“I … never apologized,” Graham started. “For the way I behaved, back in Ah-Puch's tomb.”
Kotler smiled and shook his head. “No need, John. I understand completely. You weren't quite yourself.”
Graham huffed. “Perhaps not,” he said. “But long before I was exposed to the virus, I felt some … animosity toward you. I was jealous, of what you've accomplished. And for that, I'm truly sorry.”
“There's nothing to be sorry about, John. You're just as accomplished. I know that things didn't quite go like you wanted, with Xi'paal ‘ek Kaah. But the story is already circulating, and your name is right there, as prominent as the city itself. It's a good turn, I think.”
Graham chuckled. “Yes. Although most of the press tends to ask me what Henry Eagan thinks of all of this.”
Kotler grinned. “The boy who discovered the city? Well, what does he think? Have you talked to him?”
“Extensively,” Graham scowled. “He's considering a career in archaeology, and the university has assigned me as his mentor. I see him once a week, in my offices.”
Kotler laughed a bit at that. “Well, there are worse fates than nurturing a young person into the field,” he said.
“A few,” Graham said, raising his cane as a symbol of at least one potential “worse thing.”
“I'm very glad to see you're recovering.”
Graham nodded. “Thank you. And I hear that the Mexican government may allow us access to the site again. Though they're primarily interested in finding more samples of the Ah-Puch virus. I believe they regret their decision to destroy it.”
“That sounds about right,” Kotler said, picking up the note of irony in Graham's voice.
They chatted that way for some time, and eventually things wound down and Kotler walked Graham to a car, helping him inside. They made arrangements to connect again, and soon. Kotler was glad of it. He had never wanted the supposed rivalry that Graham felt. He genuinely liked and respected the man, even if he didn't always agree with him. It would be good to get past old animosities, and get to know each other as colleagues, maybe even as friends. Kotler had too few genuine friends, he had come to realize.
He turned, and across the way saw Denzel standing with his hands shoved into his coat pockets, watching the two of them. Kotler made his way to the agent.
“We keep ending up at funerals,” Denzel said.
“At least they aren't ours,” Kotler replied, smiling.
Denzel chuckled. “How are you holding up?”
“Good,” Kotler said. “I have my little side project keeping me busy again.”
Denzel nodded. “We have other cases, too. Are you … well, are you still interested?”
Kotler blinked. “Roland, of course! Why wouldn't I be interested?”
Denzel shook his head. “Before all this, I got the impression that you were kind of done with it all. I wasn't sure.”
Kotler considered this. “Yeah. That's true. But I'm not planning on going anywhere just yet. I've been thinking about it, and I've come to the conclusion that there are other aspects of my life I'd like to work on, to improve. But this … I can't imagine walking away from this right now. It feels like we're building something.”
Denzel agreed. “We are. And it's growing. I just invited Agent Hicks to join the team. I've also extended an invitation to Dr. Ludlum.”
Kotler was surprised. “Liz?”
“She was a big help,” Denzel said. “She has experience we can use. And she's already in law enforcement. That made things easier.”
Kotler smiled. “I think she's been looking for something like this, too,” he said. “She'll be a great addition to the team.”
“I've also reached out to Sarge,” Denzel said.
Kotler's eyes went wide. “You're … you're asking Sarge to join the FBI?”
Denzel actually laughed out loud. “Not even in his dreams,” he said. “But he was a big help during this, and I wanted him to get something out of it. I've put in a word for him and his men to be security contractors for the government. It's a good contract. It means watching their P's and Q's, but I think Sarge can handle that. It will mean some steady money, but it will also make him accessible if we ever need his services.”
Kotler laughed. “Sounds perfect,” he said.
They continued chatting as they walked away from the cemetery. Denzel offered Kotler a ride, which Kotler accepted. The two of them decided to make an evening of it, dropping into Hemingway's for drinks. They traded rounds, and stories, and by the end of the evening they had settled many of the world's problems. In principle, at least.
Kotler marveled at all of the things that had changed since he and Denzel had first met. From such a strange but simple beginning, Kotler could see that both of their lives had taken quite an extraordinary turn. They'd dealt with some of the worst the world had to offer, and by being clever and resourceful and maybe a little brave, they'd bested it.
So far, so good
Keep the Adventure Going!
Read the Next Dan Kotler Archaeological Thriller Now
★★★★★ “Half way through I was waiting for Harrison Ford to leap out of the pages!”
—Deanne, Review for The Coelho Medallion
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★★★★★ “Kevin has crashed onto the action-thriller scene as only an action-thriller author can: with provocative plot lines, unforgettable characters, and enough adrenaline to keep you awake all night.”
—Nick Thacker, author of Mark for Blood
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★★★★★ "Move over Daniel Silva, James Patterson, and Dan Brown."
