Corporate espionage significantly influences the plot in Contention. What drew you to explore this aspect of the business world? While I was putting the finishing touches on A Slippery Shadow in Aruba in 2022, a longtime friend in Los Angeles invited me to a virtual meeting with someone actively involved in corporate espionage. My friend thought the subject could complement other illegal activities of The Organization. From listening to his guest and reading a couple books, I learned a lot about how corporate espionage might work and gained insight into some of the methods people use. I think people will find the information I share interesting. Given the illegal yet often-glamorized nature of corporate espionage, what message are you hoping to communicate regarding its ethics and repercussions? It’s never a good idea to break the law. W hat role does the setting—specifically the Caribbean in this installment—play in the storytelling? Many people equate Caribbean islands with cruises, all-inclusive resorts, or weekend getaways. As I’ve shared with you before, I’m not a fan of Canadian winters. So I live a few months in some warmer climate, often in the Caribbean. I rent apartments or small houses in neighborhoods where I interact with people who live there year-round. Increasingly, I’m encountering more people like me, people who forsake our native climates to do the things we do in a pleasant environment. Some of those things—such as writing—are legal. Other day- to-day activities are not. Most Caribbean islands are truly international, with characters living there from all parts of the globe. Contention shows a few different ways those with money and power might do their business in the Caribbean, whether it’s legal or not.
85 ABOUT GARY: Gary D. McGugan loves to tell stories and is the author of “Three Weeks Less a Day,” “ The Multima Scheme,” “Unrelenting Peril,” “Pernicious Pursuit,” and award-winning novels “A Web of Deceit” and “A Slippery Shadow.” After a forty-year career at senior levels of multinational corporations, Gary’s writing uses artful suspense to entertain and inform. His launch of a new writing career—at an age most people retire— reveals an ongoing zest for new challenges and a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. Home is near Toronto, but Gary thinks of himself as a true citizen of the world. His passion for travel and his broad experience are evident in every chapter.
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