1. What inspired you to write this book? A couple of years ago I sat in the living room on the sofa with my coffee and looked at the Christmas tree and thought back on my life. A bit nostalgic, slightly philosophical, enjoying the moment. The house smelled of freshly baked cookies. The tree was a beautiful noble fir with old and new Christmas decorations. The lights were LED lights with remote control and looked like the candles from the Christmas tree of childhood. I was thankful that I managed to get back up after my fall. I have had an exciting life with difficulties and lots of experiences. Would I change anything if I could? No, not really. This is my life, my destiny, and my choices. I had to tell my story. Henrik, middle-aged Dane, officer, veteran with PTSD, human being, husband, father of four and two as a bonus.
2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? Pirate Hunters - Denmark's invisible elite corps is the story about Denmark's Marine Commandos' battle against the pirates off the Horn of Africa as told by me who was closest to the action for the 5 years the campaign lasted. I was tasked with the planning and execution of the Danish mission against the Somali pirates in the western Arabian Sea. In this book I reveal my version of the Danish counter-piracy efforts that I experienced from the front-seat of a Lynx helicopter. About the breathtaking missions with the Frogmen Commandos, Denmark’s Special Boat Squadron (SBS) equivalent, and about the arrest and imprisonment of the pirates. About how these invisible elite forces operating in the Gulf of Aden often felt that the Danish politicians and media did more to ensure their votes and readers than to save the Danish hostages from the pirates. About how I finally lost the grip on my own life during my attempt to rescue others.
This book is written for myself
and my family, to start with. To explain my operational background and some
courses to a few of my unnormal behavior.
Furthermore, veterans hopefully
recognize some of my thoughts during this narrative.
Finally, all adult people might find my story interesting. They are invited into my operational professional life in the context of counter piracy operations.
3. What do you hope
readers will get out of reading your book? Readers of my book will recognize the human
being in me, despite my role as a soldier. Today, I am very interested in the conditions of our deployed soldiers, and sometimes worried of whether or not we support them enough, both while they are deployed and when they come home. I hope my story can help put a little more focus on us veterans. There are actually quite a
few of us, and we are pretty ordinary people, even though, on the surface, we
may seem thirsty for blood and don’t seem to be in touch with our feelings.
Soldiers also have parents, siblings,
children, wives, ex-wives, husbands and ex-husbands and soldiers also have
hopes and dreams, and like all humans, they have a limit to what they can
handle. So, let’s look out for them.
4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? I think the title of my book sounds pretty interesting and catchy. PIRATE HUNTER is also a short and precise description of the content. The cover design is a photo of me and the crew. The photo is negative photowise to give the impression of 'night ops' which we conducted pretty much.
5. What advice or words of wisdom
do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?
My advice or words of wisdom
for fellow writers are in the context of self-biography.
· Interesting
main event or period, which readers are able to recognize themselves in.
· Be
as honest as possible. “What are the thoughts and
feelings inside you.”
· Make
your narrative in a chronological order. That also makes you get started.
· Make
a story curve in intensity – relaxing description and ‘build up
details’ in between the peaks of bursting highlighting events.
· Pick
up later the planted ‘build up details’ into points.
· Have
someone to follow-read underway in the process, to ask you the good questions.
· End
the book with the 1-3 messages you want to push beyond the ramp.
These messages should be fairly visible in the beginning of your writing, but
some issues will most likely appear along in the process.
· Have someone else read the final manuscript, to feed you back on THE BOOKs form, content, and grammar.
6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? The trends in the book world as I see it, are personal narratives in the way; “What are the thoughts and feelings inside the writer.”
7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? My book is obviously about my own adventures as a line from my childhood readings of the classic youth literature and my dreams for adventure. Furthermore, I have always enjoyed reading a good book and have got a lot of inspiration from other writers and authors.
8. How would you describe your
writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? My writing style is how I feel and think
during my story and telling combined with a certain degree of cognitive
analysis and conclusion underway and in the end of my narrative.
My writing is similar to other soldiers’ books about the breathtaking missions, together with a high level of showing the human being in me – Henrik from Denmark.
9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Writing is difficult, I found out. I became better and better and more competent in writing.
10.
If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? For the first time we come close to the drama
of the hostages from the Danish family onboard the yacht ‘Ing’ – and of the
release of the sailors Soeren and Eddy that day in April 2013 when the rescue
actions were so close to going horrifically wrong. I got traumas and a
PTSD diagnosis, but it all ended well.
Today, I am again grateful for life and its little miracles, and I have great focus on the good and stable things in my daily life – the boys, the girls, the family, outdoor life, and my wife Lene.
About The Author: Henrik Monggaard Christensen – born in 1968, lieutenant commander
in the Royal Danish Navy, trained at the Danish Air Force Flying School in
Karup, tactical coordinator at Royal Danish Naval Air Squadron in Vaerloese and
723 Squadron in Karup 1997-2014, with more than 300 days in the Danish campaign
against piracy in the western Arabian
Sea 2008-2013. Today, he is
working as staff officer in the Danish Naval Staff in Karup together with a
PTSD diagnosis. Please see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtU7vd-xGdA
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