—Chip Polk, Review for The Atlantis Riddle
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★★★★★ "Move Over Indiana Jones, there is a New Dr. in Town!”
—Cycletrash, Review for The Coelho Medallion
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★★★★★ “[Kevin Tumlinson] is what every writer should be—entertaining and thought-provoking.”
— Shana Tehan, Press Secretary, U.S. House of Representatives
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★★★★★ "I discovered Kevin Tumlinson from The Creative Penn podcast and immediately got his novel, Evergreen. I read it in like 3 seconds. It's the most fast-paced story I've encountered."
—R.D. Holland, Independent Reviewer
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★★★★★ "Comparison to Clive Cussler is a natural, though Tumlinson's 'Dan Kotler' is more like Dan Brown's Robert Langdon than Dirk Pitt."
—Amazon Review for The Coelho Medallion
FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE BOOK AT
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Stuff At The End Of The Book
I'll confess, I stole the idea behind this book.
The story of a boy discovering a lost Mayan city, tucked away and hidden in the jungles of Central America for centuries if not millennia, was taken right from the headlines. Young William Gadoury, at fifteen years old, really did manage to identify a lost Mayan city using Google Earth and some star charts. The city has been named K'aak Chi, which translates to “Mouth of Fire.” William named it himself, and I think it's as fitting as any name I could think of.
When I first started penning The Girl in the Mayan Tomb, though, I hadn't seen much about William's story, besides a few quick articles that were handed around the internet by a lot of excitable and sometimes skeptical people. So I was pleasantly surprised when a recent article came out, describing William's discovery and everything that followed, and it all felt very familiar. I took it as proof that I got the details right, even if I was making most of them up as I went along.
There really is something pretty cool about this story.
I think that, like me, a lot of people thought this idea of a young kid outpacing contemporary archaeology, and making a truly incredible discovery while likely wearing a comic book-themed T-shirt and listening to pop music in his bedroom, was just fantastic. It was something of a victory for the common man—a sort of confirmation
that there really aren't any limits on what we can do, with the right resources. And it was something that really appeals to me, personally, as an advocate (and participant) in the DIY, self-empowered independent author movement. I like anything that demonstrates just how far we can go under our own steam.
The story also highlights just how vital and important technology has become in our lives. It's more than just a way to share our opinions on Presidents and puppies. Our technology has become empowering. It has given us new and incredible abilities. It has opened up new perspectives, and allowed each of us the opportunity to explore the world around us in new and profound ways.
I recently read an article about the rise of the tech industry in Africa. There is, right at this moment, a growing movement of entrepreneurs, rising from impoverished areas of Africa, and empowered by mobile devices to do, have, and become anything they want. For the first time in the history of history, even the poorest on our planet can have access to information and resources once reserved only for the incredibly wealthy. And it is changing the very DNA of the world and our global culture. Hell, it's creating a global culture, which has never quite existed before.
That excites me to the point of bouncing on my heels. I can't even fathom what comes next, as we start hearing and seeing and experiencing the world through billions of newly empowered minds. Just … wow.
Now, I am a lowly thriller author. But I benefit from this rise in self-empowerment tech as well. Right at this moment, I am writing this (and indeed, have written most of what you just read) on an iPad. This one magical device allows me to not only put my words on the screen, but its always-on internet connection lets me sync my files from wherever I happen to be, so there's no danger of my work being lost. That's a big change from only a few years ago, when I had the first-generation iPad, and gave up on using it as a writing tool because I lost a day's work on a book, after the app crashed.
I hint at some of my feelings about the iPad in this book, as Kotler does some of his work in the jungles of Central America. His reasoning, of course, is my reasoning.
Aside from the iPad, I've taken inspiration from those rising minds in Africa as well. In September, while attending several back-to-back author conferences in three different states, I found that I was frequently without my laptop or iPad. Both were too bulky for carrying around comfortably, as I moved through the conference. And both were a hassle to keep up with as I was distracted by conversations with readers and other authors and industry professionals.
For a time I carried a shoulder bag slung across my body, but after a few hours of this my neck and shoulders rebelled. I left the bag in my hotel room, from that point forward.
For the rest of my time, then, I carried only my iPhone. And, as a sort of experiment, I decided I would work exclusively from my iPhone for the rest of the trip.
The results were incredible.
Not only was I able to write and edit on my phone, I could also produce my podcast, create book covers, convert my manuscripts and get them ready for publishing and distribution, and then even hit “publish” on those books, when I was ready. I could check sales, run marketing campaigns, communicate with my team, family, and friends, and basically do everything I would normally believe I needed a laptop to do. All from the palm of my hand.
