Q. Are you the narrator?
A. No. The narrator is Ron.
Q. Are you Ron?
A. No, I’m Robert.
Q. Who is Ron?
A. Ron is the narrator. He’s a retiring merchant seaman.
Q. Then why is your name on the book?
A. The book was my idea and my work. I interviewed Ron, had the audio files transcribed, published excerpts, and revised more than 300,000 words into the stories for the book.
Q. So Ron’s a real person?
A. He certainly is. Was. Just like you and me.
Q. How do you know him?
A. I’ve known Ron for some time. And he would prefer me not to say, I think.
Q. Where is Ron now?
A. He would prefer me not to say, I know.
Q. You have an answer for everything, don’t you?
A. My mother did always tell me that I was too smart for my own good.
Q. Why did you write this book?
A. I knew some people would want to read Ron’s stories. And it’s nice to share.
Q. Why do you have a “Reader Discretion Is Advised” notice in your Author’s Note?
A. Because the book is not for everyone.
Q. What do you mean?
A. Ron’s viewpoints, opinions, lifestyle choices, and stories may not be to everyone’s liking.
Q. Like who?
A. That I do not know. What I do know is that some people cannot tolerate other people’s truths.
Q. So, are these stories true?
A. I believe so.
Q. How could anyone remember stories in this much detail from 30 or 40 years ago?
A. Some people have that ability. It’s called an eidetic memory.
Q. Really?
A. The ships exist. I also have the original Certificates of Discharges for every ship Ron sailed with, from 1967 to 2005.
Q. Did you do much editing?
A. More than 300,000 words came out of nearly 40 hours of interview sessions. Of that, about 180,000 words made it into the book.
Q. A lot is missing! Why did you cut so much?
A. To make it readable.
Q. At the end of this book Ron says he has more stories to tell. Is there more?
A. Yes. Ron has said there’s more. On land and sea.
Q. Are you going to write another book with Ron? Maybe about his adventures on land?
A. That’s not possible. Ron passed away. I wrote about that on my blog. To see my current book projects, visit my website.
Q. I have a question that you haven’t answered here. May I contact you?
A. Sure. Here.
