I’m pregnant.

I’m in the last trimester of the birthing of The God Particle. And even though this is not a biological condition, I still can’t see my toes.

I suppose that’s better addressed by diet…

The principle opening action and much of the theme of one of the plots of the book concerns Somali pirates who have gone high tech. (It’s only fiction… ‘til it happens.) A large part of the storyline is focused on defining and then effectively combating this new piracy.

Pirates were the biggest problem the world faced two hundred years ago. Thomas Jefferson, in his 1801 State of the Union speech, assured America that everything was fine, that we were at peace everywhere in the world — save the Barbary Coast.

He was referring to the fact that the Barbary Coast pirates, who had, up until 1801, been happy to receive a stipend of $25,000 a year to NOT board and plunder American flagged ships, had upped the ante. They had gone high tech, too — better boats, faster boats, and they felt that, because they could flex more of a threat, that the price for protection against that threat should also go up.

Jefferson was having none of it. So, he calmly told the American people in the State of the Union address that the unrealistic demands of the pirates had left him but one answer. He create the Marines, he put them on boats, and said, “Go kill those guys.”

…to the shores of Tripoli

It’s embedded in the Marine Corp hymn, but it’s also testimony to the fact that one of the greatest fighting forces on earth, that played a huge role in defeating the Empire of Japan, and has been a top echelon military fighting force, had its birth in the eradication of pirates.

I could use a few Marines to help me find the a-hole who’s figured out how to pirate my book, and I would imagine, the work of even bigger authors. ‘

Semper Fi!