Tuesday, March 29, 2011

PoNS 4: Heart of Oak coming this spring

Heart of Oak, the fourth book in the Pirates of the Narrow Seas series by M. Kei, will be coming out in paperback later this spring/early summer. It will be followed by an ebook from Bristlecone Pine Press, available through all the same outlets as the previous books in the series.

Here are the blurbs:

Short blurb:

Heart of Oak, the fourth book in the Pirates of the Narrow Seas series by M. Kei, continues the adventures of Lt. Peter Thorton of the British navy as his divided loyalties are tested in the crucibles of love and war. A pawn in the war for Portuguese independence, he is marked for revenge by the Spanish, and comes perilously close to losing both his life and ship. Discarded by friends and lovers, his health wrecked, and dependent upon the charity of others, at the nadir of his career he discovers what really matters and must make a choice that will seal his fate.


Long blurb: 

Heart of Oak, the fourth book in the Pirates of the Narrow Seas series by M. Kei, continues the adventures of Lt. Peter Thorton of the British navy as his divided loyalties are tested in the crucibles of love and war. A pawn in the war for Portuguese independence, he is marked for revenge by the Spanish, and comes perilously close to losing both his life and ship when the Amphitrite is the target of a Spanish cutting out raid. 

Meanwhile, Cmdr. Alan Abby, retired ashore at Gibraltar, has the opportunity to show that although blind, he is a still an active and gallant officer. The redoubtable Duke Henrique, forced to marry a puritanical princess for political reasons, must once again call upon the courage of his British friends to aid him in a time of crisis. Captain Tangle, the famous Sallee rover, befriends them all, but catches a Tartar when he attempts to seize the Spanish royal yacht, bringing down the wrath of a Spanish battle fleet upon them all.

Through it all, Thorton is still longing for love, but is a victim of bad advice and his own naivété. He succumbs to the charms of the dashing hussar, Colonel Karolyi, sorely tempted to throw away everything and follow the devil-may-care light horseman. Captain Horner, determined to keep Thorton on the strait and narrow, intercedes, and both of the British officers are obliged to face the far superior saber skills of the colonel in separate duels. 

Book Four brings Thorton to the nadir of his career, his health broken, abandoned by his friends, and forced to discover which man he used to love and admire has the Heart of Oak he can truly trust. Written by a tall ship sailor and internationally acclaimed poet, M. Kei, Pirates of the Narrow Seas combines swashbuckling adventure, gay romance, and gritty realism.