STEVE JACKOWSKI

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The opening to my next novel, The Swimmer

8/11/2019

5 Comments

 
Picture
Stroke.  Stroke.  Stroke.  Breathe right side.  

Stroke.  Stroke.  Stroke.  Breathe left side.  

Stroke.  Stroke. Stroke.


Mark Hamilton was swimming nude in Monterey Bay.  He’d left his clothes above the high tide line on Natural Bridges beach, gazed at the lights of Monterey and Pacific Grove across the Bay, and started swimming.   Having surfed almost every day over the past forty plus years, this seemed like an appropriate way to end his life.    

The water was a chilly 55 degrees.  He’d worn his surfing ear plugs and triathlon swim cap to eliminate the discomfort he felt in his ears when swimming in cold water.  Although this was a suicide, he wanted it to be painless.  In fact, he was relying on what he’d discovered years before when training for his first triathlon – he loved to swim.  It wasn’t just something you did when you lost your board, it was meditative.  Your body and breathing got into a rhythm and you could just empty your mind.  You could forget the pressures of the day and the sins of your life.  

Stroke.  Stroke.  Stroke.  Breathe right side.
  
If all went as planned, he’d last an hour, maybe a bit more.  But in an hour, he’d be well out to sea.  The tide was dropping so it would help him along.  He’d probably be two miles from shore.

Mark had studied the effects of hypothermia when he’d worked as a beach lifeguard during college, and revisited them the week before.  It usually took at least twenty to thirty minutes for the first effects to set in.  Once your body temperature drops below ninety-five degrees, you start to lose coordination. In an hour or so, he’d be so exhausted that he’d lose consciousness.  Then he’d drown.  His lifeless body would sink and maybe he’d be lunch for a passing shark.  He certainly hoped he wouldn’t wash up on a local beach and frighten some poor child.  No.  He would be far enough from shore that his body would never be found.

Stroke.  Stroke.  Stroke.  Breathe left side.   

And the swimming should help speed the process.  He’d burn much more energy swimming than just floating.  Exhaustion should overcome him soon. 
​ 
Mark paused in his swim.  He looked back at lights from the homes on West Cliff Drive, then east at the Wharf, the Boardwalk, the East Side and the power plant at Moss Landing.  It looked like he’d been swimming pretty straight.  

Rising up on a passing swell, he looked south and could still make out the lights of Monterey and Pacific Grove some twenty five miles away.  Mark double checked the position of the soon to be setting moon on his right side and began swimming again.  He knew this was the right thing to do. 

Stroke.  Stroke.  Stroke.  Breathe right side.​

5 Comments
Alice
8/11/2019 08:13:25 pm

well, quite dramatic. since Mark has never seen the lights from this place in the water b-4, i think he will change his mind & not want to end his life.
P.S. i usually do not purchase books, as i read to fast & cost me a fortune. however, since the library does not have your books, i did purchase The Shadow of God & The15th Juror. i am hooked...

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Steven jackowski link
8/11/2019 10:31:00 pm

The 15th Juror is a difficult book. I did my best with it but it was a cathartic experience for me after the jury trial and I needed to write it so I could finish The Misogynist. I think The Shadow of God is one of my better books - there are some interesting subtleties if you get past all the hang gliding (some readers have said it's too much). On the other hand, most everyone says that once past 80 pages or so, they can't put it down.

And, according to quite a few readers, while The Misogynist may not have the depth of the others, it's an exciting page turner with something to say.

Thanks for the kind words. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have about the books here or on Goodreads.

Steve

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Steve Jackowski link
8/11/2019 11:09:38 pm

Oh! You're the Alice I met at Norma Jean's, right? Let me know what you think about The Shadow of God and The 15th Juror. You might also be surprised at The Silicon Lathe - it was my first book. It started out as a memoir about my experiences in the Silicon Valley, but my attorney said I couldn't publish it - I'd be sued by the big names in the tech industry. So, I turned it into a novel. Everything that happens in the book actually happened though I changed the names of companies and individuals and mixed up what happened to whom. It was fun to write and is a good expose of live in Tech land.

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Steve Elliott
8/11/2019 10:26:39 pm

Being an avid swimmer for e last 40 years, this sounds intriguing.

Reply
Steven jackowski link
8/11/2019 10:44:15 pm

I hope so. Not to give anything away, but I originally planned to not have him survive. Then I spent a morning with the Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol and heard about some of their amazing rescues miles from shore in rough conditions (per the blog I did a couple weeks ago). After that, I researched the Coast Guard rescue.

Now, I've got to decide whether he lives or dies and try not to spend too much time on the rescue. The book is really about what drove him to this.

If you get a chance, read The Misogynist. It's a fun techno-thriller and a quick summer read.

Steve

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    Steve Jackowski

    Writer, extreme sports enthusiast, serial entrepreneur, technologist.

     
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