BLURB:
Water rushed into the four, great smoke stacks
of the ship as they, too, hit the waves. Tremendous, churning whirlpools sucked
victims inside. A few were ejected, blackened with soot. Propellers rose above
the maelstrom. The rudder lifted higher than the smoke stacks. The ship's prow
pointed down toward the deep. It looked as if the ship's nose would hit the sea
bed hundreds of feet below. The Lusitania sank in only 18 minutes after being
torpedoed on May 7, 1915. Dora Benley vowed revenge on the enemy. Key to
Lawrence tracks the beginning of her quest for justice in this special edition
of the first volume of the Edward Ware Thriller Series. It commemorates the
100th anniversary of the Great War.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Manhattan — Saturday, May 1, 1915
The stranger stared at Dora’s package. A wide-brimmed hat
shaded his face, revealing only a dark beard and mustache. Smoking a small,
cheap, stubby cigar, dressed in a nondescript, ill-fitting dark suit, the man
strutted towards her in a menacing fashion. Blueish-white cigar smoke curled
upward in a lazy corkscrew. It vanished into the air several yards above his
head.
Twenty-year-old Dora Benley quickly stuffed the surprise
birthday gift for her father into her satchel. Holding a green parasol edged
with black fringe over her head she skirted crowds of well-dressed, gossiping
passengers waiting to board the Lusitania. Dressed in a full-length, aquamarine
dress with white lace around the sleeves, Dora moved as far away from the
intruder as she could without falling off the edge of the pier.
She searched impatiently for her parents. They were supposed
to rendezvous with her at 11:00 AM. By now it was almost noon!
A man and woman reporting team burst upon the crowd at
Cunard’s Pier 54. They were trailed by a photographer and his assistants
carrying a large folding camera and a tripod. The reporters hurled themselves
at the passengers.
“What do you think of the German announcement?” The male
reporter thrust a copy of The New York Times at Dora. He pointed to the
advertisement prominently displayed on the front page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
The Cargills
docked at Southampton and explored the South of England in preparation for this
thriller, Key to Lawrence. They also sailed the North Atlantic just like Dora
Benley. But their transatlantic voyages were on the Queen Mary 2 instead of the
Lusitania. They made use of the American Southwest where they live to depict the
Syrian Desert that was home to Lawrence of Arabia. Visit their website. Read
their blog. Linda also has a Facebook Fan Page.
Links:
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