Over a year ago I was asked to put the book I'm currently revising on hold in order to write a couple of other projects for the line. Call it karma, fate or kismet but to make a long story short, I finished the book, received my revisions, then BAM! The Deepwater Horizon exploded and sunk in the Gulf of Mexico, tragically killing eleven workers.
What has this got to do with my book? The hero in Roughneck Cowboy is a roughneck –a deckhand on the Exxon Hoover Diana in the Gulf of Mexico. Even though the hero in my book, Travis Cartwright, quits his job on the ocean rig in order to work on his estranged father's oil rigs in Oklahoma, the topic is a sensitive one for many readers.
The sinking of BP's Deepwater Horizon and the resulting environmental chaos it's created in the Gulf is an emotional and volatile issue in our country right now. I'm certain many of our readers have loved ones employed by the oil industry or in businesses that supply products to the oil industry as well as readers whose family members are fisherman, shrimpers or own businesses along the Gulf coast. All have been affected by this recent disaster.
As I finish revisions on this book, I've gained a greater respect for the brave men and women who work on these oil rigs as well as a new understanding of the far-reaching consequences a disaster such as the Deepwater Horizon can have on our environment, nature and people's livelihoods—most likely for decades.
My thoughts and prayers are with those most affected by this latest tragedy as are my hopes and wishes that the lessons learned from this disaster are used to better protect oil industry employees, the environment and our neighbor's livelihoods in the future.
On a brighter note…Mark your calendars for July 16th. Our next One-Day-Only Media Blitz contest here at www.harauthors.blogspot.com I'll be blogging about Dexter: Honorable Cowboy, book 2 in the The Codys: First Family of Rodeo continuity. I'll be giving away copies of Dexter and a few cowboy goodies to several winners who use their social media sites to spread the word. Be sure to tell your friends about the contest! We want to see how many places we can promote The Codys: First Family of Rodeo!
Marin
RT Top Pick
Dexter:Honorable Cowboy July 2010
www.marinthomas.com
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4 comments:
Marin -- my younger brother worked on an offshore drilling rig one summer after graduating from college and before finding a permanent job. How dangerous that job is was brought to life when he was flown off the rig to the hospital after being hit by a loose pipe on a crane that nearly took his arm off.
And I live on the Texas Gulf Coast so I am very familiar with the dangers of offshore drilling. I am also the daughter of a pertroleum geologist who discovered oil in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and other places. I'll be very interested in reading Roughneck Cowboy.
Hi Ellen
Your connection to the oil industry is fascinating! How exciting that your father discovered oil in several states--I bet he's a very interesting man to sit down and talk oil with.
I cringed when you explained yoour brother's accident, there's so many things that can go wrong on those rigs--the men and women who work on them are truly gutsy people!
Masrin
www.marinthomas.com
I am looking forward to reading Roughneck Cowboy.
Thanks, Estella! I hope you enjoy the final book in my Cartwright sibling series.
Marin
www.marinthomas.com
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