I just received a bunch of Clive Cussler books and I noticed that some of the books were co-authored with his son, Dirk Cussler. I’ve known for years that one of his main characters in many of his books is Dirk Pitt so I had to find out who came first, Dirk Pitt or Dirk Cussler? The answer is Dirk Cussler. Clive named the character after his son.

Another interesting tidbit:  as a joke in the novel Dragon, Cussler wrote himself into the story. He expected his editor to remove the cameo but it was left in, so he now often writes himself into his books. At first it was as simple cameos but later as something of a deus ex machina, providing the novel’s protagonists with an essential bit of assistance or information. Often, the character is given an alias and not revealed as Cussler until his exit with the characters remarking on how odd the name is. The cameos are usually restricted to the Pitt adventures.

Info from wikipedia

Tags: Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler, Dirk Pitt