The Greatest of These
Garret Cooper Series Book 1
by Greg Wendleton
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Roads to Redemption
Garret Cooper Series Book 2
Garret Cooper continues his search for Conrad Bishop and Jackie Ming throughout Central America in this, the second book in the Garret Cooper Series. While Garret and Fonda attempt to establish a new life on Maui, the threats posed by the dangerous fugitives continue to threaten their existence. Conrad finds himself embroiled in a feud and Jackie battles demons that continue to haunt him. Friends, both new and old, lend assistance to the manhunt as well as the efforts of many men to find a better path in life...their personal road to redemption.
Roads to Redemption
CHAPTER ONE
Our jet touched down at Kahului Airport, on Maui’s
north shore, a little behind schedule due to the
strong headwinds we were battling most of the way from
Dallas It was just after six o’clock on Monday evening,
March 29 My wife, Fonda, and I had left our former
hometown of San Antonio, Texas before the sun had
risen to make this long, but exciting journey
My name is Garret Cooper, and due to a bizarre
twist of fate, I had lost two jobs within a matter of days
My activities had also caused Fonda to lose most of her
clients as well But now we were starting a new life, one
filled with endless possibilities I had spent twenty-five
years working for a retail, consumer packaged goods
company, in the field of sales Fonda was an amazing
physical therapist who had been working freelance for
several years Oh yeah, my second job I had also been
“moonlighting” as a paid assassin for the past fifteen years
I had been “moonlighting” for a man I had only
known as Conrad, who I naively thought was running
an off-the-books, yet legitimate team, tasked with
neutralizing some of the worst abusers of human rights
in the world. My first mission had been in Venezuela
in May of 2006. I, along with Conrad and three other
members of his team, who I never met, eliminated a
cartel boss and four of his guests during a human slavery
auction. My target was a Russian, who we named Boris.
Also targeted were; a Brazilian billionaire, a Saudi oil
sheik and a Taiwanese crime boss. The Taiwanese man
had purchased the daughter of a sitting United States
senator at a similar auction the previous year. The senator,
and the Taiwanese crime syndicate, had hired Conrad to
take out this band of monsters.
After that mission, I had conducted a dozen more
solo operations, similar to the first one, over the following
fifteen years. I had managed to keep this second career a
secret from my wife until the day Conrad ordered me
to “neutralize”, let’s be honest, murder, my neighbor
and father figure, Chad Wilhite. I knew something was
terribly wrong at that point. Chad was a retired United
States Air Force Colonel, and the President of Wilhite
Logistical Consulting. His company had been awarded
a contract to move fifty-million doses of the new, singledose
COVID vaccine, from Chicago to Thailand, for the
United Nations Humanitarian Aid Committee. They
had purchased the doses, at a cost of one-billion dollars,
for distribution to underserved areas of Thailand, Laos
and Cambodia. Conrad, through a relationship with the
United Bamboo Gang, was going to sell the information,
so the UBG could pirate the shipment and sell it to the
highest bidder.
Conrad had reached out to a man known as The
Red Assassin, who was an operative of the UBG, based
on Taiwan. They were a ruthless gang, numbering around
ten-thousand men, who dealt in drugs, human trafficking,
prostitution and other crimes. Their leader, Mr. Hsu, had
authorized a payment of fifty-million dollars to Conrad
for the information about the shipment.
In order to gain the full knowledge required to pull
off the heist, Conrad and his other three mercenaries,
kidnapped Chad Wilhite, and his wife, Jamie. The
Wilhites had been vacationing on Maui. They were
abducted on a Monday evening, after dining at the Rock
and Brews Restaurant in Paia, near their lodging at The
Inn at Mama’s Fish House. The couple was held hostage
in an old shack outside of Hana for nearly forty-eight
hours. Chad had been beaten, and physical harm had
been threatened upon Jamie, unless Chad gave them the
final details of the shipment that they needed to achieve
their big payday.
I had flown to Maui as soon as Conrad directed me
into action, but not to kill Chad. Instead, I had confessed
my second career to my wife, Fonda, who was devastated
by my revelation. She ordered me to rescue the Wilhites,
or “don’t bother coming home”. Thanks to the help of an FBI
Special Agent, Jerry Presley, and the Captain of the Kula
Fire Station, Tommy Pang, we had located and rescued
the Wilhites from the abandoned shack outside of Hana.
