Clive
Cussler is turning 40, but that is not his age, it’s
the number of years writing novels. He is currently writing
five New York Times best selling series: the original Dirk
Pitt series, the NUMA Files that feature Kurt Austin, the
Isaac Bell adventures, the Oregon Files novels, and the Fargo
adventures. He is kept busy, which is not bad for someone
who will be turning 82 years old. His latest books, Zero
Hour, The Striker, and the re-release of The Mediterranean
Caper are fast-paced and captivating novels.
Zero Hour has the NUMA team, the National Underwater
and Marine Agency, spearheaded by Kurt Austin, delving into
the theory of zero-point energy that is an unlimited energy
source. This book includes new technology capabilities, historical
facts, and interesting characters. Cussler wants his readers
to understand, “I don’t like to get too much into
the detail and technology because it slows down the story.
For this book I did have to learn about physics. I enjoyed
learning about the competition between Nikola Tesla and Thomas
Edison. I touch on it in the book, how Tesla invented the
alternative current, which is what we use in our houses, while
Edison invented the direct current, which is only useful in
areas like automobiles.”
The Striker has the main character, Isaac Bell, an
inexperienced detective working for the Van Dorn Detective
Agency, investigating a coal miner accident that occurred
in 1902. This novel shows why unions were necessary in the
early 20th Century and has many action-packed scenes. Cussler
wanted to write about this time period because, “I always
wanted to do a western, but everyone does a western setting.
I decided to write a series about the early 1900s since no
one has done that before. I put in the story early automobiles,
motorcycles, airplanes, and pictures that I drew to make it
interesting. This particular story is about strikers and strikebreakers.
I tried to show that the coal miners were paid zilch with
very poor working conditions. Just a thought, if the ownership
was not so cheap there would probably not be unions today.
With this series I find it fascinating to learn about these
times. I am enjoying doing the research for the next book,
The Bootlegger, which is about prohibition. For example, the
bootlegger boats had multiple engines that allowed them to
go as fast as fifty knots.”
Due to be re-released in mid-July will be his book, The
Mediterranean Caper, whose hero and main character is
Dirk Pitt. The plot has a WWI fighter plane attacking a US
Air Force base on a Greek Island. Dirk Pitt and his team investigates
how this is related to mysterious acts of sabotage against
a scientific expedition, an international smuggling ring,
and an exotic woman. Cussler commented, “Dirk will always
have a soft spot in my heart because he started if off. I
hope readers see Pitt as a normal, average guy who is down
to earth. He likes the Air Force, tequila, and an occasional
cigar. I used myself as a model for Dirk. We are both 6’3”,
have green eyes, and at that time were the same weight and
the same age. The only differences are that he is better with
the girls and he has aged about ten years while I have aged
about fifty. In an earlier Dirk Pitt novel, Dragon, as a joke,
I wrote myself into the book. I now do it in all the Dirk
Pitt novels, offering advice and information.”
There is also something else Dirk and Clive have in common:
they both work with their sons. Dirk Cussler Jr. is the co-author
of this series and at the time he started writing with his
dad, with the novel Valhalla Rising, Dirk Pitt Jr.
and his twin sister were introduced.
Clive Cussler is a multi-talented person. Not only is he an
author and artist, but he is also a huge car collector and
an underwater explorer. He discussed his interests, including
how he started out as a writer.
Before he decided to write he worked in advertising. After
his wife found a night job working at a police department,
he became somewhat of a Mr. Mom. “I would come home
and feed the kids as well as my wife who would come home on
her dinner break. After a week or so, and having nothing to
do once the kids were asleep, I thought about writing a book.
I read Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and Edgar Allen Poe to
name a few. Three months later I decided to do a paperback
series, which was quite popular then, in the 1970s. Wanting
to write something different I put my hero around water. In
all my series I always use the same formulas. I don’t
think my writing style has changed very much over the years
other than perhaps the improvement of my vocabulary. Since
I have five series I have a separate co-author for each. We
get together after I work out the plot. Then that particular
co-author will go off and start writing. After about a hundred
pages I get the book back and sit down to edit and re-write.
This process gets repeated until the book is done. Then I
will again go through the whole book and make necessary changes.”
In his Pitt and Austin series he writes about NUMA, but has
also incorporated this organization into his real life. He
founded the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA),
a non-profit organization that searches for shipwrecks. He
talked about some of his finds. “Overall, through the
years we have been very privileged. Unfortunately sometimes
you win and sometimes you lose. We still have not found the
John Paul Jones ship, the Bonhomme Richard. However, we did
find the Confederate submarine, Hunley. The crew buried inside
was in pretty good condition. They were able to get DNA and
trace back the descendants of some of the crew. Captain Dixon
and his $20 gold piece were also found. This piece was given
to him by his fiancé and stopped a bullet from entering
him during the Battle of Shiloh. The coin was found with the
embedded bullet. I have a lot of fun finding all these shipwrecks
including The Carpathia, the first ship to come to the aid
of the Titanic survivors.”
In all of his novels Cussler tries to write about his other
interest, classic automobiles. He will describe one of the
cars he has collected over the years that are now in a museum
set up by his daughter. In Zero Hour he has his characters
using the hovercraft. He commented, “I have followed
it for several years. It is called an air car. It goes up
a couple of hundred feet and works just like a car. Hopefully
it will come around, but probably not for another thirty years
because it cost a lot to make.”
He also
wants those serving to know he supports them. He does not
just do the talk he also did the walk, traveling to Afghanistan
in November 2011 on a weeklong USO/Armed Forces Entertainment
tour called “Operation Thriller II.” He is hoping
this lifted the spirits of the deployed troops as he and four
other authors traveled from base to base. He noted, “I
was impressed with how much the troops love to read. It was
quite an experience. We arrived in a C-31 aircraft, flying
in the dark with absolutely no lights. After that we were
transported in Blackhawk helicopters. One night the Taliban
fired four mortar shells onto the base, and everyone was talking
about it as well as the fact that I slept through it.”
He wants people to understand, “My job is an entertainer
and I hope when the readers finish the book they get their
money’s worth, including learning about the history.”
Not only does he do this, but he writes incredible stories
that are action packed as well as informative.
Reviews of other titles in this series.
Gray
Ghost (Sam and Remi Fargo # 10 ) |