CHARACTER PROFILE
MEET LIAM
‘HAWK’ HAWKER
Loyal to his club. Fierce for his friends.
Unbreakable when it matters
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND HAWK
Every series has a character who feels as though they've been part of the story long before they first appear. For me, that character is Liam "Hawk" Hawker.
Hawk was inspired by one of my oldest friends, Dennis Gazic, whom I've known since our high school days in Toronto. Like many teenagers growing up in the city during the 1980s, we spent countless evenings exploring downtown, catching punk shows at legendary venues like Larry's Hideaway and The Turning Point. Those nights introduced us to a world where music, loyalty and friendship mattered far more than appearances, and they left a lasting impression that would eventually find its way into my writing.
Dennis was always connected to the outlaw biker community, a world that fascinated me from a distance. Although Hawk is entirely fictional, I wanted him to possess many of the qualities I've admired in Dennis over the years: unwavering loyalty, quiet confidence, a strong sense of family and an instinct to protect the people he cares about. Hawk may wear a leather cut and lead the Storm Surge Motorcycle Club, but beneath that exterior is someone whose word means everything.
More than forty years later, Dennis and I are still friends. We still get together to see punk shows whenever we can, proof that some friendships survive changing careers, families and the passage of time. That enduring bond became the foundation for Hawk's relationship with George Ryan. Like all the best fictional characters, Hawk grew beyond his original inspiration, but his heart was built from something very real.
HAWK & MAEVE
Some people drift into each other's lives by chance. Hawk and Maeve were never that simple. Their story began years before George Ryan's adventures, growing out of the music, energy and restless spirit of the 90’s punk /ska scene in British Columbia. While George and Hawk forged an unlikely friendship, Maeve quietly found herself drawn to the young biker who seemed to live by a code all his own. Beneath the leather jacket and rebellious exterior was a man whose loyalty to his friends never wavered, and it was that unwavering sense of honour that first caught her attention.
Life, however, has a way of pulling people in different directions. Careers, responsibilities and distance eventually separated them, leaving behind little more than memories of a relationship that never had the opportunity to become what it might have been. Yet some connections never truly disappear. When the events of The Tofino Deception bring them together again, the years between them seem far less important than either expected. Their conversations carry the familiarity of old friends, but also the quiet realization that the feelings they once shared may never have completely faded.
Throughout the novel, Hawk and Maeve provide one of the story's most grounded relationships. Neither is interested in games or grand declarations. Instead, their bond is built on mutual respect, shared history and an understanding that both have spent their lives protecting the people they care about. Maeve seeks the truth through investigation and journalism, while Hawk protects his chosen family through leadership and action. They approach the world differently, but they share the same instinct to stand up for what is right.
As George's investigation unfolds, Hawk becomes far more than the president of the Storm Surge Motorcycle Club. He becomes one of Maeve's strongest allies, offering support when she needs it most and reminding her that strength isn't always measured by the stories we tell, but by the people who stand beside us when those stories become real. Their rekindled relationship adds a deeply personal dimension to The Tofino Deception, hinting that some roads are simply meant to lead back to the people who have always mattered.
A BROTHERHOOD
FORGED OVER A LIFETIME
George Ryan and Liam "Hawk" Hawker grew up together in Tofino, where the Pacific Ocean shaped everyday life as much as the people who lived beside it. They shared classrooms, surfed the same beaches and learned early that on the west coast, reputation is earned through actions rather than words. Although life eventually carried George to Ireland and Hawk deeper into the world of the Storm Surge Motorcycle Club, the years never diminished the bond they had built as boys. When they meet again, their greeting isn't formal. It's the easy familiarity of two friends who have known each other almost their entire lives.
As George uncovers the truth behind Tidecore's operations, there is never any question about who he can trust. Hawk listens to the evidence without interruption, studies the marine charts, immediately understands the danger Seymour Narrows presents and commits the Storm Surge MC to watching the roads, the marinas and the unfamiliar faces arriving in town. His promise is simple: "George, you were one of us before you ever left this place and you are still one of us."
When Tidecore's intimidation shifts from corporate pressure to threats against the people George loves, Hawk's role changes. The easy-going friend disappears, replaced by the president of Storm Surge MC. He organizes protection for George's family, dispatches club members to remain visible in Tofino, reaches out to allied motorcycle clubs in Toronto to watch over Maeve, and makes it clear that anyone threatening local families will be answered. George recognizes the change immediately. This is no longer simply his old friend. This is Hawk protecting his community.
Their friendship is built on something neither archaeology nor adventure created. It is rooted in shared history, mutual respect and a love for the place they both still call home. No matter where George's travels have taken him, Hawk has always considered him one of their own. And when outsiders arrive believing they can exploit Vancouver Island without consequence, Hawk reminds them that loyalty, like the Pacific itself, runs deep along the west coast.
THE NEXT ADVENTURE
IS JUST DOWN THE OPEN ROAD