Fortunately, by rescuing Chad, and of course Jamie, the
FBI was able to alert the United Nations of the planned
hijacking of the vaccine, and preventive measures had
been taken to safeguard the valuable product.
Only one captor was found at the scene of the
rescue outside of Hana, and he later died from food and
alcohol poisoning that he had inflicted upon himself.
Way too much Jose Cuervo and spoiled Poke had been
his undoing. The FBI and local police had located the
Wilhites rental car, still parked in the lot across from
Rock and Brews and were able to lift a clean finger print
they matched to one of two men photographed inside
the Kahului Airport who were preparing to fly back to
Dallas. They were not able to locate either man at the
addresses they cited on the fake identifications they had
been using. However, the FBI had learned that a meeting
between Conrad and his “three stooges” was scheduled
for Saturday, March 6, at Conrad’s rural Texas farm.
Conrad had been warned, by The Red Assassin, that
he was being misled by the FBI into thinking his entire
scheme was proceeding as planned. So, the two men
joined forces and made plans of their own. Conrad wired
his modest farm house to explode, ten minutes after the
scheduled reunion with his men, leaving no loose ends
behind. The FBI had deployed a HRT/SWAT team
to capture all the men, but the unexpected explosion
vaporized the structure and everyone inside. There were
only two men inside at the time. All three of Conrad’s
stooges were now dead.
Conrad and The Red Assassin had fled Texas earlier
that same day and entereded into Mexico at the Nuevo
Laredo border crossing. Conrad Bishop and Jackie Ming,
The Red Assassin, had driven Conrad’s black, 2018
Cadillac Escalade into Mexico and stopped at the home
of one of Conrad’s old friends, Manuel Garcia in a rural
area outside of Mexico City. They had spent two nights
in the company of Manuel, who fed them and kept them
hidden away. As a reward for his hospitality, Jackie Ming
had murdered him, while he slept. Jackie then rigged his
house to explode in a fiery ball of propane gas that had
leaked from his oven and mixed with a smoldering cigar.
The two fugitives, who were on the run from the
FBI and the UBG, had tied up all their loose ends, except
for one. Me. I was the last person alive who could directly
implicate Conrad Bishop as the brains behind the
scheme to sell the secreted information about the vaccine
shipment. I could also prove his involvement in multiple
killings for hire on foreign soil.
As for me, I was fired by my real employer. When
the news channels turned an FBI statement announcing
that the Wilhites and I were missing during an elaborate
ploy to flush out Conrad, into a story implicating the
three of us in an attempt to profit from the vaccine
shipment, I was summarily dismissed. The buzz of that
story lasted a couple of days and my employer didn’t wait
to learn the truth. Unfortunately, the backlash hit Fonda
as well. Most of her clients were easily manipulated by
the media, just like my employer, and cancelled scheduled
appointments, leaving Fonda with only a handful of loyal
clients.When I did return home, she welcomed me
back and we attempted to move forward. With no real
prospects for work and a shattered reputation, we decided
to sell our home and start fresh, in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii.
CHAPTER TWO
Fonda and I rose from our first-class seats, I’m not an
idiot, and prepared to disembark from the American
Airlines, Boeing jet Bidding the friendly and diligent
flight attendants aloha, we walked off the plane and up
the jetway, into the Kahului Airport terminal We each
made a quick pit stop to freshen up before we continued
on to the baggage claim area We had four pieces of
luggage that we needed to claim, so I procured one of the
carts that were available for rent We didn’t have to wait
very long since our luggage, like us, had received priority
handling on the flights from San Antonio and Dallas
We collected all four large suitcases and checked inside
the two pieces that also carried our locked handgun
cases Yes, we had filled out the appropriate paperwork
and declared their existence in our luggage
I texted my friend, Scott Crowley, when we had
landed and arranged to meet his wife, Leilani, and him,
just outside the terminal They had driven two cars to
Kahului from Lahaina to greet us One was their new
BMW 7 series sedan, painted a beautiful metallic silver
with plush leather interior. The other vehicle, was their
old BMW 7 series sedan. It was a 2017 model, painted a
charcoal gray. I had purchased the older model Beemer
when Scott had informed me of his new acquisition. It
was a win-win, since they didn’t need two sedans, and we
needed a vehicle. We had sold both of our cars on the
mainland instead of paying to ship them to Maui.
