The Contractor

How would any of us react to being sentenced to twelve years in prison on false evidence for a crime we did not commit? The evidence, given on oath by so called friends who were prepared to see him go down to save their own miserable skins. That's what happened to James McAuley from Belfast who was visiting England on business where he was arrested. McAuley reacted badly to this prison sentence which he regarded as illegal. He swore that he would track down everyone involved and even early release under the Good Friday Belfast agreement did nothing to soothe his temper. Yes, he played the game but the anger he held was frightening, as a few prisoners had experienced. Unable to return home and unable to find work, even in London and with three good degrees, he turned to the criminal fraternity he spent his prison time with for help. They found him employment as a travel journalist which acted as a cover for his real job as a professional hit man - a job he was extremely good at. The organisation which employed him was keen that he take over the training of bodyguards for protection duties abroad. As news reached James that his mentor is facing a terminal illness he prepares to take over the management of the Bodyguard Training Academy in Scotland, just as a beautiful young woman enters his life, allowing him to believe he may be able to consider marriage again.

About the Author :
Frank James: Somewhere - don't ask me where, someone made a most profound statement, telling the world that within all of us there is a book just waiting to be born. The problem was of course where do you begin the search for this piece of literature. Surely it would not be impossible to find it in the average brain and I reckoned my brain was about average. So, armed with the knowledge that I had this book nestling somewhere within my average brain, I went in search of it on various occasions but I never found it. I thought I knew where it was hiding but when I applied two chapters to paper my hero ran out of steam and I went fishing - where I should have gone the first day, It is however quite astonishing how many people will say 'I have a part finished manuscript somewhere in the attic,' when you say, I'm writing a book.' Maybe they're the clever ones who gave up and left the manuscript in the dust. You write for many months, years even and eventually you convince yourself your one hundred and whatever thousands of words are ready for the publisher, when someone suggests that all the famous authors have Agents to negotiate for you with the publishers. Someone in your local pub suggests that you must have someone to check for spelling and grammar mistakes and yet another pal suggests, 'You need an Editor old boy and somebody suggests you need all three. That's when your lovely manuscript becomes unreadable due to the amount of red ink on it. It is probably at this juncture that you promote your own year old manuscript to the attic and forget about it. That would be a fatal mistake and one made by hundreds of thousands of would be authors. Instead of hiding it away it should be exposed to as many friends, workmates and family as possible. Take all opinions you can get and you will be surprised at how your book will change. Therein might be that book that is within us just waiting to escape.