Delta Queen [Hardcover]

Charles Bowen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2001

More than 30 years ago, Walker Raines lost the woman he loves. Now he has clandestinely orchestrated what he hopes will appear to be an accidental meeting in very romantic circumstances: aboard the beautiful Delta Queen during a leisurely four-day spring cruise from New Orleans to Natchez.

He has chosen the setting very carefully. This historic steamboat has been a dynamic symbol for both of them all their lives. Now it will witness their reunion -- and the secrets that have kept them apart.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Bowen has been writing professionally since 1967 and has published two dozen books of nonfiction. This is his first novel, inspired by cruises he and his wife, Pamela, have taken on the steamboat of dreams, The Delta Queen.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 211 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp; 1 edition (March 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738858498
• ISBN-13: 978-0738858494
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,655,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles Bowen has been writing professionally since 1967 and has published two dozen books of nonfiction, mostly about computers and communications. His first novels have been inspired by cruises he and his wife, Pamela, have taken on the steamboat of dreams, The Delta Queen.

Bowen's professional roots are in journalism, a career that started in the late 1960s as a news correspondent for The Associated Press. He continued his newspaper career for 17 years as a reporter, a columnist and then a city editor, before beginning his full-time freelance career in 1985.

Bowen's experience in cyberspace actually pre-dates the launch of the World Wide Web by more than a decade. He has written some two dozen books about computer communications and technology, working with major publishing houses, including Random House, Bantam Books, IDG Books Worldwide and Times Books. His first book was How To Get The Most Out of CompuServe, a best-seller published by Bantam Books. That book went into five editions and had a publication life of nearly 10 years, highly unusual for a computer book. He also wrote CompuServe from A to Z (Random House), The Hitchhiker's Guide To America Online (MIS Press), Teach Yourself America Online (IDG) and Modem Nation (Times Books).

Also for more than six years, he hosted a syndicated daily radio show called "Internet News," carried on some 200 stations in the U.S. and 600 aboard via Voice of America. During that time, he broadcast reviews more than 1,200 Web sites and was on hand to report the start of some of the major Internet resources in use today.

Besides books, Bowen has been an active columnist both in computer publications and in the general press. He was a long-time contributing editor and columnist for Home PC magazine and the America West in-flight magazine and wrote a weekly Internet-oriented column for Editor & Publisher, a magazine serving the newspaper industry.

A native of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Bowen and his wife, Pamela, have lived in Huntington since 1971. He is a 1970 graduate of the University of Kentucky.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delta Queen, June 18, 2001

By 

James J Vleck (Mounds View, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delta Queen (Paperback)

As a steamboat fan who has taken several cruises on the Steamboat Delta Queen, I especially appreciate Charles Bowen's ability to paint in words, the beauty and history of this wonderful boat. He does a good job of combining an accurate picture of the boat and its crew with the love story of Walker and Cherry. With many interesting twists and turns, the love story keeps you captivated until the very end. The passengers you meet in the this book are as real as those that might be your dinner companions as you cruise the mighty Mississippi.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delta Queen: A Voyage of Discovery, May 25, 2001

By 

Tex Brashear (Silver City, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delta Queen (Hardcover)

Who has not dreamed of a romantic cruise along the majestic Mississippi River in a paddlewheel steamboat? The lure of what lies just beyond the next bend; the gentle roar of the mighty sternwheel paddle, which lulls the senses into a lethargic, blissful state, where time is forgotten and the only moment is now. In "Delta Queen", Charles Bowen has captured the power, momentum, and magic of that almost mystical realm which is not merely a symbol of a long-forgotten past, but lives on today as the historic Delta Queen steamboat proudly plys the waterways along the great Mississippi River system. Although the characters are fictional, you'll experience the very pulse of life on the river, as told by a man who has a deep, abiding love and respect for the Delta Queen, and the waters she travels. Mr. Bowen, along with his wife Pamela, has taken many cruises aboard this stately monument of American history. You'll join Walker Raines, as he embarks on a journey fraught with both torment and pleasure. He has arranged this cruise in order to obtain a perfect, romantic setting for a clandestine meeting with the long-lost love of his life, who has no idea of what is transpiring. Is she still in love with him, or for that matter, will she even remember him? This tale, while a wonderful love story in itself, is much more. It tells of the ultimate journey that we all face: the amazing voyage that we must take within ourselves to discover the truth about what and who we really are. Whether you are a bona fide "river rat", a hopeless romantic, or a thrill-seeking adventurer, you WILL find this book nothing less than encaptivating. It is a journey that you truly cannot afford to miss.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating!, August 19, 2001

By 

Sandi Kidwell (On the Ohio River in Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delta Queen (Paperback)

An informative and simply captivating new novel! I didn't want the story to end! Please, Charles, send us more of the Delta Queen!!