In the words of author James W. Hall... the idea of the novel Hell's Bay (from James W. Hall's Blog)

Hell's Bay, How it Started (redux)

I went on a five day fishing expedition with Geoff Colmes, a great Keys guide.

Here are some shots from that week. Up top is a shot of some of the crew inside the Mothership's galley. Then my cabin which was sort of messy at that moment.

That's an 18' Action Craft, the yellow skiff drifting behind the Mothership. We also used a sixteen foot Hell's Bay Whipray, which is a great flats boat that can get into four or five inches of water. I don't know another flats boat that can beat it. You can learn more about them right here. I owned one for years along with my twenty Mako. Both terrific boats.

One day I caught a snook, a redfish and a tarpon within about a fifteen minute period back inside some very isolated lakes. Pretty good fifteen minutes. Though all the fish were a bit...how shall I say... puny, still, that was a blast. For a few golden moments, every cast got a different type of fish. Don't worry, all were released unharmed back into their paradise.

Tight quarters on the Mothership, but a great vessel. A remarkably shallow draft houseboat.

Another word about the crew--fantastic guides, superb cooks, great guys.

Late at night after a fine meal and too much wine we amused ourselves by telling stories. Out in that total darkness we got around to imagining what it would be like to be stranded out there--or worse. Out of cell phone range, the satellite phone stolen, the keys to the Mothership stolen--someone wishing to do us harm for some inexplicable reason.

That's how it started.

James W. Hall is the author of four books of poetry, The Lady from the Dark Green Hills, Ham Operator, False Statements and The Mating Reflex a collection of short stories, Paper Products, a collection of essays, Hot Damn, and fifteen novels, including Under Cover of Daylight, Tropical Freeze, Bones of Coral, Hard Aground, Mean High Tide, Gone Wild, Buzz Cut, Red Sky at Night, Body Language, Rough Draft, Blackwater Sound, Off the Chart, Forests of the Night, Magic City, and Hell's Bay.