"Terror on the Alert" going to Kamloops

When my first novel, Soldier of the Horse, came out in 2011 I was surprised how much work has to go in to make a book successful after the writing is finished and the book is in the stores. That's the new reality, however, and among other efforts I did a tour in BC and Alberta to get the word out.

One of the places where I spoke to a very friendly audience was at the Kamloops Library. I snapped the photo at left early the next day, as I was leaving town to head for Alberta. It was a chilly start, but the photo reminds me of the majestic sweep of the hills surrounding the city.

Terror on the Alert will also be featured at the Kamloops Library on September 19th this year. I'm looking forward to renewing acquaintances with friends in the area, as well as the very helpful staff at the library.

IPPY Strikes Again

Here's what Soldier of the Horse's Independent Publishers (IPPY) gold medal looked like three years ago. Soldier won top prize in the category Military/Wartime Fiction.

Now my second novel, Terror on the Alert, has almost duplicated the feat, receiving a silver medal in the same category.

Very exciting and rewarding.

There is a lot of encouragement out there for writers. Not to mention a heap of support from publishers, writing organizations such as Canadian Authors Association, BC Federation of Writers, and many others.

And like others writers, a big thanks for all the support from family and friends.

Busy Days for Writers

Tomorrow, May 2nd, is Authors for Indies Day across Canada. The idea is that writers can show their support for independent bookstores, those stubborn and determined booksellers who havecarried on in spite of the onslaught of the large chains. To show appreciation, writers are appearing in local stores to talk to customers and show their appreciation for booksellers, without whom most authors would be unknown.

E-books and the internet have gained a large part of the market, but the battle is by no means lost. Interestingly, Black Bond Books have expanded in the lower mainland of British Columbia. I'll be appearing in two local Black Bond outlets. For a list of authors and booksellers taking part, visit Authors for Indies.

A week later, May 9th, will be a busy Saturday for local authors. I'll be part of a panel titled "History Writes: Inspired and Remembered". There are a whole day's worth of events Write Here Read Now at the City Centre branch of the Surrey Public Library. I'm thrilled to see "Terror on the Alert" listed as a new book in the Library.

"Authors For Indies" Day, May 2nd

"Indies", as in Independent Bookstores.
Across Canada, authors will be spending time in their favourite bookstores to help promote books.
I'll be at two Black Bond locations, as follows:
11:30 am to 1:30 pm        15562 24th Avenue, Surrey.
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm          Semiahmoo Mall, South Surrey.

"Terror on the Alert"  will be featured, as well as "Soldier of the Horse" and many of my own personal favourites by well-known authors.






The 24th Avenue store will also feature Daniel Kalla, emergency doctor and thriller author, Danielle Marcotte who has written children's books in both official languages, and Sylvia Taylor, writer and editor. For their times, contact the stores.

D-Day Corvette, HMCS Kitchener (4)

On one occasion Able Seaman Bill Cameron returned to his ship, HMCS Kitchener, after a run ashore in the UK to find a delivery from home--a 10" square heavy fruit cake from his girlfriend and future bride Joyce. He could hardly wait to get off watch and avoid having to eat hard tack for some time to come. Unfortunately, he says, his messmates helped him out with the cake, and it was gone in five minutes.
Kitchener and Bill had an eventful war, including for the ship a Hollywood turn. 
At left, Bill was back on civvie street in 1946, pictured with Joyce in Vancouver.

When he saw the beaches of Normandy on June 6th, 1944, Bill was hunkered down on his Oerlikon gun mount while shells from major warships whizzed overhead.
Seventy years later he saw the beaches he helped liberate closehand. He and Joyce were guests at the official day marking the anniversary. At one point they were invited to have their photo taken with another Canadian who was also present.
(Photos courtesy Bill Cameron)

D-Day Corvette, HMCS Kitchener (3)

In 1944 HMCS Kitchener, Corvette K225, found herself in Plymouth Harbour during the buildup to D-Day. Able Seaman Bill Cameron and his shipmates were disappointed to hear they'd be escorting two former French battleships, now loaded with concrete, to the French coast, where they'd be scuttled to form artificial harbours. Well away from the action. But captain and crew wanted to support the landings, which they figured were coming soon, even though they had been told casualties could be as high as 25%. Kitchener's captain, Jack Mole, wasn't putting up with that.

