A Deep Thing by A. K. Smith

A Deep Thing by A. K. Smith

Dive into A Deep Thing
A Deep Thing by A.K. Smith is a high concept thriller–think The Da Vinci Code of the deep–that grabs you from the beginning and doesn’t let go. A roller coaster ride of romance, suspense, mystery and intrigue,  this page-turner surprises at every turn and offers a stunning ending you’ll never suspect.  I never heard of cenotes–magical underground caves in the Yucatan Peninsula so it was fascinating to learn about diving in these beautiful sinkholes. This book really packs a punch. It has everything from conspiracy theories to corporate greed and smart writing that doesn’t disappoint.
–Marilyn Baron, Author of Stumble Stones: A Novel

What was her husband hiding in the jungles of Mexico?

After a tragic diving accident that claimed her husband’s life and left her with a broken heart, young widow, Kendall Jackson discovers her husband had secrets.  Before his death, her husband arranged a diving expedition as a birthday gift for his son. Kendall persuades her estranged step-son to honor his father’s last wish. From the campus of Western Maryland College to the woods of Camp David and the caves of the Yucatán, Kendall and Ryder take a journey to discover what her husband worked so hard to hide, and to protect his treasured secrets from falling into the wrong hands. The choices they make will decide their fate and the future of others. Will they risk everything for the truth?  

Targeted Age Group:: Adult
Heat/Violence Level: Heat Level 3 – PG-13

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
My husband and I took a romantic trip to the Riviera Maya in the Yucatan and discovered cenotes. Cenotes are deep iridescent underwater caves with fresh water. Outside Puerto Morelos, Mexico there is a road called "Route De Cenotes", we hired a taxi driver to take us to explore this natural wonder. We drove back dirt roads ending up in the dense jungle. We walked back a dirt path to a beautiful hole in the ground. The water was luminescent, we were in awe of our surroundings. You can dive, snorkel and swim in these wonders of nature, and the setting was surreal. When we returned home I couldn't stop thinking about the cenotes. Why had I never heard of them? Why were they so secret and on private land? What if?

A Deep Thing, led me to cave diving, something I wasn't sure I would attempt to do. We returned to Riveria Maya halfway through my novel and dove the cenotes in Tulum. It was an incredible experience. Cenotes are a special gift from nature and need to be protected and treasured. My novel was born in the Yucatan.

How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
The characters in, A Deep Thing, all come from my imagination and my life experiences, they have bits and pieces of people I know or might have met but, they are all mixed up together, so there are no specific characters based on real people. Sometimes, I use last names of people I know (with their permission of course) to help me remember characters names, but they have nothing to do with that particular character.

Book Sample
Were they still following him? Tim Jackson scanned the canopy of the lush jungle as the damp and musty scent of the wild eased his anxiety. The birds chirped in rhythm with the incessant buzzing melody of the insects creating an organic symphony.

He turned his head slightly to the left. No, they weren’t out there yet, but eventually they would be. An acquisition of memories played in his mind as he rubbed a hand over the tightness in his chest.

“Tim, the boat is fixed, you ready?” Adam emerged in the light and held Tim’s gaze. “Everything fine?”
Tim stood, brushing a hand through his hair. “Yes, everything is fine. Is Colton ready to go?”
“Everyone’s ready.”

The chop hit hard, bouncing the thirty-four- foot Boston Whaler on the turquoise water for the first forty five minutes. As the boat entered the reef, it welcomed twenty minutes of a smooth ride and a race with a pod of playful dolphins. Their slick, pointy faces broke through the water with a smile, only to head downward in a rhythmic motion of up and down, daring the boat to follow. Colton and Adam, Tim’s dive buddies on many excursions, cheered the flippers on from the front of the bow. Sheer joy highlighted their facial features. Back in the open water, the chop returned, and the men settled in silence, taking in the vastness of the azure sea. Soon they reached Lighthouse Atoll, home of the Great Blue Hole in Belize.

Seen from above, the Great Blue Hole resembled a pupil, a large deep indigo circle surrounded by a ring of turquoise looking up as if beckoning to come closer. By boat, the almost perfectly circular reef with a diameter
of 980 ft. and a depth of over 480 ft. painted a different picture. The sideways viewpoint created a kaleidoscope of luminous variations of blue and green, but it was not the magical glow of water that intensified the moment, it was the overwhelming feeling it created—the energy in the air charged, as if the intensity of the color was a mysterious vortex.

“It never gets old—I’m a pixel on the screen.” Adam said. “Just look at it.”

Hundreds of shades of aquamarine color exploded in the vastness as far as you could see. Incredible beauty surrounded them. They were anchored now inside the reef in calm waters. Tim stopped writing in his logbook, captivated as always by this wonder of nature.

“You know, 10,000 years ago it was above ground, a limestone cavern, a cave at the center of a tunnel. The ceiling collapsed, and now it is an undersea mountain.”

Tim spoke softly clutching the dive book. He pulled in then slowly released a deep breath, staring at the sea. “It is amazing, in the scheme of it all. We are just a ripple in the water.”

He placed the dive book carefully in his bag and picked up his scuba equipment.
Adam and Colton joined him adjusting their gear.

Their excitement was contagious. “You ready? Let’s do this!”

The dive in the Blue Hole was the first of three dives for the day, this one ten minutes long at 140 feet.

Three divers plopped into the water. Only two would surface.

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