Because of COVID, we were still wearing face
masks and did not hug each other. Instead, I grabbed
Scott’s hand and shook it with abandon. I was glad to see
him and from the gleam in his eyes, I could tell he was
glad to see me as well. I then took Leilani’s had in both
of mine and bowed slightly, before saying, “It’s so good to
see you. Both of you. Please, let me introduce my better
half.” Reaching for Fonda’s hand, I grasped it and led her
to the forefront. “Scott, Leilani, this is Fonda. The best
thing that ever happened to me.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much
about both of you and appreciate everything you’ve done
for us.”
Leilani spoke before Scott could formulate a
response. “We are honored to meet you as well. Garret
has spoken so much about you, I feel like I already know
you. I’m looking forward to really getting to know you.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was going to say!” added
Scott.
We all laughed at his comment and began to load
the four pieces of luggage into the spacious trunk of
our newly acquired sedan. Scott and Leilani had made
a dinner reservation at Mama’s Fish House for seventhirty,
so we each settled into our respective sedans and
headed out of the airport and onto the Hana Highway,
for the short drive to Paia. Initially, we rode in silence
until Fonda spoke. “They weren’t really what I had
pictured.”
I asked her, “How’s that?”
“Well, Scott is pretty close to what I had envisioned,
but Leilani is absolutely beautiful!”
I laughed, then said, “Funny, that’s what people tell
me after they’ve met us for the first time.”
Fonda punched my right arm and we continued
the journey to Mama’s in silence. Passing through Paia, I
did not point out the Rock and Brews parking lot where
Chad and Jamie had been abducted. Some things are
better left unsaid. I followed Scott into the parking lot
and we parked in a remote area away from the majority
of the other vehicles. I allowed Fonda to take in the
moonlit night and the scenery that made this such a
special spot.
After a few moments, I said, “Shall we?”
“Oh, wow, yes, let’s catch up to Scott and Leilani.”
We took each other’s hand and strolled to the main
entrance of the restaurant. Fonda, spun around slowly,
taking in the scenery and the décor. I was so glad she was
enjoying this evening, so far. Much to my delight, Pat,
one of the managers of the property, saw me standing by
the hostess stand and walked over to greet our party.
“Mr. Cooper, I’m so pleased to see you again. We
have a special table for you with a beautiful, moon-lit
view of the cove.”
“Thank you, Pat. To be honest, I didn’t think I
would be back on Maui so soon. Please, let me introduce
you to my wife, Fonda.”
“It’s an honor to meet you Fonda. You and Mr.
Cooper will always be honored guests of Mama’s Fish
House.”
“Thank you, Pat. Garret told me of your kindness
when he was here last month. I am so happy to be here
tonight. This is such a beautiful spot; I can’t wait to try
the food.”
“Well then, let’s get you seated. Please follow me.”
“By the way, this is Scott and Leilani Crowley, dear
friends of ours from Lahaina.”
“Ah yes, I remember seeing you both before. It’s
good to have you back.”
Scott replied, “We love Mama’s Fish House, and
I’m sure we will have more reasons to visit in the future.”
We were seated at a round table and Fonda was
offered the prime seat, looking out the open-air window.
Leilani accepted the seat to Fonda’s left. Scott and I filled
in the spaces next to our wives.
Fonda whispered, “I can’t get over how pretty this is.
I grew up in the west Texas oil fields and never dreamed
I would be living in a place like this. Italy is the closest
place I can compare the beauty to.”
Leilani leaned closer to Fonda and replied, “Wait
until you see your first sunset at your new home. It will
take your breath away.”
Our waiter came to our table and greeted us,
offering to take cocktail orders as he placed tonight’s
menus before us. “We have a wonderful, fresh of course,
Ahi, that we can prepared broiled, charcoal grilled, or
pan seared. It would be served with a jasmine rice, fresh
grilled vegetables and our house salad.”
Scott asked for a wine list, and we deferred on
ordering cocktails. “We are celebrating tonight. To new
beginnings. Dinner is our treat tonight, so anything you
want, please don’t hold back.”
Fonda smiled and said, “That is very kind of you. I
will drink whatever wine you select.”
Scott chuckled and added, “I’m not much of a wine
guy, so, maybe, you could recommend something?”
