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A Letter from Our Publisher

Dear McBooks Friend:

For many years McBooks has enjoyed a unique position in the book publishing
world. We have been both a respected publisher specializing in historical fiction
and a specialty retailer of historical fiction and nonfiction. Through our catalogs,
flyers and on-line bookstore, McBooks has offered you the best in action-oriented
historical fiction. Some of these titles were published by our own McBooks Press;
some were put out by other publishers located both in the U.S. and the U.K.

Sadly, after much analysis we have concluded that we must close down the retail
portion of our business. Current economic and business factors have reduced profit-
ability so much that we can no longer continue with this business model. Th is
means that we will no longer be selling books put out by other publishers. From
December 1 to January 19, all books in our Ithaca, NY, warehouse will be on sale
at close-out prices. You can access more information about the sale at our website:
www.mcbooks.com.

These changes also mean that we are discontinuing publication of Quarterdeck, our
e-mail newsletter. Editor George Jepson did a superb job writing and designing
Quarterdeck. He will continue to entertain and enlighten sea enthusiasts through
his articles for Wooden Boat magazine.

For the future, we will strengthen our focus on the publishing side of our business.
Rest assured, we will continue to produce new books—including exciting historical
fiction—and we will keep such popular authors as Alexander Kent, Dudley Pope
and Julian Stockwin in print. You will still find McBooks Press original historical
fiction at your favorite bookstores and online venues.

We will sincerely miss our direct contact with our valued retail customers. You made
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publications wherever books (and e-books) are sold. And please take advantage of
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All the best,

Alexander Skutt
Owner/Publisher
McBooks Press, Inc.
Quarterdeck

November/December 2009
 Quarterdeck is published by
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CONTENTS Email: mcbooks@mcbooks.com

www.mcbooks.com
November/December 2009
Our telephone lines are normally open
Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Eastern Time.
FEATURES
PUBLISHER
3 BY GEORGE! Alexander Skutt
A sea-change in the book trade. alex@mcbooks.com

BOOKSHELF QUARTERDECK EDITOR

4 George Jepson
An Ill Wind by David Donachie.
269-372-4673
gdjepson@gmail.com

INTERVIEWS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Jackie Swift
jackie@mcbooks.com
5 DAVID DONACHIE
A young Scot’s imagination. CUSTOMER SERVICE DIRECTOR
Robin Cisne
robin@mcbooks.com
8 MICHAEL AYE
The Fighting Anthonys return to the sea.

11 HARRY TURTLEDOVE
Prices are subject to
The king of alternative historical fiction.
change without notice.
15
5 TOM HARPER
A new historical mystery.

Cover: detail from a painting of

the frigate HMS Amazon by
English marine artist Geoffrey
Huband.

2
BY GEORGE!
A Sea-Change ...
O
ver the years, Amy and I have
been fortunate enough to visit
the United Kingdom on sever-
al occasions in pursuit of our
shared ancestral heritage and in the course
of our work in the book trade.
Our first visit in May, 1997 was sched-
uled soon after we had
been approached by
Richard Merritt in Cedar
Rapids, IA, about acquir-
ing Tall Ships Books, then
a catalog/Internet shop
specializing in used copies
of British naval fiction,
especially the books of
Douglas Reeman/
Alexander Kent, Richard
Woodman, and Dudley
Pope. At the time, the
prospect of running a
bookshop featuring nauti-
The Jepsons in front of the cal titles seemed like a
White Horse public house in pipe dream. As a lifelong
Shere, Surrey, England. book lover, owning such a
shop had been my fantasy.
That first trip to London had been
planned a long while prior to Rich’s pro-
posal concerning Tall Ships Books, but the
possibility of taking the helm of the shop
added a bit of intrigue to our time in the
ancient city on the Thames.
Riding an early morning train into
Victoria Station after a tiring overnight
flight, we were bushed and not enamored
of the litter and graffiti on the brick walls
as our carriage clicked and clacked into the
city. The ugly images were not appealing.
And then we emerged from the station into
brilliant sunlight, under blue skies. A
3
black taxi, with an affable driver at the
wheel, whisked us to our hotel. Along the
route, the driver’s commentary introduced
us to central London.
After checking in at our hotel, we
opened the door to our rather smallish
room, and within minutes were collapsing
with laughter, as we kept bumping into
one another in the limited space. The com-
pact room was clean, so we decided to stay,
and were soon napping.
A couple of hours later, somewhat
refreshed, we headed for a nearby
Underground station, and were soon walk-
ing along Piccadilly, seeking Hatchard’s,
booksellers since the time of George III.
Once we entered the historic shop, our
thoughts once again turned to Tall Ships
Books. One entire section was devoted to
maritime fiction, featuring Kent’s Richard
Bolitho, Woodman’s Nathaniel Drinkwater,
Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin,
and, most encouraging, several authors I
was not familiar with at the time.
Tall Ships Books had been successful,
because there was a market in America for
the Kents, Woodmans, C.S. Foresters and
Popes, which were only available in British
editions. McBooks Press had begun to fill
the void with its own handsome trade
paperback editions of works by these
authors, as well as new editions of the
Captain Frederick Marryat novels.
After perusing the stacks at Hatchards,
we embarked on a journey to locate used
book shops. Along Charing Cross Road,
we were pleased to find shops stocked with
used nautical fiction hardcovers – many
Continued on page 20
BOOKSHELF

6 - An Ill Wind
By David Donachie

“High adventure and detection; cunningly spliced battle scenes which reek of blood
and brine ... excitements on terra firma to match.”
– Literary Review

