Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Character Guest Post: Gregg Westwood of Gordon J. Campbell's THE COURIER



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

An expatriate businessman, Gregg Westwood, leaves the Officers’ Club at an American Air Base in Japan unaware about the impression he’s made on two intelligence agents. They sized him up as someone with potential for strategic deployment, and more importantly, he’s under the radar.
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


Gordon Campbell is a Winnipeg born Canadian who’s spent most of his life in Japan. He’s worked as an English teacher, a market entry consultant with a focus on the medical and sporting goods industries, and as a sales director for a corporation with multiple product lines.

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.

website & Social links

Website → https://www.gordonjcampbell.com/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/gordonjcampbellauthor/

Twitter → https://twitter.com/GcampbellGordon

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