The Internet and current events helped in the storyline for Connect the Dots come

This is one of those “On the way to the bank. . .something happened tales.”

A little over a year ago in about August maybe September I found myself intrigued by the Georgia-Russia War. Not because I am a ghoul but for the simple fact that a longtime friend was in the Republic of Georgia and I wanted to understand what was happening and how at risk he may be.

I, being the computer-savvy person that I am, decided to use the Internet to search and gain more knowledge. At the same time, I was getting ready to start my third novel. Ultimately, I decided to marry the two interests together.

The issue came down to what would the story be about and my ineptitude at Internet searches. The funny part is that while I may not find what I am always looking for I somehow manage to find something even more interesting. That is the case with the Georgia-Russia War and my novel Connect the Dots.

Somewhere in my search, I came across the words “black sites” in one of the article. The very words caught my attention, which sent me off in another direction and in a direction that grabbed a hold of my shirtfront and my mind and would not let go, not even after I finished writing the book.

So now, your question is or should be “What is a black site?”

I’m so glad you asked. According to Wikipedia “a black site is a location in which a black project is conducted.” Yes, Wikipedia was my first stop when I wanted to learn more. Wikipedia.

That’s a simple but not very detailed explanation, don’t you think? I did however, know what a black project was but just to confirm my suspicion I did look it up. According to Wikipedia “a black project is a classified military/defense project, unacknowledged publicly by the government, military personnel, and defense contractors. Yup, I was right.

I already knew this because I have a complete fascination with DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and many of their projects start out as classified. To find out more visit http://www.darpa.mil/.

From Wikipedia I was able to discern that black sites were secret prisons operated by the CIA outside of the US and currently used in the War on Terror.

Now if that does not take hold and squeeze your heart making it stop for at least a second or two I don’t know what will.

Are you intrigued yet? Want to learn more?


Stay tuned. As the days draw closer to the release of Connect the Dots, I will share more of what I learned.