Blast from the Past

By Mark W. Danielson

Having two out-of-print books from a defunct publisher and another publisher willing to put them on Kindle, it seemed like a good time to re-read them before sending them on. The only problem is I couldn’t find either of the final manuscript drafts. Bear in mind that these books were saved on floppy drives, and yes, I still have one computer that reads them. Then again, I also have a working 8-track stereo in the garage. (You young kids should look up “8-track player” on the Internet.) And even though I kept several floppy discs in my safe deposit box, the manuscripts I was looking for weren’t on any of them. Go figure.

So this meant I had to work from the closest versions I had. Danger Within was pretty close. The Innocent Never Knew, not as much, so it will take much longer to complete. Over a decade has slipped by since I read Danger Within, and I was pleased it is still a fast-moving and topical story that gets my heart pumping. But let’s face it, since no one huddles in phone booths or makes collect calls anymore, why not update it while checking for typos? Am I concerned about having different versions when they are e-published next year? Not in the least because e-book fans are a new audience.

My first e-publishing experience was with Diablo’s Shadow, released a month or so ago to readers preferring e-books over bound versions. But releasing out-of-print books, particularly updated versions, is a whole different animal. If the e-book versions generate new interest, then I’m happy. Whether or not they sell is a moot point because the process of recreating them was fun.

Michael Crichton once said he never re-read his work, but one day he got bored. After reading The Andromeda Strain, he remarked, “That’s pretty good.” I’m happy to say I feel the same about Danger Within, and hope to have the same feeling when I tackle The Innocent Never Knew. After all, shouldn’t good books be timeless?

It Was Bound to Happen

By Mark W. Danielson

Recently, a bomb was discovered on a cargo plane bound for Chicago. Whether this bomb was intended to explode en route or at its Jewish destination is a moot point. Either way, this scenario was inevitable.

Many years ago, I wrote about a similar situation in my fictional thriller Danger Within. As a cargo pilot, this story stemmed from my cargo safety concerns following an actual in-flight fire aboard a FedEx DC-10 caused by undeclared hazardous material. Later in my story, a bomb sends another cargo jet into the ocean. And when divers fin their way down to investigate, men die. No one expected it was a time bomb. Danger Within is a wild ride, but also a realistic one. And while cargo screening has improved since this book was published, our system still has holes. No doubt, security authorities are seeking ways to plug them.

But there is another problem associated with this failed bombing. Fear. Of course, fear is to be expected. Who wouldn’t be concerned about falling debris from blown-up airplanes? But the reality is the odds still favor an airplane’s safe arrival over your journey home from the airport. After climbing into your vehicle, you will now face texting drivers, drunk drivers, angry drivers, smoking drivers, drivers applying makeup or shaving, car jacking, and even snipers, and yet we accept these risks without a fleeting thought because we expect auto accidents. Fear is only effective if the outcome was unexpected. The objective of terrorism is for fear to override logic. That’s the terror behind terrorism. I’m not a fatalist, but I do believe that when my time is up, there won’t be a thing I can do about it. I also know that if I truly considered what might be in the 180,000 pounds of cargo I’m supposed to fly back from overseas, I would never climb into the cockpit and start the engines.

Sadly, the people responsible for this latest bomb event “won” even though their bomb never exploded. In fact, because it didn’t explode, this story will receive more attention than it would have had the cargo plane exploded and been lost at sea. The recent UPS Boeing 747 crash in Dubai from an in-flight fire confirmed that killing a couple of cargo pilots was barely newsworthy, and yet the fear of airliners carrying in-flight bombs will last for weeks. Even worse, the government now has to divert millions of dollars earmarked for other projects to further enhance cargo screening.

Writers are influenced by events, but can also influence events. I stopped writing one terrorism book because it contained too much sensitive information, and I don’t need to create scenarios for those willing to harm us. On the other hand, it’s important to keep everything in perspective as we live our lives. We haven’t gone back to the Dark Ages yet. Keeping our eyes open, our heads on a swivel, and our fear in check will ensure we never get there.