 He went aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta, close to them in Plymouth. Augusta carried none other than General Omar Bradley, commander of the 1st US Army. Orders were changed, and Kitchener was reassigned. She escorted Augusta in the second flotilla to Omaha Beach, as part of the anti-aicraft and antisubmarine escort, in the thick of the action. En route, Bill and every other man on board received a note from the supreme Allied commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Pictured here, it exhorts the troops: "The tide has turned! ...We will accept nothing less than full Victory!"
Earlier posts of February 23 and March 11 also dealt with Bill Cameron and Kitchener.

D-Day Corvette, HMCS Kitchener (2)

A couple of weeks ago I posted about HMCS Kitchener, K225. Here she is on the left, looking somewhat battered as I'm sure all the RN and RCN corvettes did after a couple of Atlantic crossings.




Kitchener starred  in the 1943 movie "Corvette K-225", with Randolph Scott playing her captain. That time, at least, Hollywood resisted the impulse to Americanize the movie, with Scott portraying a Canadian Lieutenant-commander.

That wasn't her main claim to fame, however. Her performance on D-Day rates more space than is available here, and details will follow. Many thanks to Bill Cameron for the photo above. On the right is Able Seaman Bill Cameron, as he then was. For more about Kitchener and AB Cameron, see my post of February 23rd.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (5)

 Continuing our tour aft on board HMCS Ojibwa, we have passed through the accommodation space with its assorted messes and berths. The photo to the left is part of the starboard side of the control room, featuring the chart table, a prominent red light bulb, various communication outlets, a clock, etc.

And to the right is an image of part of the port side of the control room under red lighting conditions.
The red lighting is switched on at dusk and off at dawn, even when running at great depth, in case it is necessary to surface in a hurry. Also, if at periscope depth, it allows the periscope watchkeeper's eyes to be adjusted for night vision.

Not shown in either photo are the periscopes, which are on the centre-line of the boat, with the attack (monocular) periscope forward of the search periscope, which is binocular.

D-Day Corvette, HMCS Kitchener

The picture at left is of Bill Cameron, posing with "Terror on the Alert" at the White Rock Library on February 15th this year. The occasion was a Sunday afternoon presentation by 6 local writers.

The Friends of the Library showed up with refreshments, and had done a wonderful job of organizing the writer/presenters, never an easy thing to manage.

I was excited to meet Bill, who served in HMCS Kitchener, which as far as Bill knows was the only corvette actually in the immediate area of the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. Bill was an Able Seaman manning an anti-aircraft Oerlikon for what seemed like days straight.

More about Bill, and HMCS Kitchener, in the near future.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (4)

 We are continuing aft on board HMCS Ojibwa, as she rests in her permanent berth ashore in Port Burwell, Ontario. We have passed through the watertight door into the accommodation spaces. On the left is a shot of a couple of bunks and some lockers. My memory fails me as to whether this is in the crew's quarters, or the chiefs and petty officers mess. Can someone help with a comment?

And here, on the right, we have the rather palatial commanding officer's cabin as seen from the passageway that threads its way the length of the boat. The lucky captain has hardwood to sleep on as opposed to a canvas sling. Not sure that would make it more comfortable.

Other features include a miniscule desk, a couple of drawers, and gauges and instruments so the captain can monitor the boat's progress. The cabin is very handy to the control room, so he can be there within seconds in case of an emergency or other development.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (3)

 Following up on our tour parts (1) and (2), we've now climbed the stairs and entered the forward torpedo room in HMCS Ojibwa. We're looking forward in the cavernous space. The spot of bright light near the centre of the photo is the top of the new access door through which we've entered. The size of the space can be gauged by the figure of retired Admiral Dan McNeil, who can just be made out in the lower right corner. The rear doors of the three port torpedo tubes are between him and the access door.
Also visible on the left are parts of the torpedo racks which would hold spare torpedoes to be loaded using hydraulic rams as required. Before loading, the tube rear doors would have to be opened--once it was confirmed that the bow caps were shut and no water was in the tubes. A very important step.

