Image Nine

Here's the third cruise ship which helped to inspire the robbery of "The Lady Peacemaker."

It's the biggest cruise ship on the planet and just happened to be in Sydney on the same day as me. A very nice taxi driver tried to get me close enough for a photo, but due to rigid security, this was as close as we could get (which by coincidence is right across the street from the publisher of Project Apocalypse!). The cab driver even tried a quick loop of the taxi stand at the Sydney Opera House (which is just out of camera shot to the left of the photo). But the police had closed off every street in every direction (except this park across the harbour.)

First thing that popped into my head when I saw it was "gosh, it looks top-heavy!" So I figured it must have a lot of hidden mysteries below the waterline to provide counterweighting and stop it falling over sideways in the wind... not so, I discovered during follow-up research. The hull and levels below the waterline are therefore very similar to those described for "The Lady Peacemaker."

And since the arrival of the ship often brings each port city to a halt for many blocks, the second thing that popped into my head was "Hmmm... I wonder how you could smuggle everyone off a big ship like that without anybody noticing?"... and that's where the inspiration came from for *that* scene.

Image Ten

Q: Why didn't I publish this in the book as well?

A: My favourite english teacher once taught me that a picture is worth a thousand words, so an author who can describe a scene in less than a "picture" is worth their weight in gold. A good fast paced description is also one of the hardest things you can attempt as an author (and still have your readers understand what's going on), so I wanted to make sure I could do it without "cheating" ... Inside secret: I'm also lousy at drawing deckplans! :)

Image Eleven

Here's the harbour "pilot" coming aboard to pilot the cruise liner out through the shipping lanes.

It's standard procedure at every harbour around the world (according to a ship's captain that I was lucky enough to sit next to on a flight from Brisbane to Canberra while writing chapter three), but in Project Apocalypse, there are so many ships trying to leave the harbour after the disaster that the pilots have to be airlifted to each ship using military helicopters... well, in this story, anyway!

Image Twelve

My sons exploring Deck 11 of The Pacific Sky, alias "The Lady Peacemaker."

That's one of the main entertainment decks that you can see through the doorway (where the pool party is held in Project Apocalypse) Also note the louvres along the wall, which sucked at your clothes if you brushed against them. Deckplans showed these were air-conditioning vents, but a large mysterious "void" inside that wall (which was also directly under the jogging track) provided the inspiration for the hiding place for my 3 shipping containers full of $15 billion each.

Also note the sickeningly gorgeous weather and calm ocean... Have I mentioned it yet? I can't wait for this book to become an international bestseller... I'll charter the whole ship and have a book "launch" to out-do Harry Potter!