By Richard McCann
rmccann@decaturdaily.com· 340-2452

The usual admonition to beginning writers is, “Write about what you know.” Former Decatur resident Stanley K. Smith is an Alabama attorney, Canada hunting guide and firearms instructor and he has used that background to write a suspenseful adventure novel set in the Alaskan wilderness.

His story is a variation on a familiar theme: Bad guys grab the girl, hero rushes to the rescue and snatches her away. As the bad guys pursue, the couple fall madly in love, but get cold feet because they lead lives that are so far apart — geographically and socially. But by the time the bad guys get their due, love triumphs.

Author Smith’s damsel in distress is actress Holly Allen. She has Meryl Streep-caliber talent but is too drop-dead beautiful to get many serious film parts. While she has settled into acting in television roles in America, she is highly popular with movie fans in Sri Lanka.

A wealthy Sri Lankan businessman planning to run for the presidency of his country plots to make Holly his bride to enhance his popularity. When following the usual path of wooing fails, he plots to kidnap her and force her to pose as his wife.

The hired abductors’ plane crashes on an Alaskan glacier. Birmingham lawyer and Alaska hunting guide Ab Bailey sees the plane in distress, and after watching it go down, makes a risky climb to the icy crash site to look for survivors.

At the wrecked plane, Bailey finds his interference is not welcome. A skilled gun handler and marksman, he wins a quick confrontation with a pair of gunmen and he and the slightly injured Holly begin their ordeal on the run. Dodging bears and bullets, the couple rely on Ab’s keen outdoor and firearms skills to stay a few steps ahead of the remaining kidnappers as one-by-one the pursuers make fatal mistakes.

Part romance and part thriller, Smith’s story is well imagined and the narrative is well written. The story moves at a good pace, holding the reader’s interest.

The dialogue could use some polish and Smith would have benefited from a good copy editor, but such is not unusual with self-published works. Few readers who are not professional editors will notice.

A major publisher would do well to take a look at the book. It would work well as a film or TV movie.

The novel is available online at www.authorhouse.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Email This Page