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Long before the Lyubov Orlova became known as the legendary Russian Ghost Ship, it had a dark past more sinister than the ghost story itself.

When disgruntled veterans from the Falklands War attack the Lyubov Orlova on route to the Antarctic, paramedic Jay Perry and his fellow team members must find a way to save the passengers.  Using his experience and lessons learned from the great Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Jay is forced to put aside his own struggles and focus on executing a rescue mission.  But can he overcome his PTSD long enough to be the leader they all need?

They say that truth is stranger than fiction, so much of this book is based on actual events.  Of course, the pirates were added to embellish the story and make it more exciting for you the reader.

When I was given the opportunity to work on an expedition ship in the Antarctic for three months I jumped at the adventure.  I also figured the time on the ship would be a great opportunity to write another novel, since my first attempt had been stored away in a drawer never to see the light of day again.  With only the desire to write an adventure novel, and no clear direction on what it would be about, I decided to just start taking notes and plug a story in later.

After my initial day in Buenos Aires, and experiencing my first mugging, the seeds of a novel were planted.  From there the seed grew rapidly until I had a storyline that was growing out of control.  From the lectures given by my fellow expedition members I learned and became fascinated with the early Antarctic explorers like Scott, Amundsen and of course the incredible adventures of Shackleton, which became the basis of this story.  In the Falkland Islands, I learned about the Falklands War and the battle between the British and the Argentine.  Then hearing from my Argentine team members about how the Argentine soldiers were horribly treated upon returning from the war, I came up with the idea of pirates seeking to reclaim the glory they were denied.

When our ship was stranded at Cape Disappointment because the Russian ship owners hadn’t received their payment on time, I was rewarded with the perfect title for my story.  Passengers raising a ransom to get our ship moving was just another example of life feeding me ideas that had to be integrated into my story.  When I heard firsthand accounts from my friends who worked the following Arctic season and got stranded after the captain took the ransom they raised and dumped them in Ireland, I knew that was screaming to be put into my story.  But the biggest surprise came when, while writing this book, I decided to Google the Lyubov Orlova to see where she was, and I learned about the Russian Ghost Ship with Cannibal Rats.   Thus, most of the sordid history of the Orlova is true, minus the part where the pirates tried to skuttle her.

The characters, though fictional with backstories developed in the recess of my mind, were often based on people I either met or learned about in my research.  Thomas was based on a wonderful team member who, at a young age suffered a stroke in the Antarctic but miraculously continued to travel and provide informative historical lectures to the passengers and crew.  Anna Maria, probably my favourite character I’ve ever written, resulted from a desire to write a story from a drug addicted prostitute’s point of view.  Why you ask?  Because I figured if I could come up with a believable character with this kind of backstory, then I was truly a fiction writer because I had no knowledge or experience with that kind of lifestyle.

I did a great deal of research on Sir Earnest Shackleton and the Falklands War for this book.  I took in as much as I could from books, movies, internet searches, and pretty much anyone who would talk to me about these subjects.  But there are two books I would highly recommend if you were looking for more in-depth, factual, details on these two subjects.  Firstly, “South! The story of the Shackleton’s Last Expedition 1914-1917” by Sir Ernest Shackleton where I got many of the details for Thomas’ lectures.  Second, “The Falklands War” by Martin Middlebrook where I learned in depth details of the battle and found some interesting characters to add to my story.