MY WIVES ARE DEAD. BOTH OF THEM.

J.P. Beaumont is still reeling from the brutal murder of his partner when he volunteers to accompany his elderly grandmother and her new groom on a honeymoon cruise to Alaska. But murder stows away onboard. The first to go is a beautiful but acid-tongued woman who has brought along a tightly knit crew of tough-minded henchwomen who view Beau as a dangerous interloper. When the ring-leader’s horrific fall is captured by a ship’s security camera, it’s clear that a cold-blooded killer lurks somewhere among the Starfire Breeze’s opulently appointed decks. With his own emotions stretched to the breaking point, Beau is embroiled in a terrifying and puzzling case that brings the murder he wants to forget into deadly, point blank focus. And rather than forgetting, Beau may well be next in line to walk a terrorist’s twisted plank.

One of the great things about being a writer is that everything is usable. Two cruises worth of experience went into the research for this book. We left Miami in seventeen foot seas. If it hadn’t been for my Travel Aide bracelets, I would have turned green and stayed in my cabin for the better part of the week. If that constitutes an official product endorsement, so be it.

I write on deadline. That means that I know there is a date certain by which time I must begin writing a book in order to finish it on time. In July of 1999 I was on tour with Outlaw Mountain. My plan was to begin writing the next Beaumont book on August first, as soon as I returned from tour.

Sitting in the Club Lounge of the Kansas City Ritz-Carlton, I was drinking a cup of coffee and minding my own business when suddenly J. P. Beaumont began talking to me. Not only was he talking, it was clear he was on a cruise ship. Like me, Beau isn’t much of a sailor, and I couldn’t have been more surprised to find him on a cruise. So I did the only sensible thing I could do–I went to my room, booted up my computer, and began writing the prologue of the book that became Birds of Prey.

The auction bug bit while I was getting ready to write this book. One person, Marc Alley of Seattle, made a $10,000 donation to the YWCA for the privilege of being a character in Birds of Prey. Because his donation was made to the endowment fund, that donation was matched dollar for dollar. Thank you, Marc, for supporting the YWCA in its important work.

JAJ