To the right is a closer look at the top four of the six forward torpedo tubes. The rear doors are all shut, as they would be at sea, whether there was a torpedo in the tube or not. Sometimes the tubes were empty, depending on what task the boat was on.
The myriad of pipes, valves, and controls allow firing of a torpedo and the subsequent draining down of the now flooded tube so it can be reloaded.
It was not unknown for a boat to carry beer in an empty tube.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (2)

Number 1 in this series of posts showed an unusual view of HMCS Ojibwa, the gorgeous museum piece in Port Burwell, Ontario.

 

(If pressed, I'll admit that "gorgeous" when referring to a submarine is all in the eyes of the beholder.)

At left is the Ojibwa as she appeared when the Cooking Ladies and I approached from the west and crossed the bridge into Port Burwell in 2013.

The boat was not then open to the public, but nearly so.

This shot of the port side of the boat shows the steps installed to allow tourists to access the newly-cut doorway into the forward torpedo room.

Looking like an earflap at the top of the stairs is the door, and above that is the port forward hydroplane. The hydroplanes, working in concert while controlled by the helmsman, determined the boat's depth and angle of dive.

"Mary's Wedding" Opens Tomorrow

 

 Here are the actors in a scene from "Mary's Wedding", the heart-rending play by Stephen Massicotte.
The production runs from November 11th through the 15th. The presentation on Remembrance Day is sold out. Any veterans lucky enough to have tickets to the Remembrance Day performance get free admission, with the public asked for a donation which will go to Honour House.

Tickets for subsequent performances can be obtained online at www.peninsulaproductions.org.

I'm honoured to have been asked to advise on the historical aspects of the production. Attendees can if they wish pick up a copy of Soldier of the Horse, my novel set in WW I's Canadian Cavalry Brigade, after the show. Soldier shares a very important character with "Mary's Wedding".

In other literary news, I understand an upcoming edition of the Surrey Leader will feature a review of Terror on the Alert, my submarine thriller. Very exciting.

Submarines in East Vancouver, and recruits for a Great War era wedding

I recently had the pleasure of presenting about submarines, and my novel "Terror on the Alert", at the Britannia branch of the Vancouver Public Library. The staff, as always, was gracious; and I was lucky to arrive early, because the host seniors' centre invited me to share their potluck lunch. I may drop in again!

The highlight of the afternoon, though, was the presence of an elementary class of mixed grade 3s and 4s. They had lots of interesting questions about submarines: in my day, were there women on board? (no); what about now? (yes); are the ballast tanks what makes the boat go under water? (yes).

It was particularly interesting to me that they had done research on the internet before attending at my presentation. A delightful audience of young and old.

 Here are the young ones:

And speaking of young and old, I dropped in on a rehearsal for "Mary's Wedding" a couple of days ago.
(For more about "Mary's Wedding", see Newsletter #25 in the Newsletter Archives to the right.)

The entire cast is pictured below. These raw recruits are learning to be Great War cavalry troopers. Don't let the small cast fool you--it is a magical and inspirational play. It will be staged in White Rock, BC, November 11th to 15th.

If you don't already receive my newsletter as an email, you can subscribe on the right side of this page. 

Naval Association of Canada Conference 2014

Here is a snapshot taken at the Meet 'n' Greet at the Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa, the first week of October. The occasion was the start of the Naval Association of Canada's AGM and conference, the theme of which was Canada's Submarines: Past, Present and Future.

The two gentlemen pictured are fellows I've known for a long time.

Brooke Campbell, on the left, was a student at UBC and officer-cadet in the University Naval Training Division (UNTD) at HMCS Discovery. I got to know him well, as I was also at Disovery as a regular force RCN cadet.
Brooke went on to a very successful career in banking and investing, and is currently submitting material to the Canadian government about tax treatment of RRSP's.

On the right is Keith Nesbit, Captain RCN (Ret'd). I met Keith when we were both very junior submariners. That's where I stayed, as far as the submarine world is concerned (not counting recent literary efforts). Keith, however, went on to an illustrious career as a submarine CO and, since retirement from the RCN, as a professional keyboardist.
Keith's music can be accessed by contacting him directly: keith@nesbit.net.

