Cape Town – No amount of distance will be able to sever the ties of a father and a son bond after the duo collaborated to write a spy novel.
Drawing inspiration from their love of the “James Bond” films, Mick Davies and his son, Gregory, spent a year working on the book, titled “Justice: Vengeance is Mine”, alongside Doug McClure, who helped the father and son duo bring the characters to life.
Co-authoring the book, McClure said the model for the book was the Ian Fleming, Frederick Forsyth, Tom Clancy, Wilbur Smith genre of writing which involved telling a riveting good tale with a twist in the end that was based on absolute fact, but fictional in presentation.
“The fundamental idea behind the book was to provide both our sons with a film script which would have to be written out of the narrative in the book with a view to turning the story into a first-rate movie.
“Certainly, all the ingredients are there involving sex, violence, child trafficking, compromise operations, espionage and counter-espionage, and the murky world of international diplomacy and power politics.
“The main thrust of the narrative is to educate people as to the real powers and very sinister forces at work in the world which can drastically impact on the lives of ordinary hard-working people in the most drastic and unexpectedly bizarre ways,” said McClure.
Mick Davies, who is a retired car technician, said the entire process was hugely important to him, as it drew him and his son closer together to share what they both loved the most.
“Both Greg and I are big fans of Ian Fleming’s books and Bond films.
“Greg and I have always had a strong relationship and both enjoy a good sense of humour.
“Many memories, returning to the UK to see the family is a favourite and also seeing all the Bond films together.
“The entire process was hugely important.
“To write a book with your son gives you an insight into what their idea of life and the world is like.
“We have an age gap of 42 years and so Greg’s views on life and the world are of a very different era.
“We both learnt a great deal from each other.
“The exciting part was putting the plot together with Greg, and we both knew that the writing skills of Doug McClure would make it an outstanding novel,” said Mick.
With Mick’s participation being more on the creative side of the story line, while Greg focused more on the structure of the plot and character development, Greg said that what excited him the most about the process was using his experiences in screen writing, film making, and being a professional actor for this novel.
“I was part of the pre-planning and structure of the novel, working on the character and plot development.
“I was excited to make use of my experiences in screen writing, film making and being a professional actor for this novel.
“Given the fact that my dad and I are massive 007 fans, and we’ve both had passions for stories in this genre in both novels and films, the bonding time for us both working on something we have a passion for was treasured.
“What I’ve learnt from the whole process is something that I’ve always taken on board throughout my recent years with my dad, treasure each moment you have, and make the most of it.
“I’ve always taken into account that our parents aren’t around forever, and I’m forever grateful I’ve had a good father-son relationship with my dad, and one I’ll keep to heart for when I start a family in the future,” said Gregory.
“Justice: Vengeance is Mine” is available at Exclusive Books in Cavendish Square and Bargain Books in Pinelands.