I
t is 1793. John Pearce and his Pelicans are help from a nation more often an enemy than
going home – to gain their freedom and, a friend? Captain Ralph Barclay and his wife
using the evidence they have, put the Emily are among those on a ship back to
treacherous Captain Ralph Barclay in the England. Pearce must sail in close proximity
dock. But first they must to both – difficult given his loathing for the
take part in the evacua- Barclay, in contrast to his regard for the lovely
tion of Toulon. With the Emily. She discovers Pearce has a copy of the
Republican Army at the lies her husband told at Pearce’s recent court
gates, the citizens are martial, papers that would ruin Barclay’s
panicking, trying to flee career and her future security.
the bloody guillotine. And then comes that dread thing, a fire
Confusion reigns and aboard a wooden ship of war! Cast adrift,
Pearce must keep his wits Pearce and his Pelicans find help from an
about him in order to unlikely source, yet still they face a pursuit
survive. This is not the they cannot outrun, with no idea from where
end of the troubles they help may come. Finally back on British soil,
face. The ship designated the Pelicans hope they have reached the end
to remove the wounded of their troubles, but with the important doc-
from Lutyens hospital uments missing the real concerns have only
has been deliberately just begun. Emily Barclay holds the key, but
delayed by Admiral do her loyalties lie with her husband or her
Hotham, the whole situation made worse conscience?
when it is discovered many of the French
ships singled out for destruction have been UK Hardback | 319 Pages
saved by the Spanish. Was it naive to expect

John Pearce Novels

1- By the Mast Divided | 2 - A Shot Rolling Ship | 3 - An Awkward Commission

4 - Flag of Truce | 5 - The Admiral’s Game | 6 - An Ill Wind

4
 David Donachie

A Young Scot’s
IMAGINATION
B
ritish author David Donachie was born in the storied city
of Edinburgh, Scotland, during the Second World War. As
a lad, Donachie played in the gardens and narrow alleyways
that had seen much history over the centuries. In this interview
with Quarterdeck, the author describes how his writing has been
influenced by the years of his youth:

In an earlier interview, you said you had at least three

ideas a day for novels to write. As a boy growing up in
post-war Edinburgh, what sorts of activities did you pur-
sue that contributed to the development of your imagina -
tion?

For those readers who have never been to Edinburgh, I

have to tell them it is a city steeped in history. It practical-
ly oozed out of the cobbled streets into my young brain,
made more telling by listening to the adults around me
and reading.
First the towering castle that dominates the city, then
the buildings, which range from the medieval to classic
Georgian, set off by statuary that has seen Edinburgh
called the Athens of the North. It’s a place where you feel
intimately connected to the past, the domicile of Walter
Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson, the birthplace of the
Scottish Enlightenment and the habitat of the grave rob-
bers Burke and Hare. You can stand in the gardens below
Edinburgh Castle and imagine it besieged, which it was a
hundred times, by Scotsmen as often as the English. As
boys we used to climb that supposedly unassailable rock
with ease, sure that, left to us, it could easily be taken. The Royal
Mile runs downhill from the castle to Holyrood Palace, where
bloody crime had mixed with regal majesty. And in each of the
named dark alleyways, one person wide, that run off that mile-
long road called a close, it was and still is quite natural to conjure
up the devilment and felonies witnessed by the grey, granite

