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| The Widgeon of Fearn |
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| The beginning of the adventure |
The original idea for The Corsican Dagger was sparked by a real-life adventure I took in 1963. Along with a gang
of other college students, I sailed around the northern Mediterranean on the Widgeon of Fearn. We went from Cannes to
Nice to Portofino. Reaching Italy we went inland by train to Florence and Rome. Then back to the boat and a stormy
sail to Corsica where we were trapped in Bonifacio for 5 days. Bored and out of sorts, we decided to try to sneak two
Foreign Legionnaires off the island. The plot was foiled but the memories remain. I wanted to bring this high
adventure to my novel. You will see traces of it in the back story about the main character's mother.
| The crew aboard the Widgeon 1963 at Portofino |
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| Our English skipper in the background |
Here are a few of the crew. Most were from UC Berkeley (as was I) or UCLA but we also had a Swede (who was our
cook and translator) and an east Indian. Robin Williams (not the comic but a lifeguard from Laguna Beach) was our leader.
He went on to lead travels all over the world. He also has made marvelous travel films. I'm signed up to go on
an incredible adventure to Biblical Turkey with him in May of 2009 (there's room for more!) Follow the links below to
his websites.
| Karen at 19 in Florence |
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| Jerry Burns who filmed our adventure |
Can't believe I was ever that skinny! The entire adventure was filmed...but sadly, when the photographer was on
his way home, going from Bonifacio to the airport in Ajaccio, his duffel bag with all nine canisters of 16 mm film fell off
the top of a rickety old bus and was lost forever. Only a few snapshots remain...but the memories are still clear.
| The white chalk cliffs of Bonifacio |
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| The final scenes of Dagger take place here |
The Corsican Dagger follows the journey of a young American professor who comes to Corsica to study the occult
practices and ancient culture of the island. Little does she suspect that she will be caught up in the modern day politics
of this island that belongs to France...but which should be independent in the eyes of the Corsican separatists.
She ends up caught in a love triangle between two men who are arch enemies...one a separatist, the other the French
policeman who has vowed to hunt him down. And the secret of her birth lead to other discoveries...these dark and mysterious,
linked to the occult practices of the mazzeri.
| Grafitti of opposing separtists groups |
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| Photographed in 2006 |
The separatist movement in Corsica has involved a long and sometimes bloody struggle. Just before my daughter and
I visited Corsica in 2005 one of the separatist leaders had been assassinated at the Ajaccio airport by an opposing faction.
My research into the FLNC, the major faction, has given color to many of the characters in The Corsican Dagger.
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