I have always been a fan of history. As a journalist by education and an investigator by trade, I love to carefully research my settings and weave original fictional plots through actual history in a seamless manner that both entertains and informs the reader. I also appreciate the need for compelling characters, page-turning plots, conflict, and tension to keep readers engaged. I have a long-term fascination with piracy, privateering, and exploration during the early age of sail. I am also attracted to Elizabethan England and the Renaissance period with its ideological struggles. I really love a good sea story, and who doesn’t? Enjoy my reading list!
The Odyssey is one of the oldest extant literary works still read by modern audiences, and for good reason. It is an epic poem (in 24 short “books”) about the long voyage home from the Trojan Wars of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his retinue, aboard an ancient Greek vessel powered by sail and oars. The prose evokes wonderful imagery (“the wine dark sea),” while the plot is thoroughly entertaining. The book remains the quintessential model for a quest. I found the ending to be most satisfying as Odysseus is forced to ruthlessly resolve an existential crisis upon returning home using cunning and deceit. If you want to “get your classics on” and try out Homer, as I did, you won’t be disappointed.
Homer's epic chronicle of the Greek hero Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War has inspired writers from Virgil to James Joyce. Odysseus survives storm and shipwreck, the cave of the Cyclops and the isle of Circe, the lure of the Sirens' song and a trip to the Underworld, only to find his most difficult challenge at home, where treacherous suitors seek to steal his kingdom and his loyal wife, Penelope. Favorite of the gods, Odysseus embodies the energy, intellect, and resourcefulness that were of highest value to the ancients and that remain ideals in out time.
This is not only an American literary classic, but in my view is the best sea tale ever written. The story showcases life aboard a 19th century whaling ship and explores the monomania of an autocratic ship captain whose relentless pursuit of personal vengeance ends in tragedy. This book was a chief inspiration for my featured novel. I particularly enjoyed the detailed technical descriptions of sailing and whaling operations, alongside a plot steeped in tension and conflict. I love historical fiction books that educate as well as entertain.
Melville's tale of the whaling industry, and one captain's obsession with revenge against the Great White Whale that took his leg. Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful tale in colourful comic strip form, offering an excellent introduction for younger readers. This edition also includes a biography of Herman Melville and study questions, which can be used both in the classroom or at home to further engage the reader in the work at hand.
This book is a gritty, realistic fiction novel about a WWII German U-boat captain and crew facing immense challenges from the elements and the enemy while attempting to sink as many allied merchant ships as possible before running out of torpedoes or being destroyed. I particularly appreciated a view of war from “the other side” and details of life aboard a cramped submarine in wartime. The book is a timeless exploration of the privations faced by seamen who dare to wage war at sea. The tragic ending mirrors reality and adds irony and pathos to the story. I found this to be a page-turner that was very hard to put down once started.
Filled with almost unbearable tension and excitement, DAS BOOT is one of the best stories ever written about war, a supreme novel of the Second World War and an acclaimed film and TV drama.
It is autumn 1941 and a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the coming weeks they must brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their mission to seek out and destroy British supply ships. But the tide is beginning to turn against the Germans in the war for the North Atlantic.…
The Great Explorers: The European Discovery of America is a seminal non-fiction work by a premiere historian detailing those intrepid early explorers who dared uncharted seas for greed and glory. The work really resonates with me because it showcases how difficult it was to navigate the world’s oceans in the days before electricity, reliable navigation aids, modern medicine, refrigeration, and dependable propulsion. Despite these handicaps, audacious seamen dared the unknown and challenged their resolve and endurance to meet their goals. I believe the inherent elements of drama and conflict in these voyages lend grist for the development of action and adventure-filled historical fiction. This book directly inspired me to develop my featured novel in an Age of Exploration setting.
This is an abridgement of Samuel Morison's magnum opus, The European Discovery of America, in which he describes the early voyages that led to the discovery of the New World. All the acclaimed Morison touches are here - the meticulous research and authoritative scholarship, along with the personal and compelling narrative style that gives the reader the feeling of having been there. Morison, of course, has been there, and The Great Explorers is enriched with photographs and maps he made while personally retracing the great voyages.
This is a comprehensive and scholarly non-fiction book providing a chronological history of the geopolitical and military events leading up to the 1588 Battle of the Spanish Armada while providing an exhaustive but crisp narrative of the battle itself and its aftermath. Like most people, I had long heard about the Spanish Armada but had failed to grasp the scope and scale of that tragic enterprise, nor the complex diplomacy, espionage and politics that surrounded that climatic encounter between Elizabethan England and Imperial Spain. This book helped me develop a backdrop for my featured novel within the Elizabethan World in the years leading up to this momentous naval clash.
In August of 1588, a Spanish fleet of 130 ships departed from La Coruña under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. Its purpose was to rendezvous with the Spanish army at the Dutch port of Sluys. At this point, the fleet was to act as a screen while the Spanish army was shuttled across the English Channel in barges. Upon landing, the Spanish invasion force - the finest professional army in the world led by the finest military commander in Europe - would march to London, seize the crown from Elizabeth, avenge the execution of her Catholic Majesty…
An English sea-captain sailing to plunder a Spanish treasure fleet faces the elements, internal discord and a squadron of war galleons lurking in his path. If he prevails, rewards and retribution await in the wilds of the New World.
Voyage of Reprisal draws on the author’s extensive research and presents a careful reconstruction of life at sea aboard an Elizabethan war galleon. Charismatic characters come alive, from crude sailors to arrogant lords. The pains, joys, sorrows, and hopes of the age are explored aboard a 16th century privateer.
I've always loved fiction, fantasy, and adventure stories. Growing up in the Star Wars generation, I was seven whenA New Hope was released at the theaters. Living in the hollows of West Virginia there weren’t libraries close by, and movies were a great, though seldom, treat. Suggestive material and cursing was not something that we saw in books or movies growing up in a more simple period of time. I still thoroughly enjoy many well-written, clean, books or shows. As an active member of the body of Christ, I now serve with my writing, and hope that kids of all ages can enjoy epic fantasy and adventure books from a clean and wholesome perspective.
Finding Family, Discovery, Destiny. This is what nineteen-year-old Bain Brinley is searching for.
In his homeland, far in the mountains, he stepped into what he could only describe as a time-portal and landed in a strange land known as Egypt. Then he falls through another portal during a storm, only to end up in another world known as Harilhia. Here, he soon discovers a creature he knew from home. He was back, but it wasn't Zanchier.
Can he find his family, and figure out what the Creator wanted him to do with time-travel?
Stormwalker Series Connections In Time Bain's Story Book 1
Nineteen-year-old Bain Brinley has just inadvertently stepped into a time portal and was deposited into a world like none he had ever seen before. He turned to go back through the portal and back to Zanchier to find his family, only to find the portal gone. Now, Bain must face this strange, new, world without anyone else on whom he can depend.
As he gazes out over the hot, dry, desert climate at the large pyramid shaped structures, he is unsure where to go. He is soon thrust into a strange,…
