Monday, December 23, 2019

Why write The Courier? The inspiration behind the thriller novel by Gordon J. Campbell @gcampbellgordon #writing

Why write The Courier? The inspiration behind the thriller novel.

By Gordon J. Campbell

I'm not worth the crumbs from the tables of the likes of James Lee Burke, Lee Child, and Robert Crais, but these great thriller writers inspired me to set out on a course to produce a novel. I'd be genuinely gratified if any of my work resembled their style or exceptional ability to create a world of their own.

A few of my associates felt a book based on my business experiences would be a more natural path for a first foray into the writer's world. The result would have been a study on Japanese market entry solutions. This project might be realized in the future.

I agree that a thriller novel is considered a leap from my everyday experiences, but I argue that a fictional story is also a powerful vehicle to showcase real-life experiences. It is more fun to read about a businessman’s daily interactions, when they are enhanced by action and artistic embellishment.

Some of The Courier’s pages are influenced by people met, and times enjoyed or suffered through in Japan.

I have met a Yakuza with tattoos inked from ankle to neck who claimed to have sold futures on his skin.

My work selling medical products to US Government hospitals at military installations in Asia and Europe put me in contact with professional soldiers who generously shared stories worth emulating in thriller novels.

An evening stroll through any of Bangkok's red-light districts will allow enough research by observation to create an account worth sharing.

I asked myself what would happen if a salesman without military training entered into a dangerous situation unfamiliar to anything in his world. Could he stand up, perceiver, and protect his people?

How would he do under fire or when facing extreme challenges from evil and dangerous antagonists?

Would he man-up to survive and be capable of protecting his family?

Who would help him when everything was on the line, and what would it cost him when the smoke cleared? Would his life be unalterably changed?

I hope these questions are answered when you read The Courier. May you have as much fun reading the novel as I had in its creation and development.

More blogs by Gordon are available for anyone’s perusal on his website:

www.gordonjcampbell.com

Gordon Campbell is a Winnipeg born Canadian who’s spent most of his life in Japan. He's worked as an English teacher, a market entry consultant with a focus on the medical and sporting goods industries, and as a sales director for a corporation with multiple product lines.

He’s presently working on the second novel of a series initiated with The Courier, and its protagonist, Gregg Westwood.

Gordon leans on his experiences built around decades working and traveling in Asia. He’s trained at several karate dojos, run full marathons, and skied black diamond hills in the Japanese Alps.
He played American football at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and started in the Canadian championship game known as the Vanier Cup. Gordon is a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity, Sinim Masonic Lodge, and the Tokyo Valley of the AASR.

When he’s not writing, working, attending one of his daughter’s vocal concerts, pumping iron, or at a lodge meeting, you’ll find him dining with his wife Mako at their favorite local bistro.

website & Social links

Website → https://www.gordonjcampbell.com/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/gordonjcampbellauthor/

Twitter → https://twitter.com/GcampbellGordon

Title: The Courier
Author: Gordon J. Campbell
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 311
Genre: Thriller

An expatriate businessman, Gregg Westwood, leaves the Officers’ Club at an American Air Base in Japan unaware about the impression he’s made on two intelligence agents. They sized him up as someone with potential for strategic deployment, and more importantly, he's under the radar.
Gregg's exploits start with what he thinks is a one-off assignment as a courier, and the straightforward task spirals out of control. He's forced to rise to the occasion and use every resource available to survive. Even his family is jeopardized which forces him to return to Japan to settle scores.
The Courier is one man’s struggle to fight for survival in a world that he's not been trained for and where violence and retribution are the names of the game.

Praise:
“The Bottom Line: One of the year’s best thrillers.”
--BestThrillers.com
"With such fine attention to detail in creating some amazing scenes, I give The Courier 4 out of 4 stars. Campbell creates an amazing and well-edited adventure that could even someday work on the big screen. Readers that enjoy action adventures or thrillers will likely enjoy this one as well."
--Official review by Kendra M Parker, OnlineBookClub.org
"The Courier is an exciting ride from start to finish. I couldn't put it down and wanted more when it finished."
--Gyle Graham, entrepreneur and longtime Tokyo expatriate
“The Courier would transform well from a thriller novel to an action movie.”
--Michael Harrison, marketing expert and martial artist