Today’s special guest is thriller author Piper Bayard to chat about The Caiman of Iquitos.
Bio:
Piper Bayard is an author and a recovering attorney with a college degree or two. She is also a dancer, a potter, and a former hospice volunteer. She has been working daily with her good friend Jay Holmes for over a decade, learning about foreign affairs, espionage history, and field techniques for the purpose of writing espionage fiction and nonfiction.
Jay Holmes is a fifty-year veteran of military and intelligence field operations with experience spanning from the Cold War fight against the Soviets, the East Germans, and the various terrorist organizations they sponsored to the present Global War on Terror. He is unwilling to admit to much more than that. Piper is the public face of their partnership.
Together, Bayard & Holmes author nonfiction articles and books on espionage, history, and foreign affairs, as well as fictional international spy thrillers.
When they aren’t writing or, in Jay’s case, busy with “other work,” Piper and Jay are enjoying time with their families, hiking, exploring back roads of America, talking foreign affairs, laughing at their own rude jokes until the wee hours, and questing for the perfect chocolate cake recipe.
Welcome, Piper. Please tell us about your current release.
The Caiman of Iquitos is our second full-length novel in our Apex Predator series. In it, retired CIA officer John Viera and his network of former military and intelligence operatives must hunt down and neutralize an enemy agent before he can deliver First World nuclear technology to a billionaire cartel.
John Viera is doing his best to lead a “normal” life and start a family, but Fate has other ideas.
When a Russian ship is mysteriously torpedoed off the coast of Peru, untracked enriched uranium is revealed within its cargo. Protecting his family’s multi-billion-dollar business interests, the US president blocks agency investigations into the incident. Top intelligence officials covertly call in John Viera and his unofficial network of former operatives to uncover the new player on the nuclear chessboard. What they discover threatens the annihilation of the Western world.
From the jungles of the Amazon to the Sea of Japan, John and his network are the only ones who stand between international security and the Caiman of Iquitos.
What inspired you to write this book?
Current global dynamics inspired Holmes and I to write this book, and it appears to be timely. The Wall Street Journal just published an article this past weekend speculating on the likelihood that billionaires, corporations, and crime syndicates could soon have nuclear capabilities.
Excerpt from The Caiman of Iquitos:
Once they were a quarter mile away from the sinking ship, the old Russian sailor cut the engine. Heung and the others watched in awe, helpless as the vessel capsized in slow motion and disappeared beneath the waves.
A profound silence hung in the air. Heung swallowed hard, a stone in his stomach. His cargo was lost, sinking to the bottom of the ocean along with his bright future.
“What happened?” asked the short man. “A mine perhaps? I have heard that sometimes the old ones break loose from their moorings and float around the world.”
The old man shook his head. “It was torpedo.”
“Who would torpedo you?” Heung asked. “And why? They won’t recover any of this cargo.”
“I do not know.” The old man’s hard stare bored into Heung. “Perhaps you tell us.”
Heung’s heart turned to steel. He returned the stare. “How would I know? I am only a passenger.”
“A passenger to North Korea.” The old man glared. How much had he guessed?
The short man stood and took a pair of binoculars from his belt. He scanned the sea. “Look. Three men over there, swimming our way.”
The old man started the motor. “We will get them.”
The tall man in shock shook himself to life. “No. We can’t. I stocked this raft. We only have food and water for the four of us for three days.”
The four men fell silent, and the old man cut the engine. Even Puanya seemed to sense their heavy dilemma, curling even closer into Heung’s arms.
Heung assessed his situation. They were in a lifeboat, two freighter days from Lima. Who knew how long they would be at sea in the raft before they would be spotted? It could be hours, or it could be weeks. Three days of food and water for four men.
Rapid as a striking snake, Heung drew his NK Model 66 pistol from the back of his waistband and fired three shots, nailing each Russian sailor between the eyes. He tipped their bodies overboard, started the motor, and sat back down. Puanya whimpered, tail between her legs, and nosed underneath Heung’s thighs.
He scratched the spaniel behind the ears and then piloted the raft away. “Now, there are twelve days.” Heung checked the stars just peeking through the darkening night and set his course east at full throttle.
What exciting project are you working on next?
Holmes and I are currently drafting our next full-length novel in the Apex Predator series, The Cobra of Nainital.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
In 2004, my friend offered to help me get an insurance license. It was practical and worked well with my law degree. Upon reflection, though, I realized I could live forever and die happy without selling insurance, but I did not want to die without writing a book. So I began.
After learning my craft and writing my first published novel, Firelands, I asked my brother-from-another-mother Jay Holmes to write espionage thrillers with me. He surprised me by signing on, and we became Bayard & Holmes.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I would love to write full time; however, Holmes and I must indie publish for security reasons. Indie publishing requires me to spend much of my day networking, formatting, posting articles, creating covers and ads, and wrestling with online programs. I also throw pottery in my quest for balance. It gives me the instant artistic gratification that is missing from long term writing projects.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I write all first drafts longhand. It keeps me from editing before I have the story on the page.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Either a jockey or a female James Bond type. Since I’m 6’ tall, riding in the Kentucky Derby was a nonstarter, and injuries kept me from military service. So instead, I focused on my studies, remained open to opportunities, and ended up being blessed with Bond for my brother.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
We love you. We love interacting with you. We love entertaining your questions, and we will answer whatever we legally and ethically are able to answer. Please message us at the Contact link above, especially if you have that perfect chocolate cake recipe. Thank you.
Their book The Leopard of Cairo was excellent (especially singing to the weasel 🤣). Looking forward to Cisman!
Cheers