The Sea Leopard Wins Honorable Mention at the Rainbow Award

The Sea Leopard, the last book in the Pirates of the Narrow Seas series by M. Kei, won an Honorable Mention in the category of bisexual historical fiction. Honorable Mentions must earn at least 36 out of 40 points from a judge to qualify. This is the second book in the series to win a Rainbow Award. "This pirate tale is one of authenticity and chock full of action. One could put it on a par with C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower series and Rafael Sabatini’s Sea Hawk and Captain Blood (if either of those two authors had Gay characters). The writing is masterly, the character’s full, the action page-turning. This is the kind of book that GLBT readers have always wanted to read about—their place in the history of adventure."--http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4517839.html

Winners for the 2015 Rainbow Awards will be announced on December 8.

Isam Rais, captain of the xebec, ‘Sea Leopard,’ is on a swashbuckling adventure in the Mediterranean Sea. Battling unfriendly allies as much as his enemies, he plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with a much more powerful frigate, only to see victory snatched from his grasp by the resolution of the opposing captain. In debt and needing to repair his fortunes, he accepts a dangerous commission from the Dey of the Sallee Republic to hunt pirates—Muslim pirates—disloyal to the country that gives them refuge. Isam finds himself on the unpopular side in a battle of corsair against corsair. In the midst of storm and bloodshed, he is rescued by a mysterious veiled woman in a fateful meeting that will change his life forever.

"The storyline is well written, fast paced and hard to put down. It was an enjoyable read which is highly recommended."--Historic Naval Fiction http://www.historicnavalfiction.com/general-hnf-info/book-reviews/review-the-sea-leopard-by-m-kei

Available in print and ebook at Amazon.com and other resellers.

The complete series:

Book 1: The Sallee Rovers, winner, Sweet Revolution Award; honorable mention, Rainbow Awards
Book 2: Men of Honor
Book 3: Iron Men
Book 4: Heart of Oak
Book 5: The Man in the Crescent Moon
Book 6: The Sea Leopard, honorable mention, Rainbow Awards

About the Author: M. Kei is a tall ship sailor and award-winning poet who lives on Maryland’s Eastern shore. He is the editor of Atlas Poetica : A Journal of World Tanka. He was the editor-in-chief of Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka, Vols. 1–4, and the editor of Bright Stars, An Organic Tanka Anthology. His most recent collection of poetry is January, A Tanka Diary. He is also the author of the award-winning gay Age of Sail adventure novels, Pirates of the Narrow Seas (blogspot.narrowseas.com). He can be followed on Twitter @kujakupoet, or visit AtlasPoetica.org.