From mountain caves in Pakistan, Osama schemes to rally the Islamic world in cataclysmic jihad. He plans to kill a million occupants on densely populated Mauritius, a quiet island paradise in the Indian Ocean. His weapons? War gases from stocks in Central Asia; germs; conventional explosives. This varied arsenal to be coordinated in a massive terroristic strike.

At Huntsville, Alabama, NASA engineer Lance Shepard develops a unique diving helmet based on his study of hammerhead sharks. Forces in the federal government coerce him to make his technology available to U.S. Navy SEALS. As accidents in the Indian Ocean inadvertently begin revealing the outlines of Osama's plans, the SEALs get involved.

The presence of dangerous pathogens draws attention from the Centers for Disease Controls. Enter Amy Matsumoto, a capable CDC microbiologist who loves working in the field and has had experience in Islamic countries. Dangerous weapons are being stockpiled in readiness for hell to break loose. Only the terrorists know what's being planned, but individuals selected for martyrdom see only their part in the program. No one knows the full story. No one can comprehend what's being planned. Not the CIA. Not the US Navy.

On Mauritius, Nicolette Lamoreux, a Franco-Indian hotelier, is trying to expand her modest hotel empire and operate her drug business at the same time. Her bartender stumbles on the building arsenalÑand dies. The grand vision for the impending calamity comes from Osama, and he takes instructions directly from God. Only...sometimes the communication is confusing. And sometimes, it appears that God might change direction after the train is on the track.

Osama takes direction from Allah. Lance draws support from Tennyson. Amy looks to a dead Japanese microbiologist for inspiration. Niki gets help from bhang. On unsuspecting Mauritius, waves are lapping gently at the beaches.

Walt Roberts, newly-appointed professor of Central Asian Studies, is about to embark on another trip to China, but this time, the focus will be on not only the Silk Road but also include the eastern portion of the web of trading routes. What will he, Tara, his girlfriend, and his group of six students encounter along the way? The Ten Thousand Things is the story of their journey.

Walt's mismatched group of amateur intelligence gatherers added a tiny fragment to the accumulating evidence of Chinese capabilities. His experience barely touches on this field which, increasingly, is in the daily news. But why say more?

The author, Brooks Tenney, a former engineer with Chance Vought Aircraft, GE, and Xerox, was Project Engineer for the Tektite Program (NASA, US Navy, Dept. of Interior). After designing an undersea habitat, he lived underwater for two weeks with an international team; later receiving the Navy's Meritourious Public Service Citation. Today he writes for a newspaper in upstate New York. His two recent novels are Killing Mauritius, describing fundamentalist terrorism, and New Silk Road, dealing with Central Asia's drug traffic.

Walt Roberts, newly-appointed professor of Central Asian Studies, is about to embark on another trip to China, but this time, the focus will be on not only the Silk Road but also include the eastern portion of the web of trading routes. What will he, Tara, his girlfriend, and his group of six students encounter along the way? The Ten Thousand Things is the story of their journey.

Walt's mismatched group of amateur intelligence gatherers added a tiny fragment to the accumulating evidence of Chinese capabilities. His experience barely touches on this field which, increasingly, is in the daily news. But why say more?

The author, Brooks Tenney, a former engineer with Chance Vought Aircraft, GE, and Xerox, was Project Engineer for the Tektite Program (NASA, US Navy, Dept. of Interior). After designing an undersea habitat, he lived underwater for two weeks with an international team; later receiving the Navy's Meritourious Public Service Citation. Today he writes for a newspaper in upstate New York. His two recent novels are Killing Mauritius, describing fundamentalist terrorism, and New Silk Road, dealing with Central Asia's drug traffic.

In the failed East African state of Somalia, piracy has become a dominant factor in the economy. Bordering one of the world's busiest waterways—with steady traffic coming and going through the Suez Canal—Somalia's north shore, once famed as the “Incense Coast,” provides a dependable parade of suitable victims. Maritime nations have powerful naval contingents in the region; but, lacking legal justification for preemptive action, they are paralyzed and ineffective.

