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The Need to Take Risks
In Harm’s Way follows a Colonial sea captain returning home after a year-long voyage only to have his ship confiscated by the British Royal Navy and find more tragedy at home who outfits his own private ship-of-war to seek out enemy merchant ships to oppose their tyranny. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration was the many times I came home myself from six-month deployments aboard Navy ships. I then coupled it with the history of the Norfolk area, where I was at the time stationed. It was always heartwarming to see the new fathers meeting their children for the first time, and heart-wrenching to occasionally see a young sailor coming home after the death of a close relative. I knew I wanted to write a historically accurate novel set during the Revolution, and it was natural to begin it with a homecoming that turned sorrowful. It sets the mood for the story. The Revolution was not clean, it was not easy, nor was it a fight between “good” and “bad” guys.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
The struggle each of us has to rise above the events that shape our current circumstances. We can either sink under the weight of what’s happened or happening, or adapt and change. But we must choose; even deciding to do nothing is a choice. Every day, folks around us choose to rise above. Even if they fail, they try and often try again. We should honor that.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Loss, and dealing with it, and the need to take risks in life. Playing it safe is rarely, if ever, successful. Finally, that in every conflict, a person must choose a side, based on their values and principles. Neutrality only works for Switzerland, and only because they can defend themselves.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
Jonas will return to sea in the next book, this time accompanied by his son, and with vengeance in his heart. But he’ll find that revenge is an insufficient reason to fight, and obtaining it is both unsatisfying and damaging. In the third book, he will again return to the fight, this time with a commission in the Continental Navy.
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Colonial sea captain Jonas Hawke returns home to Norfolk after a year-long voyage only to have his ship and its valuable cargoseized by the British Royal Navy. As the royal governor further tightens the noose on trade, Jonas is thrust into the chaos of a growing rebellion. Desperate to support his family, he sets out to find work. When he is denied a commission with the newly formed Continental Navy, he outfits his own vessel as a private ship-of-war and voyages to the Caribbean in search of enemy merchant ships he can capture and friends he can trust.
But dangers multiply on the unforgiving sea. The Royal Navy reacts mercilessly to the threat posed by privateers like Jonas. How will Jonas fare now that he has boldly defied the king of Britain to preserve his family? And what will happen to his loved ones while he is away, engulfed in a war to oppose tyranny in the name of freedom?
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