3 Wise Men – Revised Thriller Now on Kindle

Today, 3 Wise Men was released in Kindle again! This is a completely revised version, with an extra 3000 words and, hopefully, more drama and tension. Most chapters had improvements and, in my humble opinion, it is a better read.

Don’t miss this chance to enjoy a great thriller, set in exotic locations in southern France and Italy. Of course, please give feedback as it is taken seriously and helps the next book too. For example, my wife and I had someone join us for dinner last night and our guest was reading 3 WISE MEN but thought a word was not the ‘right’ one. After giving it some thought – lots of thought – after they had gone, I made the change and it fitted better. The formatting was finished by today and the new book uploaded (with my friend’s suggestion) less than 24 hours later. Oh, the delights of self-publishing!

Speaking of the next book, how is it going? I’m pleased you asked. Over Christmas and the New Year, excellent progress was made and I hope to finish the draft version in just a few weeks.

“I need painkillers and more rest.”

“My stupid head!” he thought. “I need painkillers and more rest.”

You would too, after going through what Jak did! No wonder his decision-making soon get blurred after his flight leaves Rome, heading for his meeting in Milan.

Italy is a rugged country, with a spine of mountains reaching out of The Alps like the arm of an octopus. These peaks – known as The Apennines – can play havoc with weather patterns over Italy – as Jak soon finds out.

Read more in 3 WISE MEN.

And those other names?

3 WISE MEN features real locations, real cafes, and real hotels , etc. in order to give authenticity to the novel. The plot is also plausible and based on a genuine ancient document.

The sense of place – places that reader have heard about or visited – was essential for me as a writer. In fact, one idea for the story was dropped – simply because it was a far-fetched possibility that our protagonist would be able to circumvent the security in place. I had checked it out carefully and realized that there was a slim chance of getting past the guards, but this was highly unlikely.

I hope the exotic locations and real places give 3 WISE MEN that touch of reality that I was looking for. Even the airline and train schedules needed to be correct. Some research took a while!

Finally, I was grateful to Galimard in Grasse for allowing me the rights to use their company name in 3 WISE MEN.

“I couldn’t put the book down, but I forced myself to!”

This wonderful comment came in from Andrea this morning. His help to navigate the charms of Milan during my research were invaluable and he assisted in reviewing the chapters that were located there.

“I was one of the people who couldn’t put the book down, but sometimes I forced myself to do so, to enjoy the plot better and let a part of it “sediment” in my memory before going on.

“I liked it very much, it’s a great story and it gives the feeling that there’s always something about to happen, but you don’t know what! I also liked the fact that some important characters were introduced almost at the end, while some others went out of scene: it gave a good sense of development of the story!

“Of course the part I enjoyed most is the one set in Milan: even if I read the chapters already, reading them in the complete story gave them more sense! Your description of the places is very accurate, and made me feel like I was there… I assume it’s the same with any other place in the book! Also, it’s great how you managed to fit so many facts about Milan in the narration! I’m happy to have given my small contribution to make the story more “real”, I hope that the readers would notice how accurate you were in this!”

The Flight to Milan – one Jak will never forget

Flying is usually a tedious excuse to do nothing for a few hours, so why include a flight in a thriller? Well, it just so happens that flying is the easiest way for Jak to get to Milan. But, what a minute (or longer) you may ask – isn’t he on a train to Milan? Yes, he is, but he wasn’t the day before.

[novel extract: “Ladies and Gentlemen. This announcement is for Flight AZ1026 to Milano. We are now starting boarding. Please have your boarding pass ready for checking.”

Jak closed his laptop and joined the line. He found his way to seat 20A, a window seat near the center of the aircraft. Today, despite this being such a popular route out of Rome, seat 20B was also empty. As usual, Jak thought about the number ’20.’

“It’s the sum of the first four even numbers, 2 + 4 + 6 + 8.” Some scholars, he recalled, knew 20 as the ‘God Number.’ He settled back, feeling somewhat comfortable in such an interesting seat.

“I really should have majored in Mathematics and not Science,” Jak thought, gazing outside at the last preparations for their flight.

However, for Jak, the Seat 20 would be involved in an ‘Act of God’ all too soon.

Flight 1026 taxied for a few minutes and then lifted off runway 34L, heading northwest out over the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the control tower at Fiumicino airport, Don Giovanni frowned as he paused longer than normal at his radar screen. A low pressure system was moving over the French and Italian Alps, drawing moist air from late summer heating of the Mediterranean. Such conditions can result in a powerful downward blast of air known as a ‘föehn’ wind. In southern Europe, it is called the ‘mistral.’

Don turned to his supervisor. “Sir, we might have a Met situation south of Malta. Moretti left a few details in his log.”

“Don’t worry about it,” came the confident reply. “It’s too far away from us to cause any problems, but keep an eye on those thunderstorms building near Tuscany.”

Don made contact with AZ1026.

“Fiumicino tower, Alitalia ten twenty six. Climb and maintain thirty two thousand.”

“Up to thirty two thousand, Alitalia ten twenty six,” Captain Bruno replied.

“Roger, flight ten twenty six. Head three two zero to Genoa to avoid the build up of cumulonimbus over Tuscany. Genoa will guide you into Milan. Have a pleasant flight ten twenty six.”

“Copy, Fiumicino. Roger and out.”

When they leveled off the Captain came on the intercom.

“This is Captain Bruno speaking. We have now reached cruising altitude and are heading up the coast to Genoa to avoid some bouncy air over the Apennine Mountains. Although we have clear skies ahead of us, we do advise all passengers to remain seated and keep your seat belts fastened. Expected landing time in Milan is now 4:15pm and local weather is overcast with rain expected later in the day. The present ground temperature is 15 degrees. I will give you an update closer to our arrival. Now please sit back and enjoy your flight.”

He turned to the co-pilot. “It’s all yours from here.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Captain Bruno released the controls and sat back in his seat. He scanned ahead and noticed a large area of open, blue sky. To his left, a bank of dark-gray clouds rose above the horizon – their billowing, serpent stalks appearing angry and stark through his polarized glasses. However, for Bruno, they seemed too distant to bother them.

“It should be a comfortable flight,” he announced confidently, unaware of the severity of the brewing storm.]

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