Authors of “Tortuga Triangle,” standing left to right: Mac McCausland, Reef Perkins, Shirrel Rhoades, and Andrew Daly; seated left to right, Dane M. Dastugue and the late Jim Hendrick.
“Tortuga Triangle” Book Signing Event At Grand Vin
Book signings generally give readers a chance to meet an author – but the signing for “Tortuga Triangle” on Saturday, Nov 19, 6 to 8 p.m. at Grand Vin, 1107 Duval Street, presents the surviving five authors of a group of six who collaborated to write it.
On hand for the signing are Reef Perkins, Andrew Daly, Dane M. Dastugue, Mac McCausland, and Shirrel Rhoades. The sixth author of this ménage à cinque was the late Jim Hendrick.
Along with wine and copies of the book, connoisseurs will have the opportunity to chat with these local writers – collectively known as The Committee – about how they came together to write this adventurous tale that takes readers from Haiti to Key West and back again.
Not an anthology, “Tortuga Triangle” is one rambling novel, with each chapter written in round-robin style by the six authors.
This concept was inspired by a 1969 novel called “Naked Came the Stranger” by Penelope Ashe – which was actually a literary hoax written by a group of twenty-four journalists led by Newsday columnist Mike McGrady.
Those behind “Tortuga Triangle” are:
  • Capt. Mark T. “Reef” Perkins, Vice Admiral (retired) in the Conch Republic Navy and author of “Sex, Salvage & Secrets.” A marine surveyor with a colorful past, his exploits range from commanding a US Army diving ship off Vietnam to smuggling in the Caribbean.
  • Andrew Daly is retired from a career in the US Coast Guard where he dealt with top-secret classifications that can never be spoken of. He participated in Operation Haiti in 1983.
  • Dane M. Dastugue is a former Navy submariner and deep-sea diver. Becoming a diligent student of the classics and devout anglophile, and lived to talk about both. He spends his days attending his pond and learning the ways of the opossum.
  • Mac McCausland designed the book cover art and is a retired Navy Flag Chef, as well as butcher, baker, candlestick maker, sculptor, painter, and costume maker.
  • Shirrel Rhoades is a writer, critic, filmmaker, former college professor, art collector, and publisher. In addition to his syndicated “Front Row at the Movies” columns, he has written scores of books, including 19 cozy mysteries in the pseudonymous Quilters Club Mysteries series.
  • The late Jim Hendrick was a former county attorney, a man with a razor-sharp wit and Jesuit-trained logic. He had his own turbulent past, making him an ideal member of the so-called Committee.
Categorized as a combination humor, adventure, mystery, thriller, “Tortuga Triangle” is summarized on the Absolutely Amazing eBooks website as follows: “The product of six Key West-based writers, rascals, and raconteurs, this adventure takes you from Haiti to Key West and points unknown as the US Coast Guard, law enforcement officials, and mysterious figures set their sights on a nefarious villain known to all as Da Turtle. This chase involves the Ton-Ton Macoute, a Voodoo priestess, a Polynesian mystery woman … and a flock of pigeons!”
For more information, contact Roberta DePiero at robertadepiero@gmail.com.
[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]