Captain Gilbert Anthony has a lot on his mind. He has just been decorated for extraordinary bravery under fire, been given command of the fourth-rate Drakkar, learned from his father's deathbed that he as a fully grown illegitimate brother, and will soon be dispatched on a special mission chasing pirates in the Caribbean. . .and that's just in the first fifteen pages! Honoring his dying father, the eponymous "Fighting James Anthony," Vice Admiral of the Blue, Gil takes his half-brother Gabriel into the ship's company as a senior midshipman. As Drakkar sails, Captain Anthony soon realizes having his brother aboard might not be the family reunion he hoped for when he encounters the resentment of one of his officers, Lieutenant Witzenfeld. But the real conflict lies ahead with the menacing pirate raiders who must be captured to end the depredations against peaceful English merchants. There Drakkar will find the feared pirate frigate Reaper and have her entire crew tested in savage combat!
www.michaelaye.com
Michael Aye is a retired naval (mustang) officer. Joining the navy at age 17, he turned 19 riding a "Tin Can" in Vietnam. During twenty-two years of service, Michael held all the enlisted ranks from E-1 to E-9. He also held the ranks of CWO2 through CWO4 and finally retired as a full Lieutenant. Mike has sailed the Med, the North Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Black Sea, and the Western Pacific by way of the Panama Canal. During Mike's twenty-two years in our nation's service, he spent a significant amount of time stationed with the USMC, first as a Hospital Corpsman, and later as a Physician Assistant. He retired as the Base Medical Officer at the Marine Corps Logistical Base in Albany, Georgia. Upon retiring from the navy Mike attended the University of Nebraska College of Medicine where he specialized in the treatment of allergy and asthma, and is now a partner in a busy allergy practice with four clinics in South Georgia. Mike is married to his teenage sweetheart, and has two children and six grandchildren. Mike is very active in the community and supports Dixie Youth Baseball as well as other community organizations including Lee County Sertoma. He is a lifetime member of the VFW. Mike has always been interested in the history of Colonial America and the British and French wars. His greatest influence as a writer is probably Alexander Kent, but also credits James Nelson and Julian Stockwin as authors who made him realize there's still a place and market for sea fiction today. Mike's plan calls for twelve Fighting Anthonys dealing with the American Revolutionary War, and - if there is a demand - another twelve dealing with the British war with France. Mike also plans a series tentatively titled "The birth of a Nation", Featuring an American Privateer, Malichi Mundy. His ship will be the Avenger.
