If, after reading EYEWALL–and I hope you will–you’re a little more apprehensive about hurricanes–and I hope you are–here are some excellent Websites for staying up-to-date on what’s happening in the tropics:

The Weather Channel
I’m biased, of course.  I spent 13 years at The Weather Channel and believe they’re the best in the business.

The National Hurricane Center
Everything starts here.  This site will appeal to those of you who are searching for more technical information, and there’s a wealth of it here.

Tropical Weather.net
This is an operation run by a friend and former colleague at The Weather Channel, Rich Johnson. It’s a neat site with lots of cool imagery and information not only on tropical weather, but for travelers and vacationers, too.  Check it out.

Below are links to some of my favorite authors, favorite being defined as novelists who have supported my writing efforts, and/or novelists whose books I just can’t wait to read.

Brian Jay Corrigan
Brian is a past Georgia Author of the Year.  He’s bright, funny and the best writing instructor I’ve ever encountered.  I consider him my mentor.  About twice a year in the process of trying to find an agent for EYEWALL, I’d get bummed out and send Brian a whiny, woe-is-me email.  He’d always respond immediately with words of encouragement, a pat on the head and a “there, there” and I’d keep slogging.  Thanks, Brian, for seeing me through to the end.

Steve Berry
Steve is NYT best-selling author, a guy who’s made it big time.  He kept telling me, “If I can do it, you can do it.”  He was referring to getting published, of course, not becoming a best selling author.  But he helped keep me going.

David Fulmer
David is an award winning novelist and a wonderful writing instructor.  I learned a lot from him… and I love his books.

David L. Robbins
David is funny, outspoken and a great teacher.  Despite his tendency to take a machete to people’s writing, he said some nice things about EYEWALL.  Oh, and I can’t wait for his next novel–about Somali pirates.

Vicki Hinze, Elizabeth Sinclair, Cheryl Norman
These ladies are a fun trio of romance writers from north Florida.  I love ‘em.  They helped me a lot with EYEWALL and boosted my writing ego when it was dragging around on the ground behind me. Vicki’s husband, by the way, was a Hurricane Hunter.

Alan Furst, Daniel Silva, James Lee Burke, Cormac McCarthy, Nelson DeMille, Martin Cruz Smith, Charles McCarry, David Ignatius
These are novelists I’ve never met, but whose books I’ve devoured.  If there’s a writing style I’ve tried to emulate, it would be Burke’s.  And if I were giving a prize for the coolest Website, it would be Furst’s.