5
 David Donachie
stones. began as a youngster in Edinburgh suzerain. They came to equal and
We Scots are romantics – some (Quarterdeck , January/February surpass Duke William of Normandy.
excessively so when it comes to non- 2009). This has been played out in Brilliant generals, always outnum-
sense like Braveheart – and we know your nautical fiction – The bered, leading men whose profession
our tales of triumph and defeat. As a Privateersman Mysteries, the Nelson was war, they fought and defeated
child my friends and I replayed a & Emma Trilogy, and now the first the Lombard princes who ruled
thousand years of battles in the John Pearce novels. What motivated Southern Italy, then the Byzantine
streets and in the decaying gardens your latest work, Mercenaries , writ- Empire in alliance with the papacy
enclosed by high tenements, from ten as Jack Ludlow? at a place called Civitate, which
Bannockburn to the Battle of fixed their place in Italy and took
Britain, created and staged enter- Quite simply, it is the greatest story them from paid warriors to titled
tainments on the top of disused air never told, as least not in English. I landholders. The younger brothers
raid shelters. Without television, think in the UK there is an over- beat Byzantium, defied the Holy
imagination was king. concentration on the Norman Roman Emperor and overcame the
Conquest, to the detriment of look- Saracens of Sicily in what was, in
Given the electronic age youngsters ing at that remarkable race, descend- truth, the first Crusade. The next
grow up in today with instant stim - ed from Vikings, who became the generation, in Bohemund and
ulation provided by television, cell most feared warriors in Christen- Tancred (grandsons of the original
phones and video Tancred), went
games, are they on to the Holy
being ill-served by Land as the finest
not having to use “I went into too many houses as a of the crusaders,
their imaginations respectively
more? youngster, in which the only becoming princes
of Antioch and
They employ them book in sight was the one listing Galilee. But it
differently and I was in Southern
think in time a good telephone numbers.” Italy and Sicily
number will come to that lay the great-
realize how repetitive est creation of
are their pleasures. I went into too dom. Tancred de Hauteville was the de Hautevilles, one that lasted
many houses as a youngster, in poor, no more than the owner of a until it was dissolved in the nine-
which the only book in sight was petty Norman barony, but he had teenth century unification of Italy.
the one listing telephone numbers. twelve sons, eight of whom, despair- Although my story stops short of
So it’s hard to despair about the next ing of advancement in their home- the fact, a grandson of the first
generation of readers – it has always land, went to Italy as mercenaries (I Tancred was crowned a king. In less
been the case that too few people say seven in my book, because to than a hundred years these brilliant
read, but – and this is the good part avoid confusion I have left one out warriors had gone from nothing to
– once people discover the magic of the trilogy. Tancred, strangely, the purple.
locked up in books they become named two of his sons William!) The question is not why I saw it
rabid. The means of communication Unlike the Conqueror they had no as exciting to write about as fiction,
may alter, but storytelling will army and no great wealth. What the but rather why has such a remark-
always triumph over thrills. Those de Hautevilles had was a fearsome able story never been done before?
cell phones will be used to read great fighting ability and brains married
books. to guile, enough to carve out for Do you find it difficult to write in
themselves lands, titles and a pros- two separate historical periods (the
Your interest in things maritime perity that outshone their nominal late eighteenth century with Pearce
6
 David Donachie
and the eleventh century with
Mercenaries)?
No, though given the competing
parties in the Conquest trilogy it
was a much more complex tale to
tell. Added to that, it is less well
known than the eighteenth century
and less well-documented. There are
no contemporary accounts, only
those of monks writing about the
exploits of the de Hautevilles long
after the events described. One fac-
tor is common to both: the profes-
sion of arms. The Norman warrior
sought conflict with the same
alacrity as Nelson’s Navy – it was the
only way to prosperity in both cases.
How did you
research
Mercenaries and
“When you have monks talking of one-
Warriors in The
Conquest
hundred and twenty knights defeating
Trilogy?
thirty-five thousand opponents ... you
As the above
answer suggests,
are in the realms of fantasy.”
with difficulty,
and with a very
jaundiced eye for exaggeration!
When you have monks talking of
one hundred and twenty knights
defeating thirty-five thousand oppo-
nents you know you are in the
realms of fantasy. I don’t doubt that
the Normans regularly beat many
more than they faced, but sheer
logic tells you that no one could sus-
tain an army in the field of that
number and feed them in a world
without an abundance of roads, a
world were everything had to be
transported by hooves or humans.
Apart from the original sources the
Internet was good for – details of
equipment and tactics, especially the
various re-enactment societies –
books included Gibbon’s Decline &
Fall, the Cambridge Medieval History
and a marvellous non-fiction telling
of the tale called The Normans in the
South by John Julius Norwich. But
in the end, it is fiction, with invent-
ed dialogue and fleshed out narra-
tives. That requires my normal
standby, which is that human nature
is immutable – it does not change
greatly whatever century we are in.
What’s next in The Conquest
Trilogy?
If the brothers de Hauteville were
remarkable, it is even more astonish-
ing the way the youngsters of the
brood surpassed their elder siblings.
Without doubt the two greatest of
the family were Robert, called the
Guiscard, and Roger, the baby of the
family known to history as the Great
Count. The final book in the trilogy
charts their successes, some failures,
as well as their sometimes fractious
relationship.
Do you work on the Pearce novels
and your other historical fiction
simultaneously or compartmentalize
them over a year’s time?
In terms of writing you have to keep
7
them separate; in terms of thinking
whatever you are about to write
about is ever present. Eating, walk-
ing, sleeping, and even when drink-
ing a nice glass of wine.
What can you tell us about John
Pearce’s new adventures in An Ill
Wind , without spoiling the plot for
readers?
Be careful who you trust and, when
things look to be at their bleakest,
good fortune may be just over the
horizon. He will meet and talk with
the greatest general of the age, find
that orders are not always obeyed,
do things that do not enhance his
reputation
amongst his
peers, while old
enemies can be
both cunning
and stupid,
either of those
attributes bring-
ing on deep
trouble and
great danger.
What’s next for Pearce, after an An
Ill Wind ?
To answer that would negate the
precautions in the previous response.
Suffice to say he still has his friends
as well as his enemies and the for-
mer are as likely to cause him trou-
ble as the latter.
Is there anything else you would like
to share with our readers?
Although Conquest does not com-
plete the story of the de Hauteville
brothers, I am putting it aside for a
bit.
 Michael Aye

Swiftly Paced
NAVAL ADVENTURES
“I try to find interesting
A
merican novelist Michael Aye’s swiftly paced naval
areas that have not adventures about England’s Fighting Anthonys –
brothers Gilbert and Gabe – have found a niche in
already been used by nautical fiction. The fourth title in the series, SeaHorse, has
been completed. The author discusses the Anthonys and a new
other authors.” writing venture in this interview with Quarterdeck:

Your current novel, SeaHorse , is the fourth title in the saga of

The Fighting Anthonys. What does the future hold for the
British seafaring family?

I expect to see the Anthony brothers continue to do

their duty for their country, even if they are some-
what skeptical about the cause and its outcome.
I’ve planned for the series to end at the conclu-
sion of the American Revolution, but have also
fudged with the outlines, which go forward
into the wars with France. The deciding factor
will be the fans. If readers continue to buy the
series and I continue to receive favorable
emails, the series could last ten books beyond
the ten currently planned for the American
Revolution. Readers have the helm.

How do you approach each new novel? Do you

outline the story in advance of writing?

I have looked at actual events that took place during the

period, and build my story around those events. When
Michael Aye researching for events I try to find interesting areas that have
not already been used by other authors. I try to use real charac-
ters to be more historically accurate, and I have been surprised
by the number of emails I’ve received from fans/readers com-
menting on this practice. The placement of real people at real
events is sometimes more interesting than fiction. You only
8