News media are hungry for stories and photographs of pirates, and Jitka Malecek, a freelance photographer with prior experience in East Africa, has a plan for obtaining them. Somalia acts as a magnet for her, drawing the aggressive young photographer inexorably into the action.

Commander Vance Morrisette of the U.S. Navy, a former SEAL, has worked in the region before. Morrisette is given a covert assignment to join a civilian security firm, providing protection against piracy. These contractors are constrained to employ nonlethal techniques against heavily armed pirates who have no such restrictions. Chafing under rules of engagement that handcuff law-abiding nations, Morrisette contemplates more violent alternatives. When Jitka Malecek disappears into lawless Somalia, he must take matters into his own hands and track her down before her time and luck run out.

In the failed East African state of Somalia, piracy has become a dominant factor in the economy. Bordering one of the world's busiest waterways—with steady traffic coming and going through the Suez Canal—Somalia's north shore, once famed as the “Incense Coast,” provides a dependable parade of suitable victims. Maritime nations have powerful naval contingents in the region; but, lacking legal justification for preemptive action, they are paralyzed and ineffective.

News media are hungry for stories and photographs of pirates, and Jitka Malecek, a freelance photographer with prior experience in East Africa, has a plan for obtaining them. Somalia acts as a magnet for her, drawing the aggressive young photographer inexorably into the action.

Commander Vance Morrisette of the U.S. Navy, a former SEAL, has worked in the region before. Morrisette is given a covert assignment to join a civilian security firm, providing protection against piracy. These contractors are constrained to employ nonlethal techniques against heavily armed pirates who have no such restrictions. Chafing under rules of engagement that handcuff law-abiding nations, Morrisette contemplates more violent alternatives. When Jitka Malecek disappears into lawless Somalia, he must take matters into his own hands and track her down before her time and luck run out.

A Russian-born scientist working for a pharmacological laboratory in Montreal discovers, on his own time, a new molecule which he is sure represents a cure for cancer. As an employee of the laboratory he is not in a position to exploit his discovery for himself. Before he finds a way to do so he is murdered in cold blood by gunshot one night in the parking lot after leaving his office. Who murdered him and who eventually ends up owning the secret formula makes interesting and provocative reading. Will there be even more murders to protect the secret?

The third book in the "Man on the Scene" series, Slippery Escarpment, takes the reader on yet more exciting adventures and discoveries to various locations around the globe.

This is the story of Brennan Mór Chief of the Brennan Clan - set in 17th century Ireland. Tragedy and suffering was commonplace and the old Gaelic order was being replaced by the New English System of Administration. One feudal form of landlord was being replaced by another.

Forced through hunger and privation the Chief and his followers trespassed on forbidden ground and were outlawed. Their only recourse was to turn to pillage and plunder. One of the chief's sons Conal raped the Squires daughter the beautiful Jane Bowyer and as a result a child was born. Hidden away in a convent in France the boy was brought up and educated in the manner befitting a gentleman, unaware of his illegitimate background. Now by chance the young lawyer met up with his fugitive father on a business trip to Paris, and the long held secret was revealed. Faced with difficult decision whether to acknowledge his true identity or go on with the masquerade he choose the latter.

The story tells of his woes and fears, his indecision and his courage. A dilemma that blighted his life and ended in tragedy on Lake Geneva.

This is a story of Africa, shown at its most cruelest and tender moments. It is a story of violence set against the breathtaking beauty of the land, where cicades sing their interminable song and elephants gambol in a mud hole.

It is a story of vengeance and endurance. It is not a story of Black against White, but of the resistance to the winds of change; the drawing in an empires and the global trend towards righting past wrongs. It is a conflict where Sergeant Wilson and his men fight a war they know they cannot win, but they fight it anyways, because it is their job.

Appalling events personalize the conflict into a brutal and unremitting contest to the death between Sergeant Wilson and the leader of a terrorist band, known as 'Chaka', the best men each side has to offer, Severely wounded and taken across the border for interrogation Sergeant Wilson is beyond pain.

