Title: The Benton Harbor File
Author: Philip R Morehouse
ISBN: 13: 978-1494262839 – ISBN-10: 1494262835
Page count: 349
Genre: Fiction; Survival/Adventure
Book Price: $14.99
Kindle Price: $4.99 or Free with Kindle Unlimited membership
Author Bio:
I was born in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York where I started my life's training and adventures on the family-owned farm. Throughout my youth, I was mentored by my grandfather who taught me how to fish, trap and hunt. These skills were crucial to the family's survival.
After graduating from high school, I enlisted in the Navy, where I received special military survival training and was assigned to a ship that was deployed as a part of the Cuban Blockade Missile Crisis, and later to rescue Americans from Haiti, during the Dominion/Haiti Crisis. I continued to serve an extended hitch during the Viet Nam War. After returning home, I married, and joined the Army National Guard, serving in various aerial and ground support photography assignments.
Among many other jobs, I have worked as a professional writer and photographer for over 60 years. With my family grown and on their own, I pursue what I love the most - writing true-to-life, survival, adventure-type stories.
Tell us about your book:
“The Benton Harbor File” is a story about finding and salvaging a World War II German U-boat containing a startling find. The three of them; Connor, an international venture capitalist; Frank a computer-hacking - a street-wise man whose ear is tuned to the undercurrent of the streets, and Heather an international lawyer are in a partnership that leads them from one adventure after another due to Connor’s many varied and often barely legal enterprises.
In this accounting of their adventures, they discover a sunken German U-Boat off the Florida coast. This discovery unleashes a storm of intrigue involving several foreign governments, the CIA, and an underground Nazi enclave that has been desperately searching for the sub and its precious cargo ever since it mysteriously disappeared during the final days of World War II.
Unknown to Connor, Frank, and Heather, their decision to salvage this sub will thrust them into a life-and-death struggle beyond anything they could have ever imagined.
How does this book relate to your real-life experiences?
For this story, I drew on my background in engineering; electrical, mechanical, and pneumatics, together with my Navy knowledge of marine engineering systems, to form the scientific background for my three main characters to discover, handle and make a lot of money while on the adventure of their lives.
How long did it take to write the book?
I started the book much later in life, well after my children had been on their own. It was written after I had moved from Upstate NY to North Carolina where I was working as a contract Sr. Technical Writer. It took 3 and 1/2 years from concept to rough draft, initial edits, and final edit to finally have it published in July of 2014.
What inspired you to write the book?
As an adventurer at heart and loving to scuba dive, it wasn't a far leap for me to wonder what it would be like to discover a World War II German U-boat, explore the interior, and imagine what she might have been carrying, and then fixing the boat up using the latest technology together with some of my knowledge of engineering concepts to make her better than any other submarine at sea.
Let’s talk about the writing process. Did you have a writing routine? Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve?
Yes, having a computer and word processor at my disposal, I would write for a few hours every chance I got. As I build the story, I research to build authenticity around the places and things that my subject matter is framed. My stories are aided by my life experiences, library books, military, and later my civilian life.
What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?
In every situation, there is always a way to succeed if you try hard enough. Like other parts of your abilities - building your imagination is very important. Remember the Science Fiction things we heard and saw in the past, are today's realities. Also, I would hope that my readers are entertained by the story and encourage all their friends to get a copy.
Where can we go to buy your book?
This book is readily available online through Amazon.com as a softcover or a Kindle download or at Barnes & Noble. If they should be out of stock be sure to give them the ISBN # found on the inside of the first page. Also, it can be ordered through any one of your local small bookstores using ISBN-13 978-1492154693.
Excerpt from the novel:
“They had worked all night trying to open the hatch and at long last it was now starting to move. After years of hiding at the bottom of the ocean, U-boat 5001 was about to give up its secrets to the past.”
“All eyes peered downward into the interior of one of the most dreaded and deadliest tools Hitler could bring to bear against the Axis powers. Connor had read that the “U-boats” were responsible for sinking a total of 14 million tons of shipping during World War II and here, in front of them, rested an example of that awesome power.”
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