have to read a few of Jim Nelson’s
books to discover this. However,
while I try to be historically accu-
rate, with me the storyline has to
come first. After all, this is fiction
for pleasure reading.
From where do you draw your sup -
porting characters? How do you
name them?
Good question. And you will proba-
bly be surprised at my answer. Since
my first book, The Reaper, I had a
long list of hunting buddies,
patients from our allergy practice
and relatives who have asked for me
to use their names as characters in
my books. Baseball
great Ray Knight
and his wife, golfer
Nancy Lopez, are “... writing is a joy, a way to relax ...
two people whose
names I’ve used. A Writing is a balm for the soul. I
friend of mine is a
descendant from turn on the music and let my mind
Scottish Lord
Raglan, so he’s a take me where it will.”
character in
SeaHorse. I recently
read an article about a World War II
hero, who was first mate on a crash
boat in the Pacific. He is a character
in SeaHorse, as well. When I
describe a character, I have the real
person in mind, and use his or her
physical description, but that is as
far as it goes. It may be their name,
but the character is of my making.
What intrigues you about the period
in which the Anthonys lived?
Lots of different things amaze me. I
love the romance of the era. The
attitude that we will overcome, we
will be glorious. However, having
Michael Aye
said that, being in medicine, I am
totally amazed at how many people
survived in spite of the physicians
and surgeons doing their best to
insure fatal outcomes by using bar-
baric treatments. I recently pur-
chased and read a book entitled
Revolutionary Medicine. One thing
was quite evident while reading the
book and I’ve used the line in some
of my stories. The remedies would
either cure you or kill you; either
way you quit complaining.
Where do you typically write? Do
you use a computer?
We added on to our house, enclosed
the garage and built a new one. My
wife now describes the enclosed
garage as “Man Land.” I have several
paintings from the Age of Sail, a
huge ship’s wheel on one wall, a
library with hundreds of books –
both fiction and nonfiction – and a
large rolltop desk. Atop the desk, I
have my most common writing ref-
erences and pipe collection. On a
small table I have a CD player.
Along one wall, two gun safes and
most of my hunting gear are stored
in an enclosed area. One gun safe
holds a few antique weapons.
I do not use a typewriter or com-
puter to write. I turn on a lamp that
9
I made and write in longhand. A
story would never be written if I had
to use either a computer, word
processor or typewriter.
Do you find writing a difficult?
No, writing is not a difficult exer-
cise. Editing is a headache. The folks
at my publisher, Boson Books, are
great about ensuring things are cor-
rect for the era, including dialogue,
terms, phrases, spelling and punctu-
ation. I’m the pits with the last two;
too many years of abbreviating med-
ical charts, I guess. But, no, writing
to me is a joy, a way to relax. It’s a
way to take my mind off that
wheezing child or
that increase in
premiums to
insure my employ-
ees. Writing is a
balm for the soul.
I turn on the
music and let my
mind take me
where it will.
Is there a time of
day that best suits your writing?
Yes. Usually my writing is done in
the evening. My sales are growing
each year, but I still depend on my
day job to put bread on the table. I
rarely ever watch TV, other than an
occasional old movie (I love swash-
bucklers and westerns) and some-
times college sports.
Anyway, my writing is done in
the evenings, but I frequently wake
up in the wee hours of the morning
with a thought, so I go down and
write until I get sleepy. This drives
my wife to distraction.

What can you tell our readers about
SeaHorse, without spoiling the plot?
First of all SeaHorse is somewhat of a
tribute to the World War II hero
mentioned earlier. His boat was the
SeaHorse. The original title was to
have been HMS Peregrine (which is
a type of falcon). When I read an
article on this amazing man I knew
I had to pay tribute to his memory,
so the focus of the story changed to
include his character. (My next book
will be entitled Peregrine.) SeaHorse
begins with the Anthonys back
home in England. Gil is enjoying
time with his wife and little girl.
Gabe is facing a conflict of emotion.
His ship is suddenly found to be
unseaworthy, which is depressing,
while at the same time he’s prepar-
ing to wed Faith and begin a new
life with his love. Then a needful
nation calls. Admiral Lord Anthony
has just returned from Gabe’s wed-
ding when the Admiralty’s messen-
ger arrives. Lord Anthony has been
given command of His Majesty’s
ships in the Windward Islands. He
and Gabe set sail with a new
squadron to face old enemies, per-
sonal tragedies, daring privateers,
and the French, who have signed an
alliance with the determined
American colonies. The book con-
tinues to provide action, romance,
and humor. Critiques thus far have
been very positive with a number of
them stating that they like the inter-
personal relationships of the
characters.
Do you have other writing projects
underway in addition to The
Fighting Anthonys?
Yes. I have completed a book enti-
Michael Aye
www.michaelaye.com
tled Malachi Mundy – Book One:
Birth of a Nation. It was first turned
down by several publishers, who felt
that combining two small genres –
the Age of Sail and a Christian set-
ting – would limit the marketability
and not be cost effective. However,
Father and Son Publishing disagreed
and plan to go forward encouraged
by a positive critique from Dr. Jim
McBride, who wrote the screenplays
for Facing the Giants and Fireproof.
(These movies were produced by
Sherwood Pictures of Sherwood
Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia
and distributed by Sony Pictures.) I
have planned nine books in the
Malachi Mundy project. Three deal
with the Revolutionary War, three
feature the Civil War, and three
focus on World War II. The series
will be written under the pen name
Michael “Doc” Fowler.
Is there anything else you would like
to share with out readers?
10
The Fighting Anthonys
1 - The Reaper
Trade Paperback | 200 Pages |
2 - HMS SeaWolf
Trade Paperback | 276 Pages |
3 - Barracuda
Trade Paperback | 233 Pages |
4 - SeaHorse
Trade Paperback | 192 Pages |
(Not yet available.)
The sales of my books are donated
to a trust fund, in my grandson
Michael Fowler’s name, for spinal
cord injuries. I feel it is important
that readers know their dollars are
being funneled into a worthwhile
project. I would also like to thank
McBooks Press for continuing to
provide a marketplace for Age of
Sail books, and for publishing
Quarterdeck to keep readers
informed about what’s happening in
the genre. Also, a special thanks to
David Hayes and his website
(www.historicfiction.com), which also
helps to keep the genre well
informed, and to Bill Hammond
and Jim Nelson for always being
available and responsive to my
numerous inquiries. I would also
like the readers to know that behind
every successful man is a good
woman: in my case an angel who
has put up with me for forty years
in December. Without her efforts,
there would not be a Fighting
Anthonys Series.
 Harry Turtledove

Master of
ALTERNATE
HISTORY
N
ovelist Harry Turtledove – known as “The Master of
Alternate History” – creates original alternate history
scenarios, such as the survival of the Byzantine Empire
or an alien invasion in the
middle of the Second
World War. Turtledove gives
“I think the most fresh and original treat-
ments to themes previously
important thing in dealt with by many others,
such as the victory of the
fiction is to remem- South in the American
Civil War and of Nazi
ber not to tell too Germany in the Second
World War. His novels,
much – only as which have a strong mili-
tary theme, have been cred-
much as the reader ited with bringing alternate
history into the main-
needs to know stream.
Turtledove responded to
what’s going on, and questions from Quarterdeck
Harry Turtledove regarding his writing career
no more.” in this interview:

After an academic career that led to your PhD, what drew you to
write your first novel, Wereblood ?