Fonda accepted the wine list and spotted a
Cakebread Chardonnay and recommended they try
it. When the waiter returned with the Sommelier,
Scott accepted Fonda’s suggestion and a bottle of the
chardonnay was ordered. With a flourish, the Sommelier
bowed, acknowledging his approval and slipped away to
select the vintage. Meanwhile, the wait staff removed the
red wine glass and freshened our water glasses. Moments
later the wine steward returned and presented the bottle.
Being helpful, Fonda stated, “That looks lovely.”
With expert care and panache, the cork was
removed and placed on the table in front of Scott. Scott,
thinking quickly, said, “Please allow the ladies to give you
their opinion.”
The gentleman poured a small sample into Fonda
and Leilani’s glasses and the two ladies sipped the wine
and nodded their approval. With that, the four wine
glasses were filled and the Sommelier, placed the bottle
into an ice bucket and excused himself. “Enjoy your meal
and the excellent wine you selected.”
Scott raised his wine glass and offered a toast, “To
your arrival on Maui and to new beginnings!” We clinked
our glasses and repeated, “To new beginnings.”
The wine was excellent. The apple and peach notes
hit our tongues and was going to be great with the Ahi,
no matter how it was prepared. Scott took a second sip
and then set his glass down. “You know, I’m a Coke man
myself, but I could get used to this.”
Once again, we all laughed with Scott, and then
ordered dinner. We all chose the Ahi, Scott and I going
with the charbroiled preparation. Leilani chose the seared
and Fonda selected the broiled preparation. We ate our
house salads and shared tidbits about our past lives and
got to know one another. The ladies seemed to have
found a rhythm and were soon discussing decorating
ideas for our new home.
Scott, seizing the opportunity, said, “Since the ladies
are discussing decorating, I should bring you up-to-date
on the status of your house. It is coming along very nicely.”
I had fallen in love with a three-bedroom house
that Scott and Leilani owned in Kihei, on the west,
or southwest coast of Maui. With its unique shape,
sometimes it’s hard to say what coast you are on while
on Maui. It had been their home prior to building their
current home in Lahaina. It was being used as a shortterm
and vacation rental when Chad, Jamie and I stayed
there, sequestered by the FBI. The backyard lanai and the
sunset view had captured my heart.
After returning home and discussing our future
life on Maui, we had agreed to purchase the house from
Scott and Leilani. He was wanting to sell it. I think
Leilani would have been happy to move back into it,
but that wasn’t to be. So, when we sold our San Antonio
home, very quickly for more than asking, we decided
to take most of the proceeds and pair it with another
three-hundred-thousand dollars from my ‘other career’
earnings and pay cash for the house. We just needed to
wait until April 15, when we were scheduled to close on
the San Antonio house to conduct the transaction here.
There were several improvements and updates that I felt
would really make it a home. So, Scott had taken on the
role as general contractor for the updates.
“The tile flooring has been removed from the whole
house and the engineered hardwood has been installed. It
looks great! Both bathrooms are just about finished. The
workers just need to finish the grout and set the toilets.”
“Scott, we’re eating.” Leilani gently spoke to her
husband, but got her point across.
“Sorry. Well, those rooms will be done in another
few days. The kitchen has been gutted and the new,
larger sliding door has been installed. It really opens up
the house to the outdoors. The cabinets are in and the
appliances will be delivered within a week.”
“Wow, they have been really busy!”
“Yes, they have. It looks like they might need
another seven to ten days to wrap it all up. It will be the
best hundred grand you ever spent!”
Fonda said, “I can’t wait to see it.”
Leilani added, “And to start furnishing and
decorating it.”
“Well, we have reservations at a hotel in Kihei that
we can extend until all the work is done.”
“Nonsense,” said Scott, “you’ll stay with us. We have
plenty of room and we’d love to have you.”
Fonda replied, “We couldn’t…”
Leilani didn’t let Fonda finish her statement.
Looking into Fonda’s eyes and placing her right hand
upon Fonda’s arm, she said, “You must.”
It was settled. I called the hotel and explained our
situation and they graciously cancelled our reservation,
only charging us for the current night. It wasn’t an issue
since I had paid a one-night deposit when I made the
reservation. They already had the money for tonight.
