Pull out the detonator cap. This type of plastic explosive only needs one blasting cap. The rest of them will go off by chain reaction.”
Mike reached out and gingerly pulled the detonator out of the plastic explosive bundle. Realizing that the detonator was a small bomb itself, Mike picked up the timer. After a second, he found a switch and turned off the timer as well. It was then that he realized that only a few seconds remained on the countdown. They surely would have been killed when the blast went off underwater. The shock waves and concussion would have knocked them unconscious, even if they weren’t close to the actual blast. And that was assuming that the water wouldn’t have swept them quickly through the gap in the wall and down into the valley below.
After a second, Mike looked up to see Diane beside him. He gave her a big smile behind his regulator. Giving her the OK signal and then the thumbs up signal to ascend, she agreed and responded with an OK back. Mike grabbed his pressure gauge to see how much air he had left. He confirmed that it was time to get on the surface—immediately. They had been underwater for more than twenty minutes and had gone fairly deep; they were more than eighty feet down when they found the bombs. Their air supply was running low.
Carrying the detonator with them, Mike and Diane began swimming for the surface. Looking up as he ascended, Mike saw two divers descending toward them. Guessing they were members of the police dive team, Mike handed the timer and detonator to Diane and signaled to them, using his arm and then his light. The two divers altered their course and headed straight for Mike. As the men got closer, Mike began to have second thoughts about the identity of the other divers. As the gloom parted and the men got close, he realized it was the terrorists coming back. They had been watching the lake and returned to make sure the bomb went off as planned.

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Filed Under: Books, Diving

Re-release of Flooding Hollywood

February 15, 2013 By Eric Douglas

Flooding Hollywoodis re-released; Kindle is FREE through Friday

The second novel in the Mike Scott series “went into the vault” as they say for a little while, but the Second Edition is now out and available for purchase. In celebration of the book’s return, you can download the Kindle version for free all week long. Get it now, because Friday at Midnight, the free offer goes away.
If you want the print version it is $9.99. After the FREE period, Kindle copies will be $4.95.
For more information on the book visit my website: Flooding Hollywood. To go directly to Kindle, get it here.
As a bonus, I’ve also lowered the price on the fourth novel in the Mike Scott adventure series Wreck of the Huron. You can now purchase a print copy of the novel for $12 and Kindle editions are only $7.99. The Amazon page for Wreck of the Huron is here:

About Flooding Hollywood
Flooding Hollywoodis an adventure novel that pits photographer Mike Scott against a group of fanatics bent on destroying Hollywood.

 

The story begins with Mike Scott on a photo shoot with up and coming actress Diane Taylor. They decide to combine some personal recreation with the shoot and spend a couple days scuba diving in an around Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of southern California.

On a dive, Mikewitnesses another diver picking up stray packages underwater. He doesn’t think much about it the first day, but when it happens two days in a row, it gets his mind going. Assuming the divers are smuggling drugs into the city, Mike tips off the police. That act of curiosity and initiative places Mike on a collision course with fanatics bent on imposing their will on the city of Los Angeles.

 

Set underwater around Catalina Island and around the city of Los Angeles, Flooding Hollywood takes readers on a ride from LA Harbor to the Hollywood hills on a fast-paced ride of intrigue.

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Filed Under: Books, Diving, New Releases

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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 […]

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