Books published by Fireship Press

Millions of readers have thrilled to the high seas adventures of characters such as: Horatio Hornblower, Jack Aubrey and Nicholas Ramage. They are characters in nautical fiction, but their exploits are based on people whose contributions and courage were very real indeed. Could Hornblower have possible been unaware of Rodney’s famous maneuver at the Battle of the Saints? Could Aubrey not have been influenced by Nelson’s technique at the Battle of the Nile? Would Ramage have ever proceeded into a fleet action without the signaling system devised by Howe? Would any of our literary heroes have been unaware of the exploits of Anson, Hawke, Duncan and Keppel? The answer, of course, is no. The great fighting captains of the Napoleonic era¾real and fictional¾were both informed and inspired by the greats that went before them. Presented here are the stories of seven of those great admirals. If you wish to truly understand Hornblower, Aubrey and Ramage, this is the place you must start. Tom Grundner is a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy and a decorated Vietnam veteran. A retired college professor, he is also the author of The Ramage Companion and the Sir Sidney Smith Nautical Adventure book series.

SFC Jared Monti was not the only hero in the battle on Hill 2610. There were 15 other brave American soldiers in the patrol who refused to back down despite the overwhelming odds against them. Jared undoubtedly would have said, "Write about them. There's no need to mention me." At the very least, he would have approved of having this book dedicated to his comrades-in-arms: SSG Chris Cunningham, SSG Patrick Lybert, SGT John Hawes, SPC John Garner, SSG Chris Grzecki, SPC Sean Smith, SPC Franklin Woods, SPC Brian Gonterman, SPC Max Noble, PFC Brian Bradbury, PFC Derek James, SPC Matthew Chambers, SPC Shawn Heistand, SPC Daniel Linnihan, and SSG Josh Renken. As John Hawes says, "Jared would have been proud to have this book dedicated to 'his boys.' He would have wanted it known that we fought together as a team." "It would be a challenge to find a group of soldiers who better represent the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division than the soldiers who fought so bravely on top of that rocky mountain near Gowardesh, Afghanistan," proclaims 10th Mountain Division Commander Major General Stephen J. Townsend. "Although badly outnumbered and separated from their unit, those soldiers refused to accept defeat."

Wiona Rutherford is barely keeping her head above the dust as she struggles to manage her dilapidated ranch, located in the arid, mountain corridor that is the border between Mexico and Southeast Arizona, is a major crossing for illegal aliens. Although Wiona is sympathetic to those who undertake this dangerous journey, she is sick to death of the damage they leave behind. Then she comes upon a lone woman and her just born baby on the cold ground under an oak tree. Gayle Jandrey has created an enthralling human drama... Stokey, a veteran Border Agent, patrols a Darwinian landscape of desperate migrant travelers seeking a better life and the malevolent human coyotes that exploit them. - Cameron Hintzen, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent U.S. Border Patrol (retired)For many years G. Davies Jandrey worked at Tucson Magnet High School, where many of her students were undocumented Mexican nationals. In addition, she worked as a fire lookout in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona. These mountains, heavily traveled by drug mules and undocumented immigrants, form a backdrop for Journey though an Arid Land.

Portsmouth, England,1760. Patricia Kelley, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy Barbadian sugarcane planter, falls from her imagined place in the world when her absent father unexpectedly dies. Raised in a Wiltshire boarding school sixteen-year-old Patricia embarks on a desperate crossing on a merchantman bound for Barbados, where she was born, in a brash attempt to claim an unlikely inheritance. Aboard a merchantman under contract with the British Navy to deliver gunpowder to the West Indian forts, young Patricia finds herself pulled between two worlds -- and two identities -- as she charts her own course for survival in the war-torn 18th century.

When Captain C.W. Langhorne, 4th United States Cavalry, takes a green lieutenant named Harry Bennett and a trio of Apache scouts on a hunting trip along the Rio Grande in the summer of 1916, he has no idea that their real quarry will turn out to be Mexican bandits and a kidnapped child. Although the rescue attempt goes sour, Langhorne captures a plan by extremists to ignite a bloodbath in the Border States. While U. S. authorities decide how to react to the threat, Langhorne and Bennett have their own troubles with the glory-hunting Major Philip Cobb back at Fort Bliss, including Bennett''s unconventional romance with Cobb''s young daughter. Finally assigned to stage a preemptive military strike against the plotters, Langhorne and Bennett find themselves battling not only Mexican revolutionaries, but also treacherous civilians, hostile terrain . . . and Major Cobb.

