Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on Titanic

The new novel, Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on Titanic, is out today! Since I'm not very good at plot summaries - when you write a book it ends up being about ten thousand different things, and narrowing all that down to a paragraph is just about impossible - I'm going to have to cheat a little and reprint the official one here:

A stowaway, a stolen book, a murderous villain: an adventure on the most famous shipwreck in history.

The great ocean liner Titanic is preparing to cross the Atlantic. On board is a sinister thief bent on stealing a rare book that may be the key to unlocking infinite treasure, a wealthy academic traveling home to America with several rare books, and Patrick Waters, a twelve-year-old Irish boy who is certain that his job as a steward will be the adventure of a lifetime. Disguises, capers, and danger abound as the ship makes its way toward that fateful iceberg where Patrick will have to summon all his wits in order to survive.

This review also captures the story:

"...Mone quickly entices readers with criminal intrigue, characters who range from eccentric to entirely ordinary, and, of course, the singular setting that is the Titanic...the bond between Patrick and Widener gives the story heart. Mone displays solid knowledge of the facts: there are numerous real-life cameos on the ship, and his descriptions of shipboard life, the Titanic’s sinking, and the survivors’ rescue are impressively vivid."

Check back here for more details and background in the coming weeks....

Jack's not a Yachtsman!

A few nights ago, down in Florida with the family, my wife and I were eating at a little restaurant by the water. The restaurant's patio overlooks a small marina packed with expensive yachts, and at the table next to us, a famously reticent football coach was regaling a small party of diners with tales of life in the NFL.

After the group finished, they made their way down to a gorgeous, perfectly maintained, antique wooden motorboat; the kind you'd expect to see in photos of St. Tropez or some other exotic locale for the rich and famous. The owner of the boat, and host of the dinner, turned out to be legendary CEO Jack Welch.

Mr. Welch was not the primary character in this scene, however. Upon realizing that he was in the vicinity of business royalty, an older gentleman at the table next to us shot to his feet. He had been talking about Bernie Madoff, theorizing about hidden stores of cash. He was tan, thin, in his seventies. His hair was brown, with a subtle hint of purple, and his sweater a delightful green.

He stood with his hands in his pockets and called to Jack. He tried several times to gain Jack's attention, without success. Then he said, with some confusion, and at a significant volume, "That's Jack's boat? Jack's not a yachtsman!"

The boat cruised off successfully, and as far as I know it did not sink, yet I still think this story might be a good transition into some book-related news: The impending release of my next novel, Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on Titanic.

The book is out on March 13. It has absolutely nothing to do with that dinner, nor the puzzled, purple-haired man, but a boat does figure prominently. So does extreme wealth: The story centers in part on Titanic passenger Harry Widener, a collector of fabulously expensive rare books. Publishers Weekly just gave Dangerous Waters a nice review, and the Children's Book of the Month Club selected it as one of their new titles for the season.

Soon I'll be visiting schools in the area to discuss the book, and writing in general, and we're also putting together a few events. I'll be joining in the Kids' Authors Extravaganza at the Andover Bookstore on March 24th, then reading at Bunch of Grapes, on Martha's Vineyard, on Saturday April 7th.

Villains at Milton Academy

Earlier this week I had a great visit with the fourth-graders at Milton Academy. Half of them had read Fish, and they had several great questions about the writing process. At one point in the presentation I was talking about the evolution of a particular line in the book, and how it changed after a few debates with my editor, and a few of the kids actually remembered the sentence when it flashed up on the smart screen. Maybe it was the appearance of four ladies in large yellow dresses in the middle of an action scene that made the fragment memorable, but still, I was impressed. Quite a group of readers.

They were also especially interested in the villains in my books. Several of them volunteered their names for future evil characters. I promise I will keep them in mind.

We had some extra time at the end, so I read them the first chapter of my next book, Dangerous Waters, which comes out in March. Normally I edit while I read, cutting a sentence here, shortening a paragraph there, but in this case I read every word. They all felt necessary. That's a good sign, I think. And the kids seemed to love it...not a yawn or wandering stare in the place.

My favorite comment from one of the students: "You make me want to read a hundred books!"

That's exactly what an author wants to hear.

Eating Stars in Austin

Last week I was in Austin reporting a really exciting story for Discover magazine. The main subjects of the piece keep vampire hours, so I had some free time in the morning, and listened in on some fabulous Austin dialogue while prepping in coffee shops. A few lines from one spot:

"Hip hop will never be the same."

"There's just a lot going on and none of it is interesting to me."

There was context to both, but I don't think it's necessary. Another exchange:

"How do you feel about Beck? I feel like there are a lot of Beck haters here."

"I don't feel one way or the other."

"I totally agree."

At another spot, I discovered that the highly skilled barista making the espresso was also a musician. His band is called Auroravore. For some reason my brain associated aurorae with stars, and asked him if his band were star eaters. "No," he said. "Aurora represents the music that exists outside of us and vore is kind of the synthesis."

Or I think that's what he said. And it's a very cool idea, but I still kind of wish they were the star eaters. Although that would make them black holes, which would probably not be a very good name for a band. If you went to a show by the black holes, would you ever leave? Would you disappear? Or become a part of the band, perhaps, as it swallows you whole?

There were quite a few more characters, but none of them matched the scientists. I've never had so much fun while being completely overloaded with intensely complex science - geophysics and astronomy and astrobiology. The story won't be out for a while, but I'll post it here when it's published.

Skyping with Singapore

People have always told me that I have a rather large head, but the students of the Singapore American School must think it's gargantuan. A few weeks ago I skyped with Captain Coole's crew, a very inquisitive bunch of kids in Singapore. (OK, so they're not really a pirate crew, and their teacher isn't actually a pirate, but that's how they introduced themselves, and I like it.) They asked great questions about reading, writing, pirates, and my book Fish. I was especially excited to talk about Scab, the nasty, stinking villain; he's one of my favorite characters.

Toward the end of the visit, though, someone turned around the laptop in their far-off classroom so I could have a view of the space. This virtual tour also afforded me a look at the smartboard, where my massive head filled up the entire screen. It was terrifying. For me, at least. They seemed perfectly fine.

Anyway, thanks again to Captain Coole, the Roots, and the rest of the class. We'll have to talk again sometime, as long as we can figure out that time zone stuff...