I’d done a first and second draft while still an undergrad. I

reworked it at the same time as I was writing my diss [disserta-

11
 Harry Turtledove
tion], which made the diss run later
than it might have.
Had you written any fiction up to
that time?
I’d sold one story before Wereblood,
but the magazine died before it
came out (I did get paid for it). I
eventually resold that piece.
Did you read fiction during your
formative years? What types of nov-
els?
I read everything that didn’t read me
first. Fiction, nonfiction, you name
it – if it was in print, I’d waste time
with it. I found sci-
ence fiction when I
was eleven or
twelve, and read
“I get to tell my kind of story my
tons of it, which
probably doesn’t
kind of way. If real historical bits
surprise anyone. I
first found out
work, I use them ... If they don’t, I
about the
Byzantine Empire
get to make things up ...”
through L. Sprague
de Camp’s mar-
velous Lest Darkness Fall, and, many
years later, had the privilege of
telling him so.
Why did you ultimately begin writ-
ing alternative historical fiction,
rather than playing it straight with
known history in your novels?
Well, let’s see, I’d been reading sci-
ence fiction forever. I wanted to
write it. I was a trained historian –
unemployable, but trained. What’s
a would-be science fiction writer
with a background like that going to
do? Mess with history, right?
Seemed so me, anyhow.
What was the most difficult aspect
of transitioning from nonfiction to
writing novels?
I’d started trying to write fiction
long before I did nonfiction in my
dissertation and the handful of
scholarly articles I’ve published. I
think the most important thing in
fiction is to remember not to tell too
much – only as much as the reader
needs to know what’s going on, and
no more. The “I’ve done my
research and you’re gonna suffer for
it” syndrome can trap people much
too easily. I have an academic friend
who tried to write a novel, but
couldn’t leave the footnotes out.
He’s a much better administrator
than I could ever be, though.
What appeals to you about writing
fiction, as opposed to nonfiction?
I get to tell my kind of story my
kind of way. If real historical bits
work, I use them or adapt them or
whatever. If they don’t, I get to
make things up, which is also fun.
Your Timeline-191 Alternate
History series covers a vast amount
of ground. How did the smaller
series within the umbrella series
evolve?
12
How Few Remain sets up what
comes afterwards, obviously: the
USA’s second humiliation within
twenty years at the hands of the
CSA [Confederate States of
America] and its European allies,
and the USA’s concomitant search
for European allies of its own. After
that, the smaller series within the
big series are basically World War I,
the interwar years, and World War
II. From 1914 on, it’s all one con-
tinuous story anyhow.
How do you select your protago-
nists?
I try to find interesting people and
have them doing
interesting things.
Don’t know how
else to put it.
How do you name
your characters?
Names need to be
true to time and
milieu. One trick
is to take real sur-
names from a particular time and
place and mix them with different
first names from the same period
and area.
Are your characters based on specific
persons from history? Are there any
aspects of you or other individuals
you know within them?
Some characters are based on real
people, yes. There’s a technical term
for writers who say they don’t put
themselves and people around them
into their work: they’re liars.
Do you work out your plots in
 Harry Turtledove
advance, before beginning each
novel?
I usually know where I’m going, but
I rarely know how I’m going to get
there. Telling myself the story is part
of the fun. If I can surprise myself,
it’s a fair bet my readers will be sur-
prised, too.
Do your characters ever take on a
life of their own and influence the
direction of your stories?
Absolutely. That’s one of the ways
you know when they’re really com-
ing to life.
How important is historical credibil-
ity in creating engaging fiction for
readers?
It depends entirely on what you’re
doing. For the kinds of things I
write, it’s usually very important.
Disbelief is heavy; you have to work
hard to suspend it. Throwing the
readers out of period and atmos-
phere sends that disbelief crashing
down on their heads, and you’ve
probably lost them.
When you are working on a novel,
do you find yourself falling into the
past?
Hard to fall back into the past when
it’s so very convenient to Google
something and find out what you
need to know about it. For living,
you can’t beat the present. Not to
put too fine a point on it, I’d be
dead several times over without
modern medicine – and I’m not
even talking about all the lives saved
through immunization. This is true
of most people older than, oh, about
The Timeline 191 Alternate Histories
By Harry Turtledove
What if Robert E. Lee’s plans for his invasion of the North (known as
Special Order 191) had not fallen into Union hands? What if the
Confederacy had won the Civil War and maintained the Confederate
States of America as an independent country? In Harry Turtledove’s
series this is exactly what happens, resulting in an entirely different
time line that is chillingly plausible. The USA and CSA exist side by
side, engaging in protracted wars with each other, fostering racism and
intolerance in their quest for dominance, and making shocking
alliances with other world powers. Narrated by an intriguing cast of
soldiers, civilians, politicians and revolutionaries – and featuring real
historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, George Armstrong Custer, and
Teddy Roosevelt – this is an imaginative fast-moving story of a century
that might have been.
Available in Mass Market Paperbacks
1 - How Few Remain
2 - The Great War: American Front
3 - The Great War: Walk in Hell
4 - The Great War: Breakthroughs
5 - American Empire: Blood and Iron
6 - American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold
7 - American Empire: The Victorious Opposition
8 - Settling Accounts: Return Engagement
9 - Settling Accounts: Drive to the East
10 - Settling Accounts: The Grapple
11 - Settling Accounts: In at the Death
13
 Harry Turtledove
mumblety-three. Kydd Sea Adventures Collectible
Do you write specifically for your
readers or do you write the sort of
10 - Invasion
novel you would like to read? By Julian Stockwin

I write things I find interesting to

read. I’m delighted when other peo-
ple find them interesting, too. It
means I can do this instead of hav-
ing to work for a living, which I’ve
done before, and which is much less
enjoyable.