Hopelessly in love, the beautiful Sally Ferguson arrives in the same country and with the aid of friends attempts to discover where Bob us being held, with the ill-conceived idea of affecting a rescue. She finds herself in a terrifying situation. It is also a story of love and passion, where a frightened woman kills and finally gives her life for the man she loves.

The story is unremitting in its action and the saddest thing about it is that most of it could have happened. It is set in Nyanga, a make-believe country in Africa. But those who were there will know.

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Assignment Eire 1948 is a complete story in itself, it forms the 2nd volume of Jack and Tess's adventures. The year is 1948, and Ireland is the setting for this escapade. Ireland is still smarting from the partition, but after leaving the Commonwealth and striving to finally emerge as the tiger it is today, one might say that 1948 was Ireland's rebirth. If you can never get enough of that grand love affair with your Irish heritage, then you should add this thought provoking and stimulating story to your collection. In this submission Jack and Tess are New York City Police Officers and are ordered to Ireland, to join the Garda to stop the weapons for drugs exchange with the New York City underworld and a loyalist splinter group. They are innocently drawn into what is known as the troubles. This creates a handicap for them as they try to accomplish their mission. Tess's fondness for a garter belt holster, several life threatening shootouts, while being protected by a Seraph who must have smiled on their tender moments in a hay stack, invites one to follow along on their mission. In bringing this second volume to fruition I must thank the critic's who commended my former work. They have been more than kind, and for this I am profoundly grateful. I have tried to make it as interesting as possible for the Irish it was written for, and for those who wish they were Irish.

-Howard K. Storms

Vostok Station, the coldest recorded place on earth, a Russian research facility deep in Antarctica that sits on a dome of ice over 5000 feet deep. A place unique not just because of record cold temperatures but because of what lies beneath the ice, Lake Vostok, a fluid mass larger than Lake Ontario, nearly 2000 feet deep. Renegade Russian and Chinese scientists drill through the ice into the lake, discovering a secret that has been trapped there for millions of years. Compressed by trillions of tons of ice, the lake water is saturated in oxygen and explosive natural gasses. When exposed to low atmospheres, the water instantly boils into gas. Beneath that mix, the earth's crust, stretched by the huge mass of lake and ice, has laid bare the world's largest oil and gas reserve, held in check only by the weight above.

The discovery begins a chain of events that spiral into the biggest massing of military forces seen since the Second World War. And then the unthinkable happens. A blinding flash of light and an enormous electro magnetic pulse rips out from the northeast end of the lake, sealing off Vostok from the rest of the world. The Russians and Chinese blame the U.S.

The event triggers a military race to claim the ice. Amidst this, two brothers, Brian and Lance Hamilton find themselves dragged into the unfolding nightmare.

Colonel Brian Hamilton caught in the electro magnetic pulse, witnesses the annihilation of the Vostok research station from a cruise missile strike and the ignition of the wellhead that begins a count down to dooms day. His escape from the ice centre and pursuing Spetznaz forces enables him to warn the coalition of the approaching Armageddon.

With the entire Antarctic sealed off to the Australian and US forces, it is up to Squadron Leader Lance Hamilton to devise a strategy that will get him and his Pig, the venerable F111, close enough to extinguish the flame. The burning well head quickly creates a hole over four hundred meters wide which rapidly sinks towards the lake of oil and gas below.

"Within 72 hours, the ice will blow out and the lake will explode. Within minutes, the entire ice dome, over a thousand square kilometres of ice, 5000 feet thick, will collapse, throwing the contents of the lake tens of thousands of meters in the air. This is an extinction event. We will all either burn, suffocate, be killed by the resulting shockwave or drown in the biggest tsunami the earth has experienced since the last big meteor wiped out the dinosaurs. We have 72 hours to put the flame out or we are all very dead!" -Dr. Alexander Blake, RosenBridge Foundation.

In a growing conflict that debuts weaponry never utilized in battle before, the Russians, Chinese, Australian and US forces punch it out on the ice and Southern Ocean, each believing they are fighting the just cause. But for all of them, the ticking bomb at the end of the Earth threatens the extinction of all life. Brian and Lance Hamilton find themselves flung together in a desperate last minute attempt to avert a catastrophe of biblical proportions.

