Today is character guest post day! We have Gregg Westwood of Gordon J. Campbell's new book, THE COURIER, with us today. Welcome, Gregg!
Spoiler alert: I’m going to write about recent incidents
resulting from employment by a US Government Agency, and it might reveal parts
of the novel titled The Courier.
A few months ago, I was comfortably living in Kawasaki
with my wife Miki, daughter Kou, and one self-important cat named Oliver. My
work as an executive with a medical device company was going well, and we were,
by most definitions, “happy.”
Things started down the rabbit hole when a private equity
firm acquired the medical device company I represented. The “hatchet men”
deployed to maximize the business in Asia were
brilliant, calculating, and cold human beings. They made me redundant at our
first meeting without hesitation. I found myself shocked and unemployed after
more than a decade of corporate success. (I built the multimillion-dollar
business in Japan,
Korea, and Southeast
Asia from zero.)
This setback left me shocked and suddenly wide open to new
career opportunities. Let me advise you about one thing learned from the recent
experiences. Should someone from a government intelligence agency offer you a
job and describe it as a working holiday, decline the offer politely and run
away as fast as you can.
My first assignment as a US Government Employee was to act
as a courier on a mission to Bangkok, Thailand.
It was not a simple exercise, as promised. In retrospect, no one could have
imagined the perfect storm of coincidence involving North Korean intrigue,
fentanyl distribution, the intervention of organized crime, and the combined
violent and deadly results of the mix.
(Let’s be transparent. I faced extreme violence in the form
of attacks demanding hand-to-hand combat, was targeted during firefights, and
our vehicle rolled and smashed into a concrete barrier after being forced off
the highway by an “unfriendly bad actor.” It got worse when my family was
threatened by characters who’d require little more than makeup to be
comfortable playing “the joker.”)
Our survival depended on luck, some innate defensive skills,
and help from well-trained friends. (Most of my supporting team are veterans of
American Special Forces units.) It’s
been a tough run for everyone, including the innocent bystanders pulled into
the fray. Our physical injuries have healed, but the post-traumatic stress
disorder resonates through everyone involved.
We no longer live in Japan.
I’m watching the snow blow across the road in front of our new home provided by
the US Government as I write this note. It’s frigid, but my family feels safe
living here. There are few demands on my time, allowing for personal reflection
on past experiences and the welcome hours of freedom to train and prepare for
the future.
Most days and evenings are spent in the gym weightlifting or
practicing mixed martial arts at the dojo. They’ve permitted me access to the
rifle range, where I’ve fired thousands of rounds perfecting my craft. (My
instructor considers me a natural marksman, but my forty-year-old eyesight is
holding me back from qualifying as a sniper.)
My new associates and I went head-to-head with some of the
cruelest and most ruthless people from criminal and terrorist organizations
around the world. We not only survived but persevered. We resisted and paid
back our tormentors with extreme prejudice.
It’s not over. The threat
remains constant, and we have some unfinished business to complete. The thugs
picked a fight with the wrong courier, and I’ll be ready the next time they
come around.
Inside the book
Title: The Courier
Author: Gordon J. Campbell
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 311
Genre: Thriller
Author: Gordon J. Campbell
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 311
Genre: Thriller
Gregg’s exploits start with what he thinks is a one-off assignment as a courier, and the straightforward task spirals out of control. He’s forced to rise to the occasion and use every resource available to survive. Even his family is jeopardized which forces him to return to Japan to settle scores.
The Courier is one man’s struggle to fight for survival in a world that he’s not been trained for and where violence and retribution are the names of the game.
Praise:
“The Bottom Line: One of the year’s best thrillers.”
–BestThrillers.com
“With such fine attention to detail in creating some amazing scenes, I give The Courier 4 out of 4 stars. Campbell creates an amazing and well-edited adventure that could even someday work on the big screen. Readers that enjoy action adventures or thrillers will likely enjoy this one as well.”
–Official review by Kendra M Parker, OnlineBookClub.org
“The Courier is an exciting ride from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down and wanted more when it finished.”
–Gyle Graham, entrepreneur and longtime Tokyo expatriate
“The Courier would transform well from a thriller novel to an action movie.”
–Michael Harrison, marketing expert and martial artist
cLICK BELOw TO ORDER YOUR COPY!
Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W89JND1?
meet the author
He’s presently working on the second novel of a series initiated with The Courier, and its protagonist, Gregg Westwood.
Gordon leans on his experiences built around decades working and traveling in Asia. He’s trained at several karate dojos, run full marathons, and skied black diamond hills in the Japanese Alps.
He played American football at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and started in the Canadian championship game known as the Vanier Cup. Gordon is a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity, Sinim Masonic Lodge, and the Tokyo Valley of the AASR.
When he’s not writing, working, attending one of his daughter’s vocal concerts, pumping iron, or at a lodge meeting, you’ll find him dining with his wife Mako at their favorite local bistro.