James L. Nelson
Autor von Der Stolz der Meere
Über den Autor
James L. Nelson is a native of Maine & a former professional square-rig sailor. He still lives in Maine with his wife & children, where he continues to write & maintain his involvement with traditional sail. He is the author of "By Force of Arms", "The Maddest Idea", "The Continental Risque", & mehr anzeigen "Lords of the Ocean". (Bowker Author Biography) weniger anzeigen
Bildnachweis: James Nelson website, picture enhanced by vintage_books. Permission received to copy, enhance and upload photo during phone conversation November 17, 2008.
Reihen
Werke von James L. Nelson
Benedict Arnold's Navy: The Ragtag Fleet That Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain but Won the American Revolution (2006) 141 Exemplare
With Fire and Sword: The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the American Revolution (2011) 96 Exemplare
Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack (1605) 96 Exemplare
The Only Life That Mattered: The Short and Merry Lives of Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack Rackam (2004) 63 Exemplare
George Washington's Great Gamble: And the Sea Battle That Won the American Revolution (2010) 45 Exemplare
The Lord of Vik-lo (The Norsemen Saga, #3) 4 Exemplare
Thieves of Time 1 Exemplar
Die Wikinger - Tod dem Verräter!: Historischer Roman (Nordmann-Saga 5) (German Edition) (2019) 1 Exemplar
Die Freibeuter des Königs 1 Exemplar
Zugehörige Werke
Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News (2012) — Mitwirkender — 134 Exemplare
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History — Autumn 2009 (2009) — Author "Burning Falmouth" — 5 Exemplare
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History — Winter 2014 (2013) — Author "Unknown Soldier: Being There" — 3 Exemplare
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Wissenswertes
- Andere Namen
- Spudcake, Black Jim
Garrett, Elizabeth - Geburtstag
- 1962-04-05
- Geschlecht
- male
- Nationalität
- USA
- Geburtsort
- Lewiston, Maine, USA
- Wohnorte
- Lewiston, Maine, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA
Steubenville, Ohio, USA
Harpswell, Maine, USA
Brunswick, Maine, USA - Ausbildung
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of California, Los Angeles - Berufe
- historical novelist
- Preise und Auszeichnungen
- William Young Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, 2004
- Kurzbiographie
- James L. Nelson was born in Lewiston, Maine, which is not exactly on the coast, but if people choose to think it is, he is not inclined to disabuse them of that notion. It is, however, enough to earn Nelson the coveted status of "Native Mainer." Nelson's father, David, taught English at Bates College in Lewiston, his mother, Selma, taught English at Lewiston High School. It was clear, early on, that Nelson was not going to be a mathematician.
Nelson's love of ships and the sea began early. At seven he started building plastic ship models and soon moved on to scratch-build wooden models. He also read, voraciously, whatever he could, fiction and nonfiction, about the days of sail.
In High School, Nelson went from model building to boat building. He built a fifteen foot skipjack in his mother's garage, and he and a friend built an eighteen foot canoe in the basement, which proved somewhat problematic to remove. Nelson also began working part-time as a disc jockey at the local Top 40 AM station, spawning an interest in broadcasting and filmmaking.
In 1980, Nelson graduated from Lewiston High School, with, if not honors, then at least a High School diploma (which he never did pick up). He took a year off to wander around the country, first hitchhiking and then riding his first motorcycle, a 1977 Honda 550-4 which he purchased while working as a tour guide at Denver's Zoo. On that bike he rode from Denver to Northern California and back to Maine. Nelson hoped a year on the road would cure him of his wanderlust.
And it did.
For a little while.
Nelson attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for two years, and then transferred to UCLA Film and Television, with the ambition of becoming a film director, much like every other waiter and parking lot attendant in Los Angeles. He began sailing with the UCLA Yachtlater, a Newport 27, which he lived aboard in Marina Del Rey.
After several years of working in the television business, Nelson had had enough. Learning that the replica of Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hinde would be visiting Marina del Rey - and that they were looking for crew - he decided to chuck it all and run away to sea, which is what he had always wanted to do, anyway. In 1988, Nelson signed on as a deckhand aboard the Golden Hinde and was soon promoted to boatswain, much to the annoyance of fellow crewmember
Lisa Page, who also sought the position. Lisa vowed then that she would some day marry Nelson and make him pay for the rest of his life for taking that job from her.
James Nelson was with the Golden Hinde for a year, sailing from Los Angeles through the Panama Canal to Texas, eventually leaving the ship in Houston. After selling his boat and nearly all his possessions he moved to Washington State, where he went to work aboard the Lady Washington, a replica of an 18th Century brig, as a rigger and deckhand. After the Washington, beset with financial troubles, laid everyone off, Nelson joined "H.M.S." Rose, a replica of a Revolutionary War British frigate.
Nelson sailed with Rose for two years, ultimately as third mate. While working aboard Rose, Nelson came up with the idea for his first novel, By Force of Arms. In January of 1992 he finally succumb to the writing urge,and began work on the novel.
The following September, Nelson "swallowed the anchor" to pursue writing. He moved to Northern California, where his old shipmate Lisa Page made good on her threat of matrimony.
In 1994 the book was completed and sent off to agent Nat Sobel, who managed to sell it and two more books in the series to Pocket Books. This was the beginning of Nelson's career as a novelist, the fulfillment of a dream. But there was a down side, too. With deadlines for more books looming, he was forced to give up his paper stocking career.
Nelson and his wife, Lisa and their daughter Betsy lived for two years in Steubenville, Ohio, while Lisa attended Franciscan University. They now live in Harpswell, Maine (which really is on the coast). The family has expanded to include two boys, Nate and Jack, and a second daughter, Abigail, born in 2006. James Nelson continues to write full time (when he can find the time).
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From a pure storytelling perspective, this series has fantastic potential. The plot is interesting, the characters engaging, and action scenes exciting. However, the it would have benefited significantly from an editor — it's one thing to have friends and family read through your manuscript and provide casual advice/suggestions, but quite another to have a professional tighten the narrative, correct misspellings ('altar' was misspelled multiple times), improve grammar/clarity and just generally polish things up and add depth. Ornolf and a handful of other characters were almost laughable caricatures, one-dimensional and unlikeable. Ultimately, while I might recommend the book to readers into historical fiction from this era, the lack of professional editing detracted from experience enough for me that I'll likely not continue the series.… (mehr)