The Poseidon Project by E. William Podojil 💕 Guest Post, Book Tour and $20 Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Romantic suspense)

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Molly Halloran and her friends have a secret past.

Their bucolic retirement is suddenly upended when Molly’s husband is abducted and held for a steep ransom. Now she, her friends, her tech executive son, Lukas and his Air Force pilot boyfriend must race against the clock and travel halfway around the world to meet the kidnappers’ demands.

But when they learn why her husband has been abducted, they realize how high the stakes truly are. Molly and her friends now must face their past in order to save the future. But not only their futures; the world’s.

Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?

I have worked in business for most of my career, always in commercial functions like sales and marketing. I lived in Europe for more than a decade and was able to travel around the world. I’d always dreamed of writing a book and finally wrote The Tenth Man and published it in 2004. For the next 20 years I dreamed about my next book (and raised three sons which kept me a bit busy), which is The Poseidon Project, published in 2024.

What is something unique/quirky about you?

I’m organized and like to be on time, which normally drives my family crazy.

What are some of your pet peeves?

Laziness and not doing what was promised.

Where were you born/grew up at?

Born in Ohio, grew up in Connecticut and Ohio, lived 14 years in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and now back in Ohio. It’s been quite a journey.

How to find time to write as a parent?

When my boys were little, I didn’t find the time to write or had no energy. I was working in an executive level job and flying all over the world and probably spent a decade in some state of jet-lag. I gave all my energy to work and family and very little to myself in terms of doing things I loved to do (not a recommended strategy by the way.) After doing everything I wanted to do career-wise and raising my boys to be adults, I finally had the time and space to start writing again.

Describe yourself in 5 words or less!

Creative, Empowering, Resilient, Storyteller, Determined

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Probably after my first book sale and my first review. That’s when I knew I was in the game and had put my heart and soul out there for people to read, enjoy, not enjoy, criticize and all the fun that goes with being vulnerable.

Do you have a favorite movie?

Anything with Wonder Woman in it.

Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?

I’m working on the screenplay for The Poseidon Project and have already cast the actors in my mind of who would play the characters.

It was a map of currents in the Persian Gulf. Taylor studied the map and asked everyone to move closer so they could see the screen. “Okay, so this is the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. There’s Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and up here toward the point is Dubai,” Taylor explained.

“That’s the Strait of Hormuz, right?” Donna asked.

“Yep, and right next door is Oman. Dubai is closer to Oman than it is to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE,” Lukas pointed out.

“So what does this have to do with John?” Linda asked. “Other than showing us where Dubai is located, what are you suggesting?”

“Not suggesting anything right now, but wanted to show you something,” Taylor replied. “Lukas, can you click the animation on this map?”

Suddenly the arrows within the map started to move as Taylor studied it. “See how the currents churn counterclockwise? That’s pretty consistent from what I remember. The current is affected by salinity and water temperature, so as it churns, it creates a system of lower pressure in the middle…more or less a gyre.”

Lukas pointed his finger to follow the current. “So if Dad’s boat was found off the coast of Palm Jumeirah, his paddle and life vest would have likely circled this gyre and ended up right back where they started.” Taylor nodded.

Molly jumped in. “The search is supposedly focused on where they found the kayak, but Taylor, you’re saying the boat had probably traveled a bit. John would have only been missing hours by this point, not days. How could his kayak still be relatively close to Dubai?”

“I’m going to take a stab here,” Taylor jumped in. “If currents were relatively predictable and there were no storms, which I don’t imagine there were since John probably wouldn’t have ventured out. But let’s assume it was normal, in thirty-six hours, John’s boat would have been closer to the coast of Iran than to Dubai.”

“The search was focused on the waters off Dubai. That’s what the embassy told me,” Molly responded.

“Mom, add that question to your list when you call the embassy. Ask them where the search has been conducted and where it will go next.”

Molly jotted that down. A question had been on her mind. “Isn’t the Persian Gulf pretty crowded with ships? I read there are traffic jams going through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Taylor nodded. “You have hundreds of oil tankers from the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia going in and out of the gulf every day. It’s a prime target for terrorists and also disputes between Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Iran. Iran has threatened to shut off the Strait due to sanctions imposed by the Americans.”

“So it’s a pretty busy place,” Molly confirmed.

“And a disaster waiting to happen,” Donna commented.

“Which is why it’s so heavily patrolled,” Lukas added. “I read that about twenty five percent of the world’s oil passes through the Strait and Persian Gulf every day.”

“Molly,” Taylor asked, “Lukas said the kayak was found by a pleasure boat out on a fishing trip, correct?”

Molly nodded. “That’s what the embassy told me.”

“Fishing areas usually begin about forty miles offshore. I wonder why the boat that found the kayak was closer to shore…five miles wasn’t it?” Taylor asked.

“Maybe it was more like a booze cruise,” Linda commented.

“Mom, I think that could be another question for your call tomorrow,” Lukas added.

It was already ten p.m. and Molly and her guests were fading. “I’ve got my alarm set for three a.m. tomorrow so I can speak with the embassy during their business day. We spent so much time talking we didn’t have time to check flights.”

“We can do that tomorrow,” Linda answered. “I’m way past my bedtime.”

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E. William Podojil is an international business executive and novelist. He has traveled extensively and visited over sixty countries while living in Europe and the United States. Podojil works as an executive business advisor, and strategist while also pursuing his love of storytelling and writing. Podojil's first novel, The Tenth Man, was published in 2004. His second novel, The Poseidon Project, was be released in August, 2024 by The Wild Rose Press, and is the first in The Herb Society Mysteries, a series of adventure thrillers. His novels and other writing are showcased on his website www.ewpodojil.com. Here he also writes a personal blog with humorous stories of his life and travels with his husband and three sons. He and his family currently reside in Northeast Ohio.