The Protector

Tonight I’m going to go see The Protector with Tony Jaa. Of course, I have to go see this movie. I love watching the trailer—not only because I’m a martial arts fan, but because I love hearing the announcer guy say “The Protector.”

I was a bit shocked the very first time I saw/heard it. Even my husband turned to me and said “hey, isn’t that your book?”

Sure is :-)

When I started writing THE PROTECTOR, there was only one other book available on amazon.com with the same title, the David Morrell thriller I do want to read at some point.

Morrell’s action hero is an ex-Delta Force operator, now in the protection business. He works for Global Protection Services.

To understand how bothered I was by the similarities you need to know that the original Mason was an ex-Army Ranger in the protection business, working for an outfit very much like Global Protection Services. Not only had I set my sights on the same title (which is perfectly okay), but I had a similar set-up and that I didn’t like at all.

I made some changes. For one thing, I didn’t think I could carry a thriller-series. I like reading them; I’m not confident enough to write them (yet). For another, I totally fell in love with Guam as a location (don’t ask me why; Guam is a pain in the ass to research). But Guam isn’t really a hotbed for people important enough to ask for bodyguards and protection from evil villains. Tumon Bay might be Guam’s flashy, over-commercialized equivalent to Miami Beach, but it’s nowhere near as metropolitan.

So today’s Mason is still an ex-Army Ranger, but his personal protection days are mostly behind him. There are plenty of other ways for him to attract trouble.