Cover Reveal: Private Man of War

“A man who attempts to keep all his pain for himself is likely to give it to others.”

- Michael Kurcina, We Fight Monsters

My next novel is in production, and I can finally release the cover art for Private Man of War. The story follows the return of Robert Marshal from the war in the north. The main character in my previous novel, I had once described him as a competent sailor, but naïve to a degree in the ways of the world. No longer … having become a jaded recluse after his experience fighting the French and their native allies, he is redeemed only through the efforts of friends and shipmates. He returns to the sea – and the war – but this time to the Caribbean in command of a privateer.

The name of the novel, Private Man of War, is a reference to this; referring to both the captain and crew, but also the ship herself. All of them are going to war for profit, rather than patriotism. Sailing the Caribbean from the Leeward to the Windward Islands, Robert and his crew battle the French, storms at sea and disease to gain the prize money as their due.

When a British fleet unexpectedly comes to the Leeward Islands to oppose the French, Robert and his ship are forced to assist in the invasion of Martinique and Guadeloupe. As the armies face each other on the islands, the fleets move between them, seeking the weather gauge and advantage. Ultimately, alone and outnumbered, Robert and his crew face Robert’s former French nemesis and other privateers in the final fight for the French islands.

The novel will be available soon in bookstores and on-line retailers!