Set in the lush, untamed jungles of Colombia, Tempest Road follows an unlucky American soccer star through a harrowing survival adventure.

Why write this story?

For as long as I’ve loved playing this game, the idea (fantasy) of an unlikely superstar delivering the ultimate trophy (the FIFA World Cup) was too rich to give up. It’s kind of encoded in the genetics which allow us to enjoy the madness of a bunch of guys (and/or gals) chasing a ball for 90+ minutes. The Beautiful Game is simply that.

The Big Play

It seemed only natural that a central event of the story is a stunning goal scored off a long ball, a la Bergkamp or Haaland or Wambach. It’s a last-second reversal of fortune after the American keeper blocks a penalty, and a follow-up, to send a striker—MacLeod—racing from midfield.

Of course, in a twist of irony, this Goal Heard Round the World is not the one which lands our hero in hot water.

The characters

If the hero is whom our story is about, then the supporting cast needs to be diverse and authentic. I devoted huge gobs of time and mental energy to ensuring that the four captors in Tempest Road come off as genuinely real people—each with their own quirks and personalities and flaws. The novel wouldn’t work without them. So while Josh, Cora, Enrique and Arturo present a variety of nightmares for MacLeod, they were so enjoyable to cobble together, brainstorm about and work with.

Why Colombia?

Ever since I was a kid, Colombia has held a dark mystique which, for me, demanded a hair-raising narrative. What probably started with “Romancing the Stone” certainly gained momentum with crazy news events and with Mark Bowden’s Killing Pablo: The Hunt For the World’s Greatest Outlaw. I knew I didn’t want to just redo The Churning (with some poor athlete going insane in an abandoned, snake-ridden prison in the middle of steamy nowhere).

While the country has so many beautiful sites and rich cultural traditions to offer, that’s not what this story is about. As anyone who’s ever laced up their boots can tell you, there’s a dark side to all that we are passionate about.

Why Me?

As author and Professor Judith Katz once told us in grad school, ‘Only you can write this (or that or the other) story.’ Like so much of the material I write, I do it because there was a big empty space. Nobody had told this tale, yet.

Tempest Road is my fourth novel and third (possibly final) sports-related thriller, along with Watching the World Fall and The Churning.

Fans of sci-fi military will enjoy my ‘Woman at War’ series, including Endgame and Destruction. These are followed by Warfare and Reactor, along with a variety of related short stories.

These and assorted fantasy and mainstream works can be found at www.jedisonwrites.com.

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When I’m not writing or harassing two teenagers about their homework or cooking or trying to entertain three cats—or playing soccer, when healthy—I teach middle-school mathematics and assorted other subjects in Greater Seattle.

Obviously, I live for sarcasm.