Would you describe where you

write?
I’ve got a niche in the master bed-
room surrounded on both sides by
bookshelves. I do first drafts in long-
hand, so my work is very portable.
I often work downstairs in the
library. I come to the Mac when I
need to put things into a form other
people can read.
Do you maintain a reference library?
It’s indispensable for the kinds of
things I do. Besides, I just like
books.
What are you currently working on?
An alternate history centered on
World War II breaking out eleven
months early, over Czechoslovakia,
as Hitler wanted it to do. The first
book in the series, Hitler’s War, just
came out from Del Rey. And I’m
working up other proposals.
Is there anything else you would like
to share with our readers?
Just to thank them for being inter-
ested in what I do. I couldn’t do it
without ’em.
Rumors fly of Napoleon’s planned invasion of England. In France,
American inventor Robert Fulton has created "infernal machines" that he
claims can wreak mass destruction from a distance. Fulton believes that
his inventions – the submarine and torpedo – will win the day for the
power that possesses them.
But Napoleon is far from convinced, and the English employ a clever
scheme to bring Fulton over to their side. The plan calls for Renzi to risk
his life contacting Fulton in Revolutionary France and then requires
Kydd to help develop the devices in England. Kydd believes that standing
man-to-man is the only honorable way to fight, yet he agrees to take part
in the crucial testing of these new long-range weapons. He knows he can-
not escape the truth: in the end, their fire power just may decide the fate
of nations!
We are offering a small number of UK first edition sets to collectors of
Julian Stockwin's works. The illustration shows the book cover, the
signed, numbered, and embossed title page, an enlarged detail of the
embossing, and both sides of the signed commemorative postcard. The
gold embossed leather bookmark isn’t shown, but will be included.
UK Hardcover | 352 Pages
Signed by Julian Stockwin
(while supplies last)
14
 TOM HARPER
Connected by
CENTURIES
Tom Harper slips between the ancient past and the
present to create engaging historical fiction.

T
om Harper is the pen name of British novelist Edwin
Thomas, who launched his career with The Blighted
Cliffs, the first of three splendid historical mysteries fea-
turing Lieutenant Martin Jerrold of the
Royal Navy.

What drew you to write your most recent

historical mysteries, The Lost Temple and The
Book of Secrets ?

The Lost Temple was, in many ways, a reac-

tion to Siege of Heaven. I’m very proud of
that book, but it took an enormous effort to
write and I was in danger of losing sight of
what I enjoy about writing. I was watching
an Indiana Jones movie shortly afterwards,
with a big smile on my face, and realized
that I wanted to create something that gave
me the same feeling. I’ve always loved
Indiana Jones, so Lost Temple was my love-
letter to it.
One aspect of The Lost Temple I really
enjoyed was piecing together the historical
Tom Harper mystery and bringing it into the (almost)
(AKA Edwin Thomas) present day. My editor was very keen for me
to continue in a similar vein, and suggested a
timeslip novel [which is described later] as a way of combining
past and present in a single book. I agreed, and started looking
for new ideas that would lend themselves to that treatment.

15

What motivated you to incorporate
the twentieth and twenty-first cen-
turies in your two recent novels?
My editor was very keen for me to
try my hand at a contemporary
thriller. A straight modern thriller
didn’t appeal, but I’ve always been
very interested in the ways the past
intersects with the present. I wrote
the Crusades trilogy, in part, as a
reflection on the current situation in
the Middle East, but there’s a limit
to what you can do in a pure histor-
ical setting. You have to lay out the
story and hope that the reader
notices the parallels. By bringing the
story into the mod-
ern day, you can
connect the past
and the present “... there’s a limit to what you can do
much more direct-
ly: demonstrate in a pure historical setting ... you
how one emerges
from the other, and can connect the past and the present
explore the connec-
tions. much more directly ...”
What about the
ruins of the post-war Mediterranean,
the myths and literature of lost civi -
lizations appealed to you as a basis
for an historical mystery?
I came to it by chance. I was brows-
ing in a secondhand bookshop, and
I happened to pick up a book called
The Decipherment of Linear B. It
details, very clearly, the brilliant
intellectual feat of the two men who
figured out how to read the ancient
Mycenean script called Linear B, a
riddle on a par with the Egyptian
hieroglyphs. I’d recently read Neal
Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, which I
loved, so code-breaking was very
much on my mind. When I found
TOM HARPER
out that Linear B tied in to the
Greek Age of Heroes, the historical
period when the Trojan war most
likely happened, and thence to the
poems of Homer, I had the richest
source material imaginable. My wife
is half-Greek and we spend a lot of
time there, so it was nice to be able
to use that heritage in the book.
What was the genesis of The Book of
Secrets ?
Again, chance. I was studying Sir
Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur,
and got interested in William
Caxton, the first printer in England,
who printed the Morte. I couldn’t
find out much about Caxton, so I
thought I’d try Gutenberg. The
more I read about Gutenberg, the
more intrigued I became by this
enigmatic character who produced
arguably the most significant inven-
tion of the last thousand years. I was
fascinated by the idea that he wasn’t
only interested in mass-production,
but in using technology to create
something more perfect than the
human hand could manage. The
eureka moment was when I discov-
ered a potential link between
Gutenberg and an even more myste-
rious artist known as the Master of
the Playing Cards. No-one knows
16
anything at all about the Master,
except that he was almost certainly
the man who invented intaglio
printing from copper engraving.
The idea that these two geniuses
could have collaborated gripped me.
I really wanted to explore what their
relationship might have been like.
What can you share with us about
The Book of Secrets without spoiling
the plot for readers?
The Book of Secrets is a timeslip
novel. Half of it takes place in the
present day, and half in fifteenth
century Germany. The historical
strand follows
Johann
Gutenberg’s
extraordinary life
as he works
towards his crown-
ing achievement,
the invention of
printing from
movable type. The
modern strand
begins in New
York City, when computer
researcher Nick Ash receives a des-
perate message from his ex-girlfriend
begging him to save her. The only
clue he has to go on is the image of
a mysterious medieval playing card.
As he follows her trail, first in New
York and then across Europe, he
realizes that she’s stumbled onto an
ancient secret whose roots go back
to the dawn of printing.
What appeals to you about stand -
alone novels, as opposed to series
fiction, such as the Martin Jerrold
stories or your Demetrios Askiates
trilogy?