All of that is interesting and fascinating (to me, at least), but the reason I'm rambling on about it is that it had a profound impact on this book. I wrote fully two thirds of this book on mobile technology, alternating between my iPhone and iPad, with only a few rounds in front of my laptop. And because of this, I was writing from more places, and more unique environments. I wrote and edited sections while in restaurants and cafes and coffee shops, which is far from unusual. But I wrote and edited other sections from boats, buses, and airplanes, grocery store lines, mountain hiking trails, and even while waiting in line at Disney World. Heck, I wrote at least a sentence or two while riding Spaceship Earth, just because inspiration had struck. And because it was a cool story, bro.
All of that had a profound impact on the flavor of this book.
I can see it, as I edit. I can feel undercurrents and eddies of it, as I go back through the whole thing. I know that within the genome of this book there are secret little twists and turns that aren't directly evident in the text, but that come through in the emotion and sensation and intrinsic feel of the story.
I love that. That's the texture an author dreams of. That's the flavor that every author is trying to add to his work.
As I write this, I'm entering into a brand-new year—2018 is a new set of opportunities for me and for my work. I've made a few decisions about the year, and how I'll approach my writing career. Nothing all that world-shaking, to most, but for me there are some big leaps ahead. And part of that is increasing my personal exposure to the world and the people in it, getting out from behind the glow of the laptop screen more often, getting into the pit and doing some honest digging, brushing the dust from the treasures I find there and translating them into the newest book. It's a pleasure.
Dan Kotler, Roland Denzel, and all the others have become very special to me. I think about them often. I see something in the world, and wonder what Kotler and Denzel would make of it. I read an article, and wonder if it might hint at Kotler's next adventure. I have conversations with friends and family and even strangers, and I can sometimes hear the words that would come out of Kotler's mouth. It's all very exciting, and all very important.
I hope you're enjoying these characters and these books as much as I am. I hope you've befriended the characters in that uniquely personal way that only writers and readers can share. I hope that, somehow, what I'm producing from my experiences and insights and ideas is giving you experiences and insights and ideas of your own, and that they are having a positive impact on your life.
That's why I write. That's why I do all of it.
This is far from the last Dan Kotler book. And I can't wait to see what comes next.
Here’s how to help me reach more readers
If you loved this book, you can help me reach more readers with just a few easy acts of kindness.
(1) REVIEW THIS BOOK
Leaving a review for this book is a great way to help other readers find it. Just go to the site where you bought the book, search for the title, and leave a review. It really helps, and I really appreciate it!
(2) SUBSCRIBE TO MY EMAIL LIST
I regularly write a special email to the people on my list, just keeping everyone up to date on what I'm working on. When I announce new book releases, giveaways, or anything else, the people on my list hear about it first. Sometimes, there are special deals I'll only give to my list, so it's worth being a part of the crowd.
Join the conversation and get a free ebook, just for signing up! Visit https://www.kevintumlinson.com/joinme.
(3) TELL YOUR FRIENDS
Word of mouth is still the best marketing there is, so I would greatly appreciate it if you'd tell your friends and family about this book, and the others I've written.
You can find a comprehensive list of all of my books at http://kevintumlinson.com/books.
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Thanks so much for your help. And thanks for reading!
About the Author
Kevin Tumlinson is an award-winning and bestselling novelist, living in Texas and working in random coffee shops, cafés, and hotel lobbies worldwide. His debut thriller, The Coelho Medallion, was a 2016 Shelf Notable Indie award winner.
Kevin grew up in Wild Peach, Texas, where he was raised by his grandparents and given a healthy respect for story telling. He often found himself in trouble in school for writing stories instead of doing his actual assignments.
Kevin's love for history, archaeology, and science has been a tremendous source of material for his writing, feeding his fiction and giving him just the excuse he needs to read the next article, biography, or research paper.
Connect with Kevin:
kevintumlinson.co
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[email protected]
Also by Kevin Tumlinson
Dan Kotler
The Brass Hall - A Dan Kotler Story
The Coelho Medallion
The Atlantis Riddle
The Devil's Interval
The Girl in the Mayan Tomb
Citadel
Citadel: First Colony
Citadel: Paths in Darkness
Citadel: Children of Light
Citadel: The Value of War
Colony Girl: A Citadel Universe Story
Sawyer Jackson
Sawyer Jackson and the Long Land
Sawyer Jackson and the Shadow Strait
Sawyer Jackson and the White Room
Think Tank
Karner Blue
Zero Tolerance
Nomad
The Lucid — Co-authored with Nick Thacker
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Standalone
Evergreen
Shorts & Novellas
Getting Gone
Teresa's Monster
The Three Reasons to Avoid Being Punched in the Face
Tin Man
Two Blocks East
Edge
Zero
The Girl in the Mayan Tomb Page 30