In 1984, between real jobs, I decided to try writing as an alternative to earning
a paycheck as a mechanical engineer in the corporate world. A childless husband
can only do that if he is married to an understanding wife who is gainfully
employed full-time. Fortunately, it only took a few weeks to realize that career
plan was irrational. When an unexpected job offer popped up, I filed the first
four chapters of the book, First Frigate, away to be continued as a hobby later.
That later turned out to be 2013, when First Frigate was finally published.
The main protagonists in Ninth Problem, Jerry Cunningham and his adopted son, Hassan, first appeared more than halfway through First Frigate and have appeared in every story in this series.
The original plan to become a financially successful writer has been replaced by the pleasure of the function as a hobby. Perhaps it's the engineering background that makes writing interesting. Writing a novel is like constructing a new device. The new device's function is to entertain the reader by taking them to a new location and immersing them in a new, interesting situation. The writer is similarly immersed when creating the story.
The features of the device that accomplish this feat are similar to things in the physical world. Ease of use equates to writing in simple, everyday language. One can employ writing tools such as the app Grammarly to make the prose flow understandably. Short paragraphs and having the characters describe things eliminate laborious reading.
Like physical devices, prose has style conventions such as point of view and verb tense. Ninth Problem is written with present-tense verbs such as 'says' in place of 'said,' and its point of view is 'third-person omniscient,' meaning the storyteller can reveal multiple characters’ thoughts and knowledge.
See if you can spot the above features as you read Ninth Problem.
Some writing teachers discourage using nonstandard words like ain't in stories or colloquialisms like gonna. I like to use words like these, especially when certain expressions are consistently tied to specific characters. Some characters, like Jerry in Ninth Problem, use slang prolifically. Others, like Hoho, don't even use contractions like it's. He always says it is.
Much of the action in Ninth Problem takes place at the supposed antagonist, Señor Bernardo de Santiago's, home in the mountains south of Caracas. The following is an Adobe Firefly rendition of a Venezuelan hacienda. This picture is also used for the book's cover art.
In the final chapters of the book, Jerry and his compatriots, referred to as the retirees, take action against a drug cartel that threatens their new friend, Señor de Santiago. Their goal is to prove their ability to break things and kill people to achieve their objective. In this case, the objective is to dissuade the cartel from further aggression toward de Santiago. The action takes place at the cartel's compound as pictured by Adobe Firefly.
The main protagonists in Ninth Problem, Jerry Cunningham and his adopted son, Hassan, first appeared more than halfway through First Frigate and have appeared in every story in this series.
The original plan to become a financially successful writer has been replaced by the pleasure of the function as a hobby. Perhaps it's the engineering background that makes writing interesting. Writing a novel is like constructing a new device. The new device's function is to entertain the reader by taking them to a new location and immersing them in a new, interesting situation. The writer is similarly immersed when creating the story.
The features of the device that accomplish this feat are similar to things in the physical world. Ease of use equates to writing in simple, everyday language. One can employ writing tools such as the app Grammarly to make the prose flow understandably. Short paragraphs and having the characters describe things eliminate laborious reading.
Like physical devices, prose has style conventions such as point of view and verb tense. Ninth Problem is written with present-tense verbs such as 'says' in place of 'said,' and its point of view is 'third-person omniscient,' meaning the storyteller can reveal multiple characters’ thoughts and knowledge.
See if you can spot the above features as you read Ninth Problem.
Some writing teachers discourage using nonstandard words like ain't in stories or colloquialisms like gonna. I like to use words like these, especially when certain expressions are consistently tied to specific characters. Some characters, like Jerry in Ninth Problem, use slang prolifically. Others, like Hoho, don't even use contractions like it's. He always says it is.
Images related to Ninth Problem
A significant part of the story surrounds a maritime feature called a moon pool. The chat model GPT-6 Luna defines a moon pool as an opening through the hull or floor of a vessel or offshore platform, usually enclosed by the structure. It lets people and equipment pass between the interior and the water below, often giving divers or underwater instruments access to the sea while sheltered from waves.
Moon Pool Example
Much of the action in Ninth Problem takes place at the supposed antagonist, Señor Bernardo de Santiago's, home in the mountains south of Caracas. The following is an Adobe Firefly rendition of a Venezuelan hacienda. This picture is also used for the book's cover art.
Señor Bernardo de Santiago's Hacienda in Venezuela.
In the final chapters of the book, Jerry and his compatriots, referred to as the retirees, take action against a drug cartel that threatens their new friend, Señor de Santiago. Their goal is to prove their ability to break things and kill people to achieve their objective. In this case, the objective is to dissuade the cartel from further aggression toward de Santiago. The action takes place at the cartel's compound as pictured by Adobe Firefly.