An Interview with William C. Hammond

Astrodene’s Historic Naval fiction is pleased to have obtained an Interview with William C. Hammond who’s new book For Love of Country, due out in October, is now available for pre-order worldwide.

What can you tell us about Richard Cutler’s new adventures in For Love of Country, without spoiling the plot for readers?

For Love of Country is set in the years 1786 to 1789. It is a time when the United States has an ever expanding merchant fleet but no navy to protect its fleet or trade routes. As such, the Barbary States of North Africa prey on American shipping by seizing ships and cargo, and by holding American sailors hostage until ransoms and tributes are paid. One such prisoner is a Cutler family member and Richard Cutler sails to Algiers to try to rescue him and his shipmates. Quickly finding himself in a viper’s den of intrigue and deceit involving many nations, Richard’s schooner fights a vicious battle against two heavily armed Arab xebecs. Victorious at sea, Richard travels to France, his mission to report to John Paul Jones, President Washington’s choice for U.S. emissary to the Barbary States. As the French Revolution erupts, Richard flees Paris in a desperate attempt to save a former lover and her two young daughters from the guillotine.

via An Interview with William C. Hammond.

Richard Spilman Review: The Sallee Rovers by M. Kei

Originally published on the The Old Salt BlogPirates of the Narrow Sea, Book 1 – Sallee Rovers by M. Kei is well written nautical adventure fiction with a twist or two, or perhaps three.The novel is not set during the Napoleonic wars and features, as the title suggests, Sallee Rovers, Barbary Coast corsairs, sailing from the Atlantic coast of what is now Morocco. In this novel the Spanish are the villains while British are not necessarily the heroes. The corsairs are the somewhat more heroic of the novel’s contending forces. The main character is a young, British officer, Lt. Peter Thorton, who for a range of reasons, both logistical and personal, gets caught up with the corsairs and eventually joins them.

via Richard Spilman Review: The Sallee Rovers by M. Kei.

Astrodene Review: George Washington’s Great Gamble by James L. Nelson

There are a number of naval fiction books that feature the Battle of the Capes where the French Fleet under the Comte De Grasse defeated the British under Admiral Graves. Invariably they refer to the surrender of the British Army under Cornwallis at Yorktown as resulting from this action but little detail is given.

This new book George Washington’s Great Gamble by James L. Nelson explores both the land and sea events that led up to the battle. Starting with the arrival of the initial French forces and the defection of Benedict Arnold it follows the manouveres and disposition of the forces on both sides. It is clear from the quoted correspondence that Washington was clear throughout that the British could not be defeated while they had naval superiority and could move there forces by sea and that therefore the intervention of a French fleet would be vital.

Read more Astrodene Review: George Washington’s Great Gamble by James L. Nelson.

For Love of Country to be re-issued

For Love of Country by William C. Hammond was released last year, but fairly quickly became hard to come by. It seems it will now be re-released by a new publisher, Naval Institute Press, on 15 October 2010.

via For Love of Country to be re-issued.

Astrodene Review: A Ship’s Tale by N. Jay Young

Today people volunteering to save part of our heritage is accepted and you often find restored sailing vessels. As far back as December 1954 the famous clipper Cutty Sark was being put into dry dock at Greenwich. A Ship’s Tale is the fictional story of an earlier attempt, in the immediate aftermath of WWII, to save the barque Bonnie Clyde from officialdom who wish to scuttle it.

The book follows the story of a disparate group of people who firstly come together to obtain everything neccessary to make her seaworthy again and then set off on an epic voyage to a new port where she can be preserved. With the press interested in the story, the police and Admiralty tasked with stopping them and the weather being far from co-operative it is not an easy journey.

Read More Astrodene Review: A Ship’s Tale by N. Jay Young.