The Hungarian literary theorist
Lajos Egri has this idea that the
characters of a drama should be per-
fectly formulated to that particular
story: given the way they are, the
story that unfolds is the only possi-
ble outcome. I think there’s a lot of
truth in that. With series fiction,
you have to upend that a bit,
because you start with characters
who were perfectly formulated for
the first book, and then have to find
another story that fits those same
characters without being repetitive.
With stand-alones, I enjoy the
process of starting fresh each time
and being able to find characters to
serve the story I
want to tell.
Would you con- “I wanted the Crusades trilogy to be
sider writing series
fiction again? as historically accurate as possible ... I
I certainly
almost drove myself into the ground
wouldn’t rule it
out. In fact, I’d
trying to figure out a story ...”
have been quite
happy to make
Sam Grant (from Lost Temple) a
series character, but my publisher
talked me out of it. On the other
hand, I feel a lot more creative free-
dom at the moment with being able
to do different things with every
book. It gives me more scope to
experiment with different voices and
styles, different approaches and
characters.
Has your approach to writing shift -
ed since your first published novels
about Martin Jerrold?
It’s certainly evolved, although a lot
of the processes remain similar.
Paradoxically, I do much more
TOM HARPER
research than I did on the early
Jerrold novels, but at the same time
feel more comfortable manipulating
the history. I still recoil from putting
in anything that’s actually counter-
factual or knowingly wrong, but I’ve
got a better feel for how to edit the
history to serve the story better.
Siege of Heaven was a key book in
that regard. I wanted the Crusades
trilogy to be as historically accurate
as possible, but on that book I
almost drove myself into the ground
trying to figure out a story that
would also tell the history. It’s so
complicated and tangled it’s just not
possible – you have to be selective.
It’s a lesson I applied usefully to the
Gutenberg story. It covers almost
sixty years of his life, whereas the
timescales for the previous books
range from two weeks (The Blighted
Cliffs) to about a year (Siege of
Heaven). You have to figure out
ways of skipping to the important
bits that drive the story forward.
How did you select your protago -
nists in The Lost Temple and The
Book of Secrets ?
The Lost Temple, as I’ve said, was
inspired by Indiana Jones, so in Sam
Grant I wanted a hero who’d be
dashing and masculine and extreme-
17
ly able. After the inept Martin
Jerrold and the reluctant Demetrios.
Askiates, it was fun to work with
someone who was less complicated.
A friend of mine thought he was
reminiscent of Ian Fleming’s James
Bond, which I was thrilled by. With
The Book of Secrets, Johann
Gutenberg was always going to be
the protagonist of the historical sec-
tion. We know almost nothing of
his life, only occasional fragments
that hint at major dramas just off
stage, so I had great fun imagining a
history for him that would touch
the known bases, while explaining
how the son of a Mainz merchant
could pull off
this incredible
invention.
Definitely one of
the most extreme
characters I’ve
worked with. For
the modern
strand, by con-
trast, I wanted an
everyman who
would get sucked
into an adventure he really hadn’t
sought.
Is there a particular historical period
you enjoy researching and writing
about?
Having spent three books in the
early medieval period of the eleventh
century, I found I really enjoyed
researching the later middle ages of
the fifteenth century. So little sur-
vives of the earlier period, both tex-
tually and materially, that it can
become frustrating to research. By
the fifteenth century, there’s much
more to work with and you can get
a better sense of life as it might have