Our meals were delivered and the Sommelier came
by and asked if we wanted another bottle of Cakebread
Chardonnay. Since we had to drive to Lahaina, we begged
off and enjoyed what was remaining in the bottle with
our exquisite Ahi. Scott accepted the check and paid for
our first meal together on Maui.
I was full of hope as we left Mama’s Fish House and
drove the forty miles to Lahaina.
24
CHAPTER THREE
Scott and Leilani’s home was beautifully illuminated
by professional lighting that accentuated the natural
appearing, native landscaping The clean lines of the
stucco and stone exterior stood as a strong backdrop to
the greenery and blooming floral accents A double door,
filled with frosted glass welcomed us into the interior of
their home As beautiful as the exterior was, the interior
was even more stunning A clear view from the front
door led to a twenty-foot set of wood and glass doors
that slid in sections, all the way to the wall Outside those
doors was an infinity pool and an ocean view
“My goodness, Scott, this is breathtaking!” I couldn’t
contain my appreciation for the workmanship and the
view
“Thank you We found this piece of property
about ten years ago and then had this home built to take
advantage of the view The sunsets here rival the ones
you’ll experience at your home ”
Leilani led us into the living room and invited us to
make ourselves comfortable Two eight-foot-long creamR
colored sofas faced each other, framed by the sliding doors.
A live-edge, monkey pod tree coffee table was centered
between the two sofas, and two rattan accent chairs with
floral printed cushions faced the ocean and pool view. It
looked like a spread from one of those design magazines.
I was sure Fonda was getting some great ideas. If we were
going to spend the next seven to ten days here, it was
going to cost me dearly.
Scott asked, “Can I get anybody a beverage? We
have water, Coke, Diet Coke and hard stuff to add to
those.” Fonda replied, “I’d really like some water.”
“Same for me,” I added.
Leilani stepped into the center of the room and
said, “I know it’s been a really long day and I’m sure you
would like to get some rest. Let me show you the house
and your suite.”
Surprised, I said, “Our suite?”
Scott answered as he returned from the kitchen
with our bottled water, “Yes, we built the home with
double master bedrooms. We wanted our visiting guests
to feel like they were at home.”
“That was great thinking Scott.”
“Every once in a while, I have a brain storm.” He
laughed at himself, then added, “Hey, let’s go get your
bags while Leilani shows Fonda the rest of the house.”
Scott and I walked out to the driveway and we
removed the four suitcases from our trunk and started
to pull them into the house. “This is truly an amazing
property Scott. Business has been good to you.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t all legally earned money. As you
know, I have a dark side, that has paid me better than the
real estate business has. But I learned a valuable lesson
from this last job. Not knowing who you are working for
and who it is impacting, just doesn’t cut it anymore.”
“I know what you mean. I’m not proud of what I
have done in the past, even though I know that most, if
not all of them, deserved exactly what they got.”
“Yeah, when you have a skill, it’s good to use it, for
the right purpose. For a higher calling, I guess.”
“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate what you
did for us. It has given us a new lease on life and the
freedom to chase our dreams.”
“Have you thought about my job offer, speaking of
chasing dreams?”
“I have, but I haven’t made a firm decision. Before
we left San Antonio, Fonda got pretty much on edge
because Conrad escaped before the FBI could snatch
him up. She gave me a mission that I need to follow
through on.”
“Oh. Can I ask what that mission is?”
“Track down Conrad Bishop and kill him.”
Scott didn’t say anything right away. He looked me
in the eyes and nodded his head, then said, “Leilani gave
me pretty much the same mission.”
“Are you serious?”
“I was an MP for eight years. That was my job when
I was shot and had my hip worked on at Tripler. That’s
where I met Leilani. I’ve kept my fingers busy tracking
law enforcement activity, while staying a few steps ahead
of them hacking security systems, banking and other
areas for clients.”
“So, dark web activity?”
“Exactly. I think I can help you track Bishop and
that Asian man, Jackie Ming.”
