New Release!!!
I am excited to announce the upcoming release of my latest fictional work, Particularly Dangerous Work: Part 1, At Waters’ Edge. The release date is set for 7 June 2017, and Kindle editions are now available for pre-order (see link below). As more details about the release come available I will update here and elsewhere.
Particularly Dangerous Work is the story of the Vizconde Rodrigo Mendoza, a diplomat with the Spanish Foreign Service in 1939. He represented the regime of Francisco Franco, first at the embassy in Berlin before being transferred to the embassy in Washington. Rodrigo, a former Olympic champion, was tall, dashing, and buff, a handsome specimen of European aristocracy in the middle of the twentieth century. He was also gay. He ran afoul of the Abwehr, Nazi Germany’s intelligence agency, and found himself caught up in the seamy world of international espionage. Particularly Dangerous Work is full of gritty action, inopportune romance, harrowing escapes, and thrilling adventure. Readers will find themselves immersed in the world of the early war years, dancing to Tommy Dorsey hits, sailing aboard classic ocean liners, and witnessing the invasion of France. Parts 2 & 3 will take readers through the remainder of the war and beyond, where Rodrigo’s adventures grow evermore dangerous. This book, and its subsequent parts, should appeal to most adult audiences.
Though it may fall into several different genres, LBGTQ literature, Action/Adventure, Romance, I would most like to think of it as Historical Fiction. Part 1, At Waters’ Edge, covers the prelude to and early years of World War II. My goal was to place the fictional characters as closely as possible in the context of the era. Readers will experience certain important cultural events, like the release of Gone With the Wind and Dark Victory. They will be swept onto the dance floor with the music of Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. Popular radio programs like The Pepsodent Show and the Green Hornet will entertain. Readers will travel on ocean liners like the SS Bremen and the SS America. All of this takes place in the context of the developing war, the invasion of Poland, the invasion and defeat of France, the bombing of Britain.
As a work of historical fiction I conducted years of historical research. To get the diplomatic context, I used published government sources, like The Foreign Relations of the United States, as well as original sources from the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. I consulted numerous cultural resources, namely periodicals and newspapers contemporary to the period, like the Washington Post, New York Times, The Saturday Evening Post, Life, and many other publications.
The biggest challenge in writing historical fiction proved to be those moments when fictional characters, by necessity, must interact with real historical characters. For instance, when Rodrigo, who is a purely fictional character, had to converse with his boss, Ambassador Cardenas, who is an historical character, I had to be able to present Cardenas in a manner that fit with his historical persona. Even though the conversation itself was, obviously, fictional, it had to be plausible.
Another challenge with historical fiction is in maintaining an accurate time line. When writing pure fiction, personal events can fit into whatever time line is necessary. I could not very well move the invasion of France to July 1940 in order to fit the story, rather, the story had to fall rigidly, down to the date, and at times, minutes of historical events. I found it both constraining and challenging.
The first part, At Waters’ Edge, covers the early war years. The next two parts will cover the remainder of the War and beyond. As war intensifies, Rodrigo’s challenges intensify. It is my hope that this trilogy will both entertain and educate.
It will be available both in e-book and paperback editions. As noted above the Kindle edition is now available for pre-order (see link below). If you want a hard copy, please contact me directly using the e-mail address below, and I’ll make sure you have a paperback version in your hands on release date.
https://www.amazon.com/Particularly-D...
www.bluewatertales.com
author@bluewatertales.com
Particularly Dangerous Work is the story of the Vizconde Rodrigo Mendoza, a diplomat with the Spanish Foreign Service in 1939. He represented the regime of Francisco Franco, first at the embassy in Berlin before being transferred to the embassy in Washington. Rodrigo, a former Olympic champion, was tall, dashing, and buff, a handsome specimen of European aristocracy in the middle of the twentieth century. He was also gay. He ran afoul of the Abwehr, Nazi Germany’s intelligence agency, and found himself caught up in the seamy world of international espionage. Particularly Dangerous Work is full of gritty action, inopportune romance, harrowing escapes, and thrilling adventure. Readers will find themselves immersed in the world of the early war years, dancing to Tommy Dorsey hits, sailing aboard classic ocean liners, and witnessing the invasion of France. Parts 2 & 3 will take readers through the remainder of the war and beyond, where Rodrigo’s adventures grow evermore dangerous. This book, and its subsequent parts, should appeal to most adult audiences.
Though it may fall into several different genres, LBGTQ literature, Action/Adventure, Romance, I would most like to think of it as Historical Fiction. Part 1, At Waters’ Edge, covers the prelude to and early years of World War II. My goal was to place the fictional characters as closely as possible in the context of the era. Readers will experience certain important cultural events, like the release of Gone With the Wind and Dark Victory. They will be swept onto the dance floor with the music of Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. Popular radio programs like The Pepsodent Show and the Green Hornet will entertain. Readers will travel on ocean liners like the SS Bremen and the SS America. All of this takes place in the context of the developing war, the invasion of Poland, the invasion and defeat of France, the bombing of Britain.
As a work of historical fiction I conducted years of historical research. To get the diplomatic context, I used published government sources, like The Foreign Relations of the United States, as well as original sources from the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. I consulted numerous cultural resources, namely periodicals and newspapers contemporary to the period, like the Washington Post, New York Times, The Saturday Evening Post, Life, and many other publications.
The biggest challenge in writing historical fiction proved to be those moments when fictional characters, by necessity, must interact with real historical characters. For instance, when Rodrigo, who is a purely fictional character, had to converse with his boss, Ambassador Cardenas, who is an historical character, I had to be able to present Cardenas in a manner that fit with his historical persona. Even though the conversation itself was, obviously, fictional, it had to be plausible.
Another challenge with historical fiction is in maintaining an accurate time line. When writing pure fiction, personal events can fit into whatever time line is necessary. I could not very well move the invasion of France to July 1940 in order to fit the story, rather, the story had to fall rigidly, down to the date, and at times, minutes of historical events. I found it both constraining and challenging.
The first part, At Waters’ Edge, covers the early war years. The next two parts will cover the remainder of the War and beyond. As war intensifies, Rodrigo’s challenges intensify. It is my hope that this trilogy will both entertain and educate.
It will be available both in e-book and paperback editions. As noted above the Kindle edition is now available for pre-order (see link below). If you want a hard copy, please contact me directly using the e-mail address below, and I’ll make sure you have a paperback version in your hands on release date.
https://www.amazon.com/Particularly-D...
www.bluewatertales.com
author@bluewatertales.com
No comments have been added yet.