And my recent submarine thriller, "Terror on the Alert", is in better bookstores everywhere, Amazon, and from my publisher.

Russian Submarine Activity?

So far there have been five reported sightings of a foreign submarine in Swedish waters in the last five days. Sweden has more-or-less said it is likely a Russian intruder. Needless to say the Russian defense ministry has denied that is the case, suggesting it might be a Dutch boat.

The Swedes are right to be concerned. With Mr. Putin's recent activity in the Crimea and Black Sea area, all his neighbours are nervous, and none more so than the Baltic states. Finland has been scrambling jets on a regular basis to respond to Russian incursions into their airspace.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are potential targets for Russian "protection" of Russian minorities, in the same way that similar minorities are currently being "protected" in Ukraine.

Sweden, like many western nations, is still enjoying the so-called peace dividend--the reduction in defense budgets following the supposed end of the Cold War. As a result, Sweden's ability to detect, track, and force to the surface an undersea intruder is severely compromised. The Swedes and their neighbours may have reason to rethink their priorities.

For a look at submarine operations in earlier Cold War years, have a look at "Terror on the Alert", my thriller set in the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It's available at bookstores everywhere, or from Amazon or publisher TouchWood Editions.

"Terror on the Alert" in Ottawa

My recent visit to Ottawa included a stop at Perfect Books, 258A Elgin Street, to do an author appearance and book signing event. The folks at Perfect were terrific hosts, and as you can see from the photo at left there was at least one very pleased customer. In fact, there were quite a few, including old friends and shipmates.





A lot of the credit for the very successful event must go to various news outlets such as CBC Ottawa, and in particular to Alan Neal (at right) of "All in a Day" and his producer Caitlin Crockard. They started off my interview with a clip from John F. Kennedy's speech to the American people at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis--the time frame of "Terror on the Alert". Made me think back to where I was when I heard it live. (UBC, wondering if I'd be off to join the fleet.)

Other media interviews were ably conducted by Ed Hand ("Talk to the Hand") of 1130 News, and Nick Vandergagt ("Nick at Night") on CFRA.

Submarines in the Mainstream

Submarines, or at least talk of submarines, dominates my time these days.

Sunday, September 28th          interview on CFRA, Ottawa radio. (via telephone 5 pm Pacific)

Tuesday, September 30th        "Terror on the Alert" is officially on the market.

Thursday, October 2nd            Naval Association of Canada conference in Ottawa re submarines.

Saturday, October 4th             Book signing for "Terror" at Perfect Books, Ottawa.

Tuesday, October 7th            Presentation at Vancouver Public Library Kerrisdale Branch.

Thursday, October 30th           Presentation at Vancouver Public Library Britannia Branch.



The VPL presentations will deal briefly with the history of submarines in Canada as well as "Terror on the Alert". Hope to see lots of familiar faces!

Cold War Submarine Gunnery

 Ed Falstrem, retired submarine commander, has kindly sent along a photo of one of his RN boats, HMS Aeneas. The photo was taken off Portsmouth.

 Aeneas was immortalized for playing the part of a submarine in the 1967 007 movie, "You Only Live Twice".

Ed commented:
"Note the gun.I remember the drill for preparing to surface and fire the gun. We did fire it on a couple of occasions onto an army range in Dorset. I was the XO at the time."

The last 4" round was fired from a Royal Navy submarine in December, 1974, by HMS Andrew.

In my novel "Terror on the Alert" the crew gets a couple of rounds away to good effect in 1962. The book launches September 30th.

Fifteen Diesel-electrics All in a Row (or eight)

In my soon-to-be-available submarine thriller, "Terror on the Alert", my main character notes a buildup of Royal Navy submarines in their home ports during the leadup to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This photo was kindly provided by Ed Falstrem, who like me trained with the RN and served in A-boats. He says:

"Here is a photo of 15 RN submarines alongside the depot ship taken in Oct 1962, just as the Cuban crisis was developing."

Ed, who went on to command four Royal Canadian Navy boats, had this to say about "Terror on the Alert":

I have read the book and enjoyed it very much. I could argue with you over a couple of technical details but it sure took me back to my time on Acheron and Aeneas.