Without speaking another word, Scott extended
his right hand in front of him. I looked him in the eye,
grasped his proffered hand, gave it a firm squeeze and a
single shake. “Good to be partnered with you Scott.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Scott and I pulled the rolling bags into the house and
he locked the door securely behind us He pointed
down a hallway, to our right, that had a home office on
the left and a guest bedroom on the right At the end
of the hall, the door opened onto a spacious bedroom
with another glass sliding door that led to a private lanai
The lanai led to the pool and that magnificent view,
that was illuminated by additional professional lighting
and tonight’s full moon Beside the wall that hosted the
headboard and king-size bed was a cased opening that
led into the closet area and then into the bathroom It
was right out of a five-star resort A free-standing soaking
tub anchored the room with a large walk-in shower and
double vanities The toilet was tucked into a water closet,
providing privacy for those delicate matters
“Damn, Scott If this is your guest suite, I don’t
want to see the master suite How do you expect to ever
get your guests to leave?”
Scott put his hand on my shoulder and in all
sincerity said, “Garret, we only allow guests who we don’t
want to leave to stay in our home.”
I turned to face him, and COVID be damned, gave
him a giant man hug. “Thank you. I can’t begin to tell you
how much you have become a dear friend in such a short
period of time. It’s not because of what you have done for
us. It’s because of how you do it.”
“I have a lot of things to make up for, to tell the
truth. I want to be a man Leilani and my friends can be
proud of.”
At that, the ladies called out to us and then walked
into our suitee. Fonda stopped in her tracks as she took
in the guest suitee. “Leilani, oh my word, this is amazing.
I thought your master suitee was gorgeous, but…”
“Yes, by design, this suite is nicer than our bedroom.
We wanted our guests to feel pampered and have the
finest our property had to offer.”
Fonda walked over to me and fell into my arms and
began to cry. I held her tightly for a minute allowing her
to let it all out. After a bit, she stood back up to her full
height and looked at Scott and Leilani. “You two have
captured my heart. I will never forget your generosity and
your hospitality.”
Leilani replied, “You are most welcome. We will
leave you to unpack and make yourselves at home.
Anything you want or need, help yourself.” Then looking
directly at Fonda, she added, while rubbing her hands
Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I spent more than forty years in sales, first in the life insurance field and then a long career in food service sales. I never had formal training and was quite a poor English student. Way back in elementary school, I scored extremely low on the Ohio Basic Skills test for spelling. So, I am very thankful for spell check! I was afflicted by a rare eye malady, Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy, in November 2018, which has left me with very low vision. Since travel was a major part of my job and I could no longer drive, I retired in October of last year.
I had always harbored dreams of doing something creative and was an avid reader of mystery/action novels. So, I decided to test my imagination and started writing this past February. My typing skills, once very good, have been negatively impacted, so my brain gets ahead of my fingers and I have to do several rewrites. Regardless of the hindrance of poor vision, I am having a blast writing and am so humbled by the reviews that my first book has received. “Roads to Redemption” was released on July 16, 2021, and the early reviews and feedback have been equally encouraging.
Tell us something really interesting that's happened to you!
I selected this question because it actually answers several other potential questions. I was born on Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. My dad spent more than twenty years in the Air Force, so I’m what’s known as an Air Force brat. I loved growing up on bases and lived in Okinawa for three years. The best place we lived was on Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. I met Jan Merck, who would eventually become my wife, while she lived on Hickam AFB as well. We met at Radford High School, the alma mater of Bette Midler, in 1971. I claim she approached me while I was leaving cross country practice, but she denies the veracity of my claim.
Unfortunately, military life took us in different directions and after a few years of trying to stay in contact, we drifted apart. Thirty-five years after we last saw each other, Jan sent me a FaceBook message and friend request. It took me about half a heart beat to respond and in November we will celebrate our eleventh wedding anniversary. Together, we have four adult children, all of whom are married, and four grandsons. We are also dog lovers. After our wired-haired dachshund, Nic, passed we went in the opposite direction and now have an eighty pound labradoodle, Chief, who is the face of Loyal Pup Books.
What inspired you to write this book?
My best friend lives in San Antonio, Texas. His name is Steve Cooper, and he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it; no questions asked. So, I had an idea to create a character that would pay homage to his personality. When San Antonio experienced a freak snowstorm in February, I used that weather event and Steve’s persona to start writing.
I had an idea of where I was headed with the story, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to get there. With the COVID pandemic gripping the world and the release of several vaccines, I figured the United Nations would be looking for a way to help underdeveloped countries, and some criminal organizations would be looking for a way to take advantage.
