Note to Readers: This novel was published in installments. This is installment 1. All five installments, as well as the complete novel, are available. For more information, please go to: https://www.sleepingdogs.biz/books.html. A Reading Group Guide is available at: www.sleepingdogs.biz/reading-group-guide.html.
A Note From The Author
This novel is a work of fiction and isn’t intended to preach or condemn any particular political philosophy. It’s just a story. It was fabricated, however, on events occurring in the U.S. today, and tells the story from the perspectives of various players. Likewise, any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. What is not coincidental are most of the scenes of violent confrontation. These actually occurred. I either was present or learned of them through media reports or from persons who witnessed it firsthand. For example, the scene on the porch at Remy’s bar, the Bitter End, is based on a real incident. It took place in the Everglades west of Miami, not in Louisiana. But a gang of motorcycle thugs had a come-to-Jesus moment with a single opponent in a manner similar to Marc Kirkland’s actions. The scene in the war game with the Army Rangers, where one of the Sleeping Dogs sneaks up and paints a white X on a log while an officer is using it as a makeshift toilet, is based on fact. One of my ex-Green Beret buddies related the story to me. The scene in the country bar in North Carolina is based on fact, but it happened in a pizza joint in Florida. I was there with some teammates following a flag league football game. One of them, a former All-American super heavyweight wrestler who stood six feet seven and weighed 300 pounds performed the honors. He yanked the abusive boyfriend out of the booth and held him off the ground with one hand while calmly explaining what would happen if he ever abused another woman.
Whelan’s departure from Levell’s house in Georgetown in a freezer is based on tales that the eccentric billionaire, Howard Hughes, used the same technique to come and go from his home. The setting for the restaurant scene with McCoy and Levell is based on a number of memorable meals I had in a classic dining spot in Washington, D.C. Likewise, Whelan’s visit to Hawaii is based on my own travels and the tales of a former NFL player who retired to a mountainside in Hawaii and threatened harm to anyone who came to see him.
The theory of genetics explored in the book is based on considerable research, but is mostly speculation. The statement that scientists have determined that those with Western European bloodlines have some Neanderthal DNA is true, however. Descriptions of weaponry, including stealth helicopters, Laski’s Patek Philippe World Time Platinum watch, and other symbols of the super wealthy are factual. The Puerto Rican Trench and the Challenger Deep are the deepest points in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, respectively. Dingle, Ireland, is much as I have described it.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A great many people have contributed to the experiences that have shaped me as an individual, and developed the perspectives that shape my writing. I’m grateful to all of them, even the ones who were involved in the not so pleasant experiences. Each of us, after all, is the product of the sum total of our life experiences.
There are some people to whom I am especially grateful. Most important is my wife, “Annie”. She has been my most ardent supporter in this effort.
My dad, a self-described (tongue-in-cheek) “fine Irish bastard”, played a major role in my desire to write. He encouraged my thirst for adventure stories as a youngster. More importantly, he totally freaked out when, at about age ten, I announced that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I remember the salient bits and pieces of his diatribe: “freeze to death…bare, unheated attic…starvation…no friends…no money”. It was a blessing in disguise. I spent years moving in other directions and gained much valuable experience and insight, which, hopefully, have made me a better chronicler of the human condition.
At a very early age, my mother taught me to read and took me to the local library where I was introduced to a vast treasure trove of adventure. She also instilled in me toughness in the face of challenges, an unwillingness to settle for second best.
My son Ryan, an articulate, intelligent young man, spent many hours proofreading my efforts and offering valuable comments and suggestions, including cover art and layout. Do not be surprised to see his name on bestseller lists one day.
Suzanne Anderson, a friend, former student of mine, and published author (Mrs. Tuesday’s Departure, among other books), was very generous in taking time to review this novel.
I’m grateful to Caitlin Alexander, a former editor at Random House and freelance editor for independent authors. She provided invaluable developmental and line edits, feedback and constructive suggestions for improvement on reader engagement, structure, narrative voice and dialogue, pacing, plot, character development, suspense, and marketability, with a particular eye toward tightening the manuscript to a more commercially viable length.
My thanks also to Tatiana Villa at Vila Design for her creativity and talent in designing the cover of the book.
About the Author
John Wayne Falbey writes techno-political spy thrillers and adventure novels. His debut novel, Sleeping Dogs: The Awakening, has been endorsed by Compulsory Reads. He also is the author of The Quixotics, a tale of gunrunning, guerilla warfare, and treachery in the Caribbean. A native Floridian and former transactional attorney, Falbey is a real estate investor and developer in Southwest Florida. He invites you to visit him at www.sleepingdogs.biz.
Connect with the author online:
https://Twitter.com/jwfalbey
https://www.facebook.com/wayne.falbey
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