Whether as a holiday gift or just great reading for the New Year, check out the latest nautical fiction from Old Salt Press authors Alaric Bond, Joan Druett, Antione Vanner, and Seymour Hamilton.

The Seeds of War,  (The Fighting Sail Series Book 14) by Alaric Bond

1811 and the war with France continues although conflict of another kind is raging on America’s Eastern Seaboard. For many years oppressive trade sanctions have soured Britain’s relations with the newly formed United States; tensions rise further as seamen are illegally pressed and what had been a purely economic dispute soon turns into something far more deadly. Amid the conflict and confusion of fierce political debate, those aboard the frigate HMS Tenacious must also do battle with illegal slavery, powerful privateers, violent tropical storms and enemies that had once been the best of friends. With vivid naval action and intense personal dynamics, The Seeds of War tells a gripping tale of loyalty, ambition, and true camaraderie.

Britannia’s Guile: The Dawlish Chronicles January – August 1877 by Antione Vanner

1877: Lieutenant Nicholas Dawlish is hungry for promotion. He has chosen service on the Royal Navy’s hazardous Anti-Slavery patrol off East Africa for the opportunities it brings to make his name. But a shipment of slaves has slipped through his fingers and now his reputation, and his chance of promotion, are at risk. He’ll stop at nothing to save them, even if the means are illegal …
But greater events are underway in Europe. The Russian and Ottoman Empires are drifting ever closer to a war that could draw in other great powers. And Britain cannot stand aside – a Russian victory would spell disaster for her strategic links to India. The Royal Navy is preparing for a war that might never take place. Dozens of young officers, all as qualified as Dawlish, are hoping for their own commands. He’s just one of many . . . and he lacks the advantages of patronage or family influence. But only a handful of powerful men know how unexpectedly vulnerable Britain will be if war comes. Pre-emptive action is necessary to neutralise it. Could this offer Dawlish his chance to advance?

Far from civilisation, dependent on a new and as yet unproven weapon, he’ll face a clever and ruthless enemy in unforeseeable and appalling circumstances. Only stubborn resolution – and unlikely allies — can bring him through. But at what price?

Daughters of the Storm: Book One in the Bacchante Series by Joan Druett

A raging hurricane. A tiny fishing village in a distant land. A London nightclub dancer stumbles into the local clinic with the famous fire-fighter who carried her to New Zealand. The wife of an American shipping tycoon is on board his new luxury yacht as it battles the storm to reach the village. The young wife of a wine-maker struggles through mud, wind and rain to call for help, as her husband has been mortally hurt.

All three women are in labor. All three women give birth to baby girls. The clinic is destroyed by the storm, so no records survive. No one knows which baby belongs to which mother.

Twenty-one years later, the American billionaire kidnaps all three young women, along with the men who were there when they were born, and takes them to sea on his yacht, convinced that his wife claimed the wrong baby. He is determined to find which girl is really his daughter.

But the mega-yacht is old, and breaks down easily. As the strange voyage progresses through tropical Polynesia to New Zealand, crisis after crisis overtakes them. They are being stalked by something malign. Storms arrive and the engines give out. Reefs and atolls threaten.

There’s not just a question of identity at stake, but of survival, too.

Ellie (The Astreya Trilogy) by Seymour Hamilton

Ellie, the youngest navigator in the fleet, challenges the Grand Commander’s judgement. Hours later, cannon fire cripples her boat. She swims to shore, but then loses her way in an ancient forest. She meets an unexpected friend who helps her recover some of her confidence, but threatening foes intervene, taking her by foot, horseback, and land crawler towards the instigator of the unprovoked attack. Ellie must overcome her doubts and fears before she faces the man who is fomenting war.

Old Salt Press is an independent press catering to those who love books about ships and the sea.  We are an association of writers working together to produce the very best of nautical and maritime fiction and non-fiction.  We invite you to join us as we go down to the sea in books.