That is where the premise for “The Greatest of These” and the Garret Cooper Series came from. Honestly, I changed directions, added characters, expanded the reach of certain characters, namely Scott Crowley, who is in reality a dear friend of mine, on an almost daily basis. My wife asked me if I had an outline that I was following and I had to confess that I didn’t. I was keeping notes so I could refer back to them for details, but I knew where I wanted to go, so I just let the words flow.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
If it’s okay, I’m going to answer this question and incorporate a few other questions into one. The most enjoyable thing I experienced writing both released books in the series, has been sharing what is in my head with friends, family and readers that have found their way to the series.
As I wrote and shared small sections with friends, I gained encouragement and confidence. So, I began asking if I could use their names and persona in my stories. Scott Crowley’s family was in the Coca-Cola business in Minnesota, so he always has a supply of Coke on hand. His personality is reflected in the character. Alex Ramirez was never in the Army or an undercover DEA agent, but he is a man of great character and powerfully built. Charles Ivory is a friend of great integrity and he allowed me to use his name and physical likeness as a key character.
Turning my friends into characters, whether using their actual names or a mash-up of their name has been a blast for me and provided great inspiration.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story? Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
I feel like I have the reigns of the story as opposed to the characters hijacking the story. Nearly all of my characters are flawed and battling some demons that haunt them. My title character is definitely a flawed man! While I want to create and develop strong characters that readers will feel strongly about, I want to weave them in and out of the stories. I believe this is part of the maturation process that will hopefully lead me to being a better writer, not just someone putting a bunch of words on paper.
The feedback I’ve received seems to indicate I’ve succeeded in my goal. They have mentioned the “interesting and well developed characters”, but more importantly that the story line caught their attention and kept them reading. Hearing and reading comments like, “a real page turner” and “I had to force myself to put the book down”, reinforce my belief.
Here is where my forty plus years in sales come into play! As a salesman, I was crafting stories every day. Why my product best meets your needs. Why are “The Greatest of These” and “Roads to Redemption” must reads? Both books are fast paced, page turners. They are set in the relevance of our current world situation and focus on the fact that while we are all flawed individuals, we can change. We can work together to overcome obstacles or bad choices that leave us in precarious positions. Not always can we extract ourselves from the holes we have dug, there are consequences for our actions, but if you strive to overcome your past you just might succeed.
Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
When I started writing “The Greatest of These” in late February 2021, I had five main characters in mind. Garret Cooper, Fonda, Chad Wilhite, Jamie Wilhite and Conrad Bishop. I had inklings of other characters that would be introduced, but I had no idea that Jackie Ming would become a character of how he would evolve. Likewise, Scott Crowley initially was going to be a character that was introduced and then forgotten. I’m so very glad that I changed my thought process on that!
After the initial start up, most of the characters come to me as I’m writing. How does a specific character fit into the story line? I prefer to insert the character into the story as opposed to writing the story to fit a character.
In a way, that is an advantage to being self-published. I can create and write what comes to me. If I need to pivot, I can pivot without running it past my editor. I have more freedom and certainly more flexibility. Don’t take me wrong; in this highly competitive field, I’d love to have a publisher. As you know there are millions of books available on Amazon and other sources and it is very difficult to break through. That is why I appreciate what you are doing for the writing community. I’m hopeful that the doors that you open will lead new readers to the Garret Cooper Series and my future stories.
Greg Wendleton is a resident of Overland Park, Kansas where he lives with his wife, Jan, and their Chocolate Labradoodle, Chief. Greg and Jan first met in Hawaii while attending Radford High School. Their fathers were both career Air Force NCOs. Life took them in different directions until they reunited thirty-five years later. They have four adult children, all of whom are married, and four amazing grandsons.
After more than forty years in food service sales, Greg retired due to a rare eye malady. Afflicted with Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy which left Greg unable to drive or travel alone, he discovered a new passion. Always harboring a desire to write, but lacking the time to dedicate to the craft, his recent life changes opened new doors.
“The Greatest of These”, an action/suspense novel introduces Garret Cooper, a flawed man who must overcome his own demons to rescue his father figure from imminent death. The author utilizes exotic settings, current events and a touch of self-deprecating humor to develop his characters and to create his stories.
“Roads to Redemption”, book two in the Garret Cooper series was released on July 16, 2021, and “Judgement”, book three in the series is slated for release in late 2021.
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