The Gentlemen Adventurer

Davis Bunn

An American, DAVIS BUNN is Writer-in-Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University. His books have sold in excess of eight million copies in over twenty languages and have been Main or Featured Selections with every major US book club. Lately he has appeared on the cover of Southern Writers, Retailing Magazine, and Publishers Weekly. His more recent titles have earned him Best Book and Top Pick awards from Library Journal, Romantic Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus. He lectures around the world on aspects of creative writing.

Born and raised in North Carolina, Davis left for Europe at age twenty. There he first completed graduate studies in economics and finance, then began a business career that took him to over forty countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.Davis came to faith at age 28, while living in Germany and running an international business advisory group. He started writing two weeks later. Since that moment, writing has remained both a passion and a calling.Davis wrote for nine years and completed seven books before his first was accepted for publication. During that time, he continued to work full-time in his business career, travelling to two and sometimes three countries every week. His first published book, The Presence, was released in 1990 and became a national bestseller.A sought-after speaker in the art of writing.

His newest book is The Emerald Tide. When asked what inspired the book he said,

Emerald Tide centers around one of the most famous art thefts in history. Eighty years after the painting was stolen, it remains at the top of Interpol’s list.
The opening scenes also take place in one of my all-time favorite museums, the Getty in Los Angeles. Three years ago, I was granted a behind-the-scene glimpse into the Getty’s secret world, by way of an art historian serving as one of the Getty in-house scholars. I have wanted to use these experiences in a story ever since.

What were your challenges writing this book? 

The biggest and most unique challenge I faced with Emerald Tide was the covid lockdowns. I currently live in England, and we have endured four lockdowns and two nearly-as-bad periods over these past two years. Which has meant living vicariously through the research and writing of this story.I spend a great deal of time on research. In this case, however, I was unable to do what I most wanted, which was revisit these places and talk face-to-face with my sources. Everything was done at arm’s length. Zoom has never played a more vital role in a story’s creation.

YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT IN THE BOOK (TO WRITE OR TO READ)?

The story’s final passages all take place in Sicily. Three people in particular were immensely helpful in shaping these scenes, all Sicilian, all living in England, all very forgiving of this utter foreigner encroaching on their home island. I hope I have done them – and their homeland – justice.

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