been, which enriches the fiction.
Fifteenth century Europe is really
fascinating: there are a lot of aspects
we’d recognize today: urbanization,
the growth of the middle classes, the
importance of trade and the growth
of the state; but equally, a strong
medieval mindset underlying it all.
Since I live in York, researching the
fifteenth century is particularly
rewarding. I remember sitting in a
local library reading about fifteenth
century houses, and coming across
the information that some of the
best-preserved examples in the UK
were actually in York. They now
house a Chinese restaurant and
some shops. I’d walked past them a
hundred times and never really reg-
istered them. Living here, you don’t
need to bury yourself in books: just
look around.
What is next on your writing hori-
zon?
I’m currently working on a new
stand-alone timeslip novel, The
Lazarus Vault, which shifts between
twelfth century France and present-
day England. The modern strand is
about a young woman who goes to
work for a mysterious old bank in
the City of London; the medieval
story centers on the poet Chretien
de Troyes. It’s a bit of a departure for
me in that the lead character is
female; also that the chase element,
which has been the hallmark of
most of my novels since The Chains
of Albion, doesn’t kick in until much
later in the book. It’s an interesting
challenge trying to build tension
working with suspense and threat.
Visit Tom Harper online at
www.tomharper.com.
TOM HARPER
Historical Fiction
The Book of Secrets
By Tom Harper
In a snowbound village in the German
mountains, a young woman discovers an
extraordinary secret. Before she can reveal it,
she disappears. All that survives is a picture of
a mysterious medieval playing card that has
perplexed scholars for centuries. Nick Ash
does research for the FBI in New York. Six
months ago his girlfriend Gillian walked out
and broke his heart. Now he's the only per-
son who can save her – if it’s not too late.
Within hours of getting her message, Nick
finds himself on the run, delving deep into
the past before it catches up with him.
Hunted across Europe, Nick follows Gillian's
trail into the heart of a five-hundred-year-old mystery. But across the cen-
turies, powerful forces are closing around him.
UK Paperback | 592 Pages
The Lost Temple
By Tom Harper
For three thousand years, the world's most
dangerous treasure has been lost. Now the
code that reveals its hiding place is about to
be broken. Sam Grant is a disgraced former
soldier and an adventurer by trade. But he
has a secret: six years ago, a dying archaeolo-
gist entrusted him with his life's work – tran-
scripts of mysterious writing found in a hid-
den cave on Crete. Deciphered, it could lead
to one of the greatest prizes in history. But
the treasure is as dangerous as it is valuable.
The CIA wants it; so does the KGB. Helped
by a brilliant Oxford professor, and a beauti-
ful Greek archaeologist with her own secrets
to hide, Grant is plunged into a labyrinth of ancient cults, forgotten
mysteries and lost civilizations. But time is running out. Secrets of the
past may hold the key to the newest threats of the modern world.
UK Paperback | 400 Pages
18
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BY GEORGE!
Continued from page 3
first editions displayed behind locked glass-doored cabi-
nets. Clearly the English valued their maritime heritage.
As we strolled the streets of London over the next
couple of days, Amy logged the number of shops we
had visited and shot photos of me in front of the signs.
It began as a bit of ribbing, but we soon realized that we
were being drawn toward Tall Ships Books – a thought
both daunting and exciting. Outside of Rich Merritt,
we knew no one in the book trade, nor had we any
experience in running a shop.
A day later, setting aside thoughts of books for a
time, we boarded an 8:15 AM train bound for
Portsmouth Harbour to tour the Historic Dockyard,
Royal Naval Museum and HMS Victory. Fortified with
cups of tea and warm scones purchased in the station,
we sat back and absorbed the passing countryside. As
we sped through Hampshire, looking across the rolling
hills, I imagined Jack Aubrey’s Ashgrove Cottage
described in Patrick O’Brian’s novels.
The train slowed as it approached Portsmouth
Harbour, and within minutes we were were walking
toward the Dockyard gate, flanked by brick pillars and
topped by golden globes. A brisk sea breeze blew across
the harbor, ruffling the waters. I couldn’t help thinking
that we were following the steps of countless British sea-
men and officers – including Nelson himself – as we
passed the mast pond and warehouses dating back to
Georgian times. In the distance, the masts and crosstrees
of HMS Victory stood dark and tall against the sky.
Along our route, we approached a Dockyard shop.
Stepping inside, we encountered shelves of nautical fic-
tion and naval history. So we hadn’t escaped the new
theme in our lives, and it was beginning to seem
inevitable that Tall Ships Books would soon operate
under new ownership.
After several days exploring London and the sur-
rounding countryside, we left Big Ben, Windsor Castle,
Westminster Abby, and our favorite pub, the Swan,
behind. Arriving home, we met with Rich Merritt and
finalized details for us to acquire Tall Ships Books. Not
long after taking the helm, we were in touch with a fel-
low called Alex Skutt, owner and publisher of McBooks
Press in Ithaca, NY. Without Alex’ foresight in deciding
to publish a broad spectrum of sea fiction, Tall Ships
Books would have been sailing in the doldrums.
20
There was a resurgence of interest in the mid-to-late
1990s in nautical fiction among readers and publishers
alike. The Heart of Oak Sea Classics, edited by Dean
King brought back long out-of-print titles to compli-
ment the modern sea writers Kent, Woodman, David
Donachie, Dewey Lambdin, and O’Brian. James L.
Nelson launched the Isaac Biddlecomb novels set dur-
ing the American Revolution about this time. A wave
of sea stories swept across America and the United
Kingdom. There were also readers from around the
world, including Australia and Japan. Tall Ships Books
flourished, and publishers looked for new authors in
the genre, like Julian Stockwin, whose first novel, Kydd,
was launched in 2001.
By the midpoint of the first decade of the new cen-
tury, the market had changed. Small shops were
squeezed out by large bookstore chains and Internet-
driven booksellers. Historical fiction readers were
becoming an older demographic, with fewer members
of younger generations reading these books. A sea-
change was influencing the market. Then came the eco-
nomic downturn around the world. Exchange rates no
longer favored the U.S. dollar, and Tall Ships Books
was no longer a viable small business. We closed our
doors.
Historical fiction readers had McBooks Press to turn
toward, but in these economic times previous business
models don’t always work. Thankfully for all of us who
continue to enjoy going down to the sea in books,
McBooks Press will continue to publish titles in the
genre. Readers looking for alternatives to purchase
books published by McBooks and other publishers can
turn to online shops like The Book Depository
(www.bookdepository.co.uk) and Amazon.co.uk in the
UK, and Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble
(www.barnesandnoble.com) and Borders
(www.borders.com) in the U.S. And, yes, there are still
a few independents hanging on.
Amy and I are grateful for our years as book dealers.
I have taken great pleasure in producing Quarterdeck
and its predecessor, Bowsprit, over the last decade. It has
brought wonderfully talented and interesting authors
and marine artists into my life. I continue to read in
the genre, and look forward to a winter at sea, from a
comfortable chair by the fireside.
George Jepson