Let's Take the Suspense out of Traveling Abroad by Rolynn Anderson

"It’s a bad time to go abroad." 

"I’m afraid to travel."

"The terrorists are everywhere and they’re targeting tourists."

I'm thinking my friends' fears come from media drama and fake news about traveling overseas.  

The truth is, most countries are safer than ever to visit.

Now, I write suspense stories, liberally spiked with romance and exotic settings.  My newly released novel, Cézanne’s Ghost, is set in Aix-en-Provence, France.  It’s true, several of my characters are tourists who suffer in the hands of villains but the chances of my scenario actually happening?  As rare as hen’s teeth. 

In fact, now is the time to book a flight and enjoy a trip to France, Italy, British Columbia, Spain, England, Egypt, Africa...so many countries!  Of course, you’ll avoid the places where drug and other wars are waging.  My point is, take some time to make rational choices about where and when to go.  Some of my friends have absorbed the fear-mongering and are NOT traveling, which makes me sad.

Take a look at this Forbes Magazine article from 2017: https://www.forbes.com/sites/priceonomics/2017/03/21/ranking-the-most-dangerous-countries-for-americans-to-visit/#3337fb2628a7

“In general, a violent death abroad is extremely unlikely. Between 2009 and 2013, 1,151 Americans - out of a population of 316 million - were killed abroad. For comparison, 15,809 homicides occurred in the U.S. in 2014 alone.”

And get this: traffic accidents, suicides, and drownings are far and away the biggest reasons for Americans dying in other countries.  To build a more specific picture, in France, with about 25 million visitors in the last 13 years, 2014, 107 tourists died (mostly from car crashes, suicides and drownings).  This last statistic comes from a very interesting 2016 article in Time Magazine: “How Americans Die Abroad.”  http://time.com/4250811/travel-safety/

Both of the articles I cite, above, will give you all the information (and more) to allay fears of travel and make wise choices, including a list of the least secure destinations.  My hope is you’ll keep traveling and enjoying a wide range of cultures.

For those of who have flown/driven/cruised to other countries, tell us about your sense of safety/security as you journeyed.  Is there a country you’ve visited lately that didn’t feel safe to you? 

I promise you, Aix-en-Provence is a lovely city, so friendly to Americans.  Yup, I put a few Americans tourists at risk in that town, but that’s what we suspense writers do!  My novel is une turner de page; danger et amour à Aix.  Bon Voyage!

Cézanne’s Ghost-e-book and print… http://a.co/bQdl7jp

Eight Suspense Novels Spiked with Romance and Exotic Settings

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My Experience with Special K by Rolynn Anderson

You think I’m talking about cereal, don’t you?  Far from it.  Special K, K, or Cat Valium are street names for ketamine.  When used responsibly, ketamine is an effective anesthetic for animals and humans, especially kind to the respiratory system.  In an expert’s hands, the drug is effective, especially as an anesthetic for infants because their respiratory system is still developing.  On the street, ketamine is a hallucinogen, sold in powder or pill form.  A two hour high might be the result; if you’re one of the 10-20% adversely affected by the drug, you might be looking at a nightmare.  Too much of the drug and you’re a corpse.

Why care about K?  For CEZANNE’S GHOST, I was looking for a drug which subdues a kidnapped victim over a period of weeks.  I did my research and picked ketamine.  My heroine, an FBI agent, must fake ingesting the drug, so I had to understand how she would react to it.  Mind you, with only a couple of experiences with pot in my twenties and too few examples of feeling tipsy with booze, I had a lot of research to do.

Then…I had some minor surgery, just days ago.  Same-day service.  A mild anesthetic, I was told; a local used on the operating surface of my body.  No big deal, right?

Until the anesthesiologist shot me up with twenty-five milligrams of ketamine (I found out later).  Guess what?  I’m one of the 10-20% adversely affected by the drug.  The dysphoria I felt was truly alarming.  I heard my voice over my body saying: “Help!  Something’s wrong!  What’s happening?  I’m in trouble.  Help me!”  I could not see the room; only a beige atmosphere surrounded me.  I heard disembodied voices soothe me.  I think someone touched me to show me they were there, but none of that helped.  Distressing does not describe the incident well enough.

Later, the anesthesiologist explained what happened and assured me he offset the ketamine with a drug that calmed me.  When I explained to him my research on ketamine and we agreed I had an episode of dysphoria, he seemed pleased with my level of knowledge.  In fact, he gave me his card and said he’d help with any information I needed about drugs for my novels.

Yup, novel writing is full of adventures and surprises.  And coincidences galore!  I can now describe what my victims endured when they suffered from ketamine’s effects.  Even better, I’ve got an expert to consult when I have questions about drug use.  My scary out-of-of body experience?  Ah, what the heck.  It’s all for the good cause of writing an accurate suspense/mystery novel!    

My books are detailed on: http://rolynnanderson.com  

Amazon pages: http://www.amazon.com/author/rolynnanderson