Adventure. That is the common theme of both my first novel, Bottled Lightning, and my second, Poontown. Although completely different genres, they are both based on real life pursuits leading to thrilling and sometimes dangerous events. I am very excited about finishing the first draft of Poontown, a novel based on more than twenty years of tarpon (or “poon,” as anglers call them) fly fishing experience, and have already started editing the manuscript. Once I’m done, the manuscript will be off to the real editor and I’ll be off to the real Poontown for the season.
Stay tuned! 🎣📚
~Mark
Read the official press release/pitch sheet here, or see below for the working synopsis.
Poon: a popular nickname among anglers for tarpon.
In a crowded field, only five teams, each consisting of an angler and a guide, have a shot at winning the prestigious Sabalo Cup, a tarpon fly fishing tournament held in a Florida Keys-like never-never land.
The top competitors include Olivia, a Native American and former exotic dancer turned psychologist competing for the first time in a tournament dominated by men, and Greg, a successful trial lawyer who loves her but is ambivalent about their future together.
The competition begins even before the shotgun start for the decades-old tournament as the teams prepare to do battle with the Silver King and each other.
Each angler has his or her own reasons for wanting to win the grueling five-day competition to prove that they are the best tarpon angler in the world. Along the way, they learn things about themselves that only passing through such a crucible can teach.
As the teams strive to outdo each other and themselves to be the best, the hallowed tournament, and indeed the entire tarpon fishery, fight to survive against multiple threats to paradise caused by overpopulation, environmental degradation, and challenges from animal rights activists wanting to shut all of the fishing down.
Cover art and more coming soon!
