The Bodyguard Series

 

 

I've been writing stories all my life. Ever since I discovered books I could read, I started writing my own stories, first by hand, then on a typewriter. I was the only one in my high school class to have an electric typewriter. I remember setting it up on a normal desk and the powerful and very fast swing of the platen always moved the desk an inch over the floor. I figured it out and bought a solid desk. Problem solved. I can't tell you how many pages of my stories were typed on that sturdy typewriter. I guess my neighbors went crazy because the walls were thin and the machine was definitely loud. Unfortunately for them, I was a night worker. I spent my days at school and outdoors, and when I got home I had enough energy to sit down and write another story. I started my writing career with Star Wars fan fiction before it was even a genre. I loved Han Solo and thought his role in the movies was way too small. Next came The X-Files and the brilliant duo of Mulder/Scully. There were so many new possibilities to explore!

I made the leap to a computer and the Internet and found that there were thousands of fanfiction writers, so many people to communicate with, so many like-minded writers who just wanted to share their vision. The fanfiction genre seemed to explode when The Lord of the Rings came out. Suddenly there was an unprecedented amount of published stories. I had my share of stories and was happy to receive thoughtful reviews.

The step to writing my own stories - contemporary as well as science fiction - was only natural. After several stand-alone books, I started the Bodyguard series. Well, it wasn't meant to be a series when my muse and I came up with the first plot. When the book was finished, and we were both happy with the result, we spent a nice afternoon discussing the next story. The brainstorming didn't take long, and we overcame the fear that readers would be bored by a story with the same handful of characters. Instead, it was well received.

So let me take you back in time. Here's an excerpt from The Secretary's Bodyguard.

 

Ethan Mahoney takes his wife on an official trip to Colombia to protect the Secretary of State. Things quickly go awry, and the secretary and his entourage find themselves on the run through the jungle, all kinds of dangers included.

 

Excerpt

 

From above, Ryan called, “I was right! Must be guava!”

“He shouldn’t just pluck the fruits.” Jazmin was already on her way before Ethan could ask why. “Wait, Ryan, wait!”

Ethan took a swig of water and began opening the knots of the makeshift hammock, keeping an eye on the secretary, who, in his opinion, looked worse than the evening before.

The next moment Ryan cried out, stumbled a step back and held his arm, eyes wide with shock. Ethan watched open-mouthed as Jazmin tackled his colleague, swept his foot and nailed him on his back.

“Stay down and don’t move!” she yelled in his face.

Ryan screamed in pain, rocking upwards and throwing Jazmin off his body. She landed on her back, cursing in Spanish.

“Someone help me up here!”

Ethan was already up the steep slope and knelt beside Ryan. “What do you want me to do?”

“Keep him down! It’s a snake bite!”

Walter was there to press Ryan’s right shoulder and they both had to summon up considerable strength to hold the bodyguard on the ground.

“Ryan, let go! I need to look at it!” Jazmin tried to pry Ryan’s finger open. “Ryan!” Ryan’s face was contorted with pain. Jazmin pulled his shirt out of the pants and stuffed a piece of it in his mouth. “Bite down and don’t scream. It can be heard for miles! Ethan, please, he must let go! Knock him out if you have to, but I can’t see anything like this!”

“Ryan, loosen the grip!” Walter shouted in the young man’s face. “Now!”

It was an effort, but Ryan let go, biting hard on the cloth in his mouth.

“Great. Snake in the morning.” Jazmin frowned as she examined the wound, then she turned to fetch the first aid kit.

“Calm down,” Walter ordered. “She obviously knows what she’s doing.” He looked at Ethan. “Does she?”

Ethan bit his lip. “She wouldn’t act if she had no clue, sir. She’s not showing off.”

“I hope so.” He watched the bite mark redden and swell up. “If it’s—”

“It hurts!” Ryan pressed around the cloth in his mouth. His face had reddened. “Goddamn it hurts!”

Jazmin brought a box and opened it, evading Ryan’s long legs scratching the ground. “Keep him down. The less he moves the better.” She took a small pad with alcohol and cleaned the wound to have a closer look.

Ethan half-knelt on his colleague and had broken into a sweat. “Is it bad?”

“What’s up?” Nolan asked from behind. “Did he get bitten by something?”

“Yes, sir.” Walter kept his voice under control. “Snake.”

*

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