You don't have to be Irish to appreciate Norah McCabe. Hers is an an American story of self-creation through sheer grit and imagination. This historical novel paints an authentic and compelling picture of what it means to be young, poor, and female longing for a better life in 1850s New York City...You'll root for Norah as {she} embarks on a dramatic journey to achieve a hard-won identity as a self-sufficient Irish-American woman in a turbulent time." ~ Nancy Kelley, author of This Whispering Rod Norah is a story of a young immigrant woman battling hardship, poverty and prejudice in New York in the 1850's. It has obviously been lovingly researched. The portraits of Norah McCabe and her family are beautifully drawn and although at times the language is breathtakingly lyrical, this novel tells it like it was, grit and all. All the hard facts of life for an Irish immigrant are between these pages; poor housing, the bordellos, street fights, and the cut and thrust of the gang underworld. It is certainly not the usual run-of-the-mill historical and I can highly recommend it as a slice of real life for anyone with an interest in this period of New York history, particularly those with family or connections to Ireland. ~ Deborah Swift, Author of The Lady's Slipper and The Gilded Lily Cover Work: Christine Horner

Fiction, Historical, War, Military, Nautical, Royal Navy A powerful ship, a questionable crew, and a mission that must succeed. In the spring of 1795 HMS Vigilant, a 64 gun ship-of-the-line, is about to leave Spithead as senior escort to a small, seemingly innocent, convoy. The crew is a jumble of trained seamen, volunteers, and the sweepings of the press; yet, somehow, the officers have to mold them into an effective fighting unit before the French discover the convoy's true significance. Based on historical fact, His Majesty's Ship will take you into the world of Nelson's Navy, and captivate you all the way to it's gripping conclusion. "Bond has an extraordinary talent for describing the sights and sounds of an 18th Century man-of-war. When you finish this book you genuinely feel like you have been there-and no novel can receive higher praise than that." The First Book in the Fighting Sail Series. Second Edition

Pierre Burns of Baltimore, Maryland was brought up to hate the English but never thought he would be able to do anything about it. In early 1804, stranded on a French shore in the midst of Napoleon's Army as it prepares to invade England, Burns is given his chance when Marshal Michel Ney offers him a commission. Now in the uniform of a French officer but still an outsider, Burns stands ready to battle his way to London, but it remains to be seen who his real enemies are-the English, his fellow soldiers who resent his presence, or even his American countrymen.

The true story of one womanΓÇÖs indomitable spirit and her love for the hawks she raises in the time of Charles I of England, Cromwell, and the New Colonies. Frances Latham, daughter of the royal falconer, is expected to tend her brothers and marry a farmerΓÇÖs son, but she yearns for freedom to study in London, to hunt with the hawks she loves, and to marry at her will. Her spirit will carry her from a stifling country life to the bustling streets of London, through the harrowing hell of the plague, and eventually to the shores of the New World where Frances struggles to raise eleven children and pass on a better legacy than the one she endured. History buffs will become immersed in this panorama of the English court, country life, the grueling voyage to colonial America, the harsh life settlers endured on its shores, and encounters with Anne Hutchinson and Miantonomi, the Narragansett sachem.

Whether she was a small town First Nations girl or an international celebrity promoting wilderness conservation, Anahareo always followed her own mind. Growing up with the name Gertrude, an Algonquin/Mohawk girl in a small Ontario town during the First World War, Anahareo was more at home climbing trees and swimming in the river than playing with dolls or sewing samplers. When she was nineteen, she convinced her father to let her work at Camp Wabikon, a vacation spot for New Yorkers hoping to experience the wilderness. There she met charismatic trail guide, Archie Belaney. With his long hair and buckskin pants, Archie symbolized everything she desired - an adventurous man of the wilderness. Archie wasted no time in inviting Gertrude to see his traplines in the bush. That decision would change her life forever. This book is illustrated with more than 30 archival and family images. "In this meticulously researched book, we see how Anahareo, a vibrant Iroquois woman, lives her life passionately in the face of the Aboriginal stereotypes of her day and, 'bucking the wind' to the end, makes her eloquent pleas for a thoughtful and compassionate interaction with the world around us." - Jane Billinghurst, Author of Grey Owl: The Many Faces of Archie Belaney "Kristin Gleeson was born to write. ...one hell of a story... I know my mother, Anahareo, would love her book as much as I do." - Katherine Moltke "She has captured the nature of what my mother, Anahareo, was: a woman born a bit before her time in the fact that she was ... the first to take on the cause for animal rights in Canada." - Anne (Bernard) Gaskell