by P J Skinner
‘Keep the hospital clean,’ said Sam.
Ezekiel had cleaned the jeep in her honour and they drove through town to the airport with Hans and Jacques in the back. Sam waved and touched hands momentarily with people in the street, but Ezekiel did not stop. They pulled up to the scruffy airport building in the battered jeep. A dog lounging on the warm mud outside the door moved out of the way with ill-concealed annoyance.
Ezekiel jumped out of the vehicle and took Sam’s bag out of the back. He grunted as he heaved it through the door and into the loading area at the back of the building.
Sam slid off the seat and landed in a puddle almost falling over. Hans and Jacques pretended they hadn’t noticed and fought their way through some leaving clichés.
‘Been a pleasure working with you,’ said Hans.
‘Let’s do it again sometime,’ said Jacques.
‘Come here,’ said Sam, and grabbed Jacques in a hug. He did not object or freeze, hugging her back with genuine warmth. Hans waited, looking at his boots. He offered her his hand when it was his turn. Sam shook his hand but pulled him in close before he could release his grip. Standing on tip toe she whispered in his ear. ‘You held my life in your hands. I’ll never forget it. Thank you.’
Han straightened and gulped, his big Adam’s apple like a lift too big for its shaft.
‘It was an honour to work with you,’ he said, his voice breaking.
Afraid she would cry, Sam headed for the airport door. A synchronised crunch of gravel alerted her to their action, and she risked a glance over her shoulder. They were standing at attention in full military salute. She dropped her rucksack on the floor and gave them a shy salute back, then she walked through the airport where the staff stamped her passport with ceremony.
Mad Mark, the pilot, waited at the battered metal roll-up door leading to the runway, her suitcase at his feet.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said. ‘Time’s a wasting.’
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Other Books in the Series
Fool’s Gold - Book 1
Newly qualified geologist Sam Harris is a woman in a man's world - overlooked, underpaid but resilient and passionate. Desperate for her first job, and nursing a broken heart, she accepts an offer from notorious entrepreneur Mike Morton, to search for gold deposits in the remote rainforests of Sierramar. With the help of nutty local heiress, Gloria Sanchez, she soon settles into life in Calderon, the capital. But when she accidentally uncovers a long-lost clue to a treasure buried deep within the jungle, her journey really begins.
Teaming up with geologist Wilson Ortega, historian Alfredo Vargas and the mysterious Don Moises, they venture through the jungle, where she lurches between excitement and insecurity. Yet there is a far graver threat looming; Mike and Gloria discover that one of the members of the expedition is plotting to seize the fortune for himself and is willing to do anything to get it. Can Sam survive and find the treasure or will her first adventure be her last?
The first book in the Sam Harris Series sets the scene for the career of an unwilling heroine, whose bravery and resourcefulness are needed to navigate a series of adventures set in remote sites in Africa and South America.
Based on the real-life adventures of the author, the settings and characters are given an authenticity that will connect with readers who enjoy adventure fiction and mysteries set in remote settings with realistic scenarios. Set in the late 1980's themes such as women working in formerly male domains, and what constitutes a normal existence, are examined and developed in the context of Sam's constant ability to find herself in the middle of an adventure or mystery. Sam's home life provides a contrast to her adventures and feeds her need to escape. Her attachment to an unsuitable boyfriend is the thread running through her romantic life, and her attempts to break free of it provide another side to her character.
Connect with the Author
If you would like updates on the latest in the Sam Harris Series or to contact the author with your questions please click on the following links:
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About the Author
The author has spent 30 years working as an exploration geologist managing remote sites and doing due diligence of projects in more than thirty countries. During this time, she has been collecting tall tales and real-life experiences which inspired her to write the Sam Harris Series chronicling the adventures of a female geologist as a pioneer in a hitherto exclusively male world. PJ has worked in various countries in South America and Africa in remote, strange and often dangerous places and loved every minute of it despite encountering her fair share of misogyny and other perils. She is now writing these fact-based adventure books from the relative safety of London but still travels all over the world collecting data for her writing.
The Sam Harris Series will appeal to lovers of action adventure and has a unique viewpoint provided by Sam, a female interloper in a male world, as she struggles with alien cultures and failed relationships. The first book in the series, Fool’s Gold is Permafree at your favourite retailer. Hitler’s Finger, book two in the series was published in March 2018 and book three, The Star of Simbako in July of 2018.
The author is also working on two other new books, one of which, Rebel Green, is based on her childhood in Ireland.
