Clive Cussler — American Writer born on July 15, 1931,

Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times. Cussler is the founder and chairman of the real-life National Underwater and Marine Agency, which has discovered more than sixty shipwreck sites and numerous other notable underwater wrecks. He is the sole author or lead author of more than 60 books... (wikipedia)

When I first started writing, I was in advertising at the time, I was doing most of my writing on weekends. I had studied most of the other series heroes and I figured it would be fun for mine to be different and put him in and around water. So I dreamed up Dirk Pitt.
My friends joke that I raised the Titanic and never left the Rockies.
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.
She had the kids during the day and I would have them at night. That way they were never alone. I would put the kids to bed, and then I had nothing to do and nobody to talk to, so I would write.