The Book

1936 - Mallory is the captain of a tramp ship. Up to his eyes in hock he takes his ship 'Aspatria' anywhere he can to make a quick buck. Crewed by reprobates like Macpherson the homicidal Gorbals bosun, Auntie Joan the transvestite third engineer and "Fingers" Nestorowicz the digit-deprived Polish cook in carpet slippers, the ship oil slicks its way around the salubrious coasts of the world, getting into one hilarious scrape after another. Join our gallant captain and his sea mongrels for a ripping yarn of adventure and romance on the high seas.

Now available on AMAZON KINDLE Books

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00A1SYKZW



Sunday 24 February 2013

Barged Out of the Way


The new book is coming along and should be available to download on Kindle sometime in late March.

Unfortunately, I am currently being sidetracked and reading an excellent Kindle book called 'A Floating Home' by J.B.Atkins and Cyril Ionides. It is unusual in that it was written in 1916 and describes a family who were struggling to afford both housing and private schooling for their children. They hit upon the idea of buying a working Thames sailing barge and converting it to a home. Although not unusual these days, during the Great War, it would have been a head-turning event.

The author talks about 'Water-sense'. He said 'In many people the sight of water responds to some fundamental need of the mind - when they are away from water they are vaguely uncomfortable, perhaps feeling that the road of freedom and escape is cut off'.

I think most of us who have lived, worked or played on the water can empathise with this. Certainly here in the UK, where you are never far from water, whether it is a lake, canal, river or the coast. I get very ratty if I don't see an expanse of water every few days or so and have always put it down to the fact that the average human is about 60% water and there is some psychological need.

For those of you not acquainted with these beautiful boats, they were designed to carry cargo around the shallow and broken east coast of England. They are shallow draft, can be handled by two crew, often husband and wife and luckily, there are still a few of them around.

If you are interested in learning more about these barges, this is a good link:
Sailing Barges

Saturday 26 January 2013

The South of France



The sequel 'The Surge of The Sea' opens with Aspatria discharging cargo in the port of Marseille.

Marseille has changed in the last 80 years and many of the commercial ship repair facilities and yards have switched to becoming repair stops for luxury yachts.

I was there recently and it was very cold I can tell you. Despite beautiful blue skies, temperatures hovered around freezing point and there was ice on the deck. The 'Mistral' wind whistled across the open spaces of the port and left white horses on the sea outside the breakwater. The wind chill made it seem even colder than it was.

Just as well Mallory was there later in the season !!

Sunday 6 January 2013

The Surge of The Sea - New Book and Sequel


Work on the sequel to 'The Pull of The Tide' has fared rather better than expected and the Kindle edition will be available earlier. It was originally scheduled for April 2013.

'The Surge of The Sea' is set in the Mediterranean nearly a year after the first novel. The book opens in Marseille, France and "Slammer" Jenkins is celebrating his 18th birthday. The crew decide to give him a rather unusual present and it's not long before their collective nose for trouble has got them involved in an international scandal of potentially gigantic proportions.

The second book still revolves around the dysfunctional crew of the tramp ship Aspatria and their long-suffering captain, but the plot is slightly darker and more sinister as they grow closer to the start of the Second World War.

Although 'The Surge of The Sea' could be read as your first Mallory book, it is recommended that 'The Pull of The Tide' is read first as the stories are very intertwined.

The second novel also has more adult content and reader discretion is advised.