Chapman writes his first thriller

Some say the pursuit of the opposite sex is like a sport,and when Ric found himself with some spare time whilst travelling he wrote his first novel-aptly named 'Why not Sin'

The 60yr old former A-grade runner and competitive swimmer had lived in Canada for some years with his two children but is now back in Sutherland Shire permanently.

His story of 'Why not Sin' spans 35 years of the protagonists,Cynthia Karem's (Sin) and Greg Sutherland's lives. This is an emotional love story that morphs into a crime thriller, as they commit, crimes of passion all over the world.

And everywhere they go, Greg wears a Cronulla Sharks baseball cap.

Ric said the book idea came to him a few years back when he was living in Bermuda.

"The concept of two cultures coming together in a university environment, falling in love and then having to massage their way around all the angles that different upbringings bring, was compelling to me."

Asked why he chose to write in the romantic/crime genre,Ric said romance novels can be bland or spicy.

"The elevator pitch I used for the publisher was, Imagine if The Notebook met 50 Shades, well this book would be the result and they bought that.

"It gets pretty streamy in parts, but all good love stories I think should.

"Plus, the fact 50 Shades sold 50 million copies then was made into a movie, proved that people like raunchy, and the volume of sales was not lost on me either."

"It is selling well, but naturally you want it to sell faster. Yet many who have read it have asked will there be a sequel or am I writing anything else.

"Yes is the answer."

The opening chapters details how, where,and when the main characters meet.

In 1988 an athletic 18-year-old, fresh from high-school, Sin (Cynthia) meets the dashing, tanned, blue-eyed Australian exchange student at university in Canada.

Sin drives the narrative throughout the story, and after three intense years, emotional tragedy strikes as the Canadian Government orders Greg to leave the country.

As a result of Greg being deported, both lose touch and marry others until Sin randomly types Greg's name into a search engine.

When she discovers he's written a successful novel in Australia, she buys a book.

But Greg has a plan,he doesn't just want to meet up and reconnect with Sin, he has another motive.

Why Not Sin is a blend of true love, tragedy, disappointment, betrayal and the sadness moral choices bring,but in life everything always comes at a cost.

Available on amazon. Go too amazon.com.au and enter -Why Not Sin.