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A young man’s two-year adventure in Canada’s fabled land of the Klondike Gold Rush – to finance his studies. This challenge becomes as much a right of passage, as a means to an end. His office work at the Millewaye Construction Company does not fill his idle hours.

As he learns to cope with the extremes of temperature which frequently dip to 55+ below zero, he called upon to play many roles, wear many hats, in the little town of Whitehorse – for many a refuge from a shady past.

He enters into the life of this rugged community with youthful if unwise enthusiasm. He merges with a unique and varied cast of characters and becomes emotionally involved; yet while sometimes carried away by their excesses and tragedies, he always respects his obligations and struggles to maintain his dream.

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The Island Horse is a story about the summer adventures of two characters: Janna and Alex. Both Janna and Alex have just finished the fifth grade. Janna is vacationing with her Grandmother and Grandfather at the Inn (The Inn of the Weary Traveler) on "Lovely Island." Janna and Alex meet one morning when Alex encounters Janna while hiding in the Inn's barn.He is hiding there because he is a runaway from the summer camp his parents sent him to: Camp Acadamia. Alex is a very intelligent but difficult young boy. Janna is a very intelligent but sheltered young girl. Alex presents himself superior to all others because of his high IQ and greater knowledge. This mode of presentation generates the story's conflict.

Janna's reaction to this conflict leads her to discover the existence of a legendary horse. The horse is legendary because it lives wild in the island and is rarely seen. Of course Alex challenges the veracity of this discovery and the chase is on to prove and/or disprove the reality of the legend.

On a deeper level this is a story of self-discovery for both Janna and Alex. In the process of discovering the horse and why the horse exists as it does they also discover certain qualities about themselves. Janna discovers that she has a heritage as deep as that claimed by Alex. As Alex discovers that the value of a person has more to do with what is unique about him or her rather than IQ or any specialized schooling. Alex discovers something very unique about himself.. Both children, in the process of adventure and tragedy, discover something very wonderful about the horse.

The Sound of Destiny is another adult fiction novel and the first of a trilogy which will stir up all readers' emotions. Jose Gray, the main character was a child prodigy. From his early childhood the piano was his only friend. He began performing in San Francisco as a child pianist and soon became known throughout the USA. Under the wings of Madame Franklyn he toured the capitals of America. His parents had perished in a fatal car crash, the first of several tragedies in jose's life. Jose Ôs Uncle Harris became his guardian and self appointed manager. Madame Franklyn insisted on Jose's tours so he can get over his parents' deaths. Jose Gray's fame and wealth grew and all in his uncle's total control. When Jose turned eighteen, he engaged a lawyer and accountant Mr. McGregor to replace his uncle. In his rage Harris forged Jose's signature to draft him into the army to hopefully end up in Vietnam. Patriotic Jose accepted the draft and the President assured him that his only mission would be to play and boost the army morale.

Jose's presence in Vietnam was discovered by the small female army commanded by a beautiful Eurasian girl. Her father was a French ex-officer and mother a Vietnamese beauty queen. She and her comrades played Jose's records on their clandestine station. Nicknamed Suang, by the North Vietnamese, she and her girls frustrated the Americans, so they gave her the title "Lady Tigress". She fought a personal war against the Americans because they had bombarded her home killing her parents and all the household staff.

When Jose Gray's mission as a pianist backfired he demanded active duty, to fly the troop carrier chopper for which he was trained before arriving in Vietnam. Jose's chopper was shot at and force landed into a shallow swamp and all were captured by the Lady Tigress' army. His capture is the beginning of the entwining of their lives leading to adventures in Vietnam and Australia and ultimately to tragedy.

I Can Always Sleep Tomorrow is a short story collection based on actual events experienced by the author. Settings include multiple locations in the United States and Canada as well as In Asia, Europe, and Africa. There are stories of adventure, romance, war, criminality, and more.

The author's short stories have appeared in many magazines and short story collections. The stories in this book have been featured in "The Villager"; "True Love"; "Heroes from Hackland"; "Aim, America's Intercultural Magazine"; "Vermont Ink"; "The Kit-Cat Review"; and "Potomac Review."