Sometimes my plot lines are so convoluted, I get calls from friends at 3 am saying; you SOB, you'll never pull this one off.

Cussler is the founder and chairman of the real-life National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) which has discovered more than sixty shipwreck sites and numerous other notable sunken underwater wreckages. Clive Eric Cussler (born July 15 1931 in Aurora Illinois) is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. He is the sole author or lead author of more than 50 books.