Jet Stream - part one of WWIII, The Breakup Of America: A 21st Century Thriller: A story of American heroes facing America's darkest hour: The year is 2012...
The basic story line for myWWIII: The Breakup of Americatrilogy came to me one cold Fall night in the Connecticut woods in the early 1980s. I was in the Army National Guard at the time, assigned as a Platoon leader in an armored cavalry troop. Our troop was a small, well balanced unit of tanks and armored personnel carriers. That night, the troop was laagered and bedded down after a hard day of exercises. I couldn't sleep. I was still too wired up from the tension and excitement of the exercises. So, under the excuse of checking our perimeter area, I patrolled into the woods alone. There I was, on American ground in my uniform and personal gear, fully equipped for war - all I was missing was live ammo. The shadows among the trees, the slight wind and the cold created a surreal moment. It was as if there really was a war on. That's when it hit me. I looked north, toward Canada, and heard myself thinking, "Damn! What if Quebec really does secede someday? War could sweep across the continent."Writing a novel based on that story line didn't occur to me, though, until 1994. When I did start writing, it all kind of poured out. I saw a world where the US is world-weary and isolationist and the new superpowers are a resurgent United Europe and an expansionist Asia-Pacific Confederation. I quickly decided to break the story into a trilogy. Part 1(Jet Stream) would set the stage; Quebec, allied with United Europe, would shock the US and Canada with an invasion. Part 2 (Fate Laughing) would raise the stakes; the conflict would stab back into Quebec. Part 3 (Armageddon) would be the lightening strike; United Europe and the Asia-Pacific Confederation would battle for world supremacy by colliding across the North American continent. From the outset, I knew I'd show all sides of the conflict in positive and negative lights. I'd show ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.Fans are telling me that readingJet Stream(it's the part that I've published so far) is like living a movie; it's so visual. I write in a style that lets you live the story along with the characters. Events that seem shocking and incredible to you are just as shocking and incredible to the characters. So while it may seem weird that America could ever reach the point where it breaks apart, you're drawn into that possibility in such a "my-god-it's-really-happening" way that you just deal with it - just as the characters must.Do I want to see America and Canada broken apart? No. Hell, no. But I think about it. I've read too much not to accept that history is a long march of powers that have risen and fallen. The U.S. is a power. But how long will we remain such a dominant power?Jet Streamis about what it means to become, to grow and to fall as a nation - from many points of view. It makes you think...which is what I want you to do...and it's one hell of a ride.