About the Author The author has been a career writer for more than 40 years. He worked as a newspaper writer, editor and columnist, as well as a political speechwriter and consultant. Before turning to fiction, Sam Gifford was a speechwriter for Fortune “500” CEOs, and a magazine writer and columnist. He also teaches at the State University of New York. A graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University and Syracuse’s Maxwell School, he has spent most of his career in the field of international communication, and traveled the world in that role. Sam Gifford is a lifelong sailor who makes his home in coastal Maine, near the locations of Graybeard’s early action scenes. Graybeard is the author’s first novel. His second work, Slow Dancing in the Kitchen, is expected in early ’06. Product Description Keven McCoon was the perfect killer working for the perfect client: the U.S.Government. Then he saw something he shouldn't have seen and the hunter became the hunted. His flight from government pursuers takes surprising twists and turns and he is cast in a powerful, dangerous situation at sea with two people desperately running, but from themselves. The trio sail from Portsmouth, N.H. to Bermuda and then to the Virgins on a trip fraught with dangers from the sea and their nemeses. The flight ends in a thrilling and unpredictable confrontation that can best be described as deafening. The main characters are complete, but imperfect people who rise to present heroic performances as the plot develops. Graybeard is truly what reviewers call "a good read."