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book reviews |
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Debut author, Robert A. Tayler, introduces us to his first volume in the “A Tide of Times” series: MR. PETRIE, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A PIRATE? Before December 2, 2002, Roger Petrie would have laughed off such a question as absurd. Although he and his older brother Tom were sea-faring men, their experiences in the Navy and Merchant Marine were a far cry from the stuff of pirate legends. That was before their cargo ship MV Belvedere floundered during a violent eastern Caribbean storm that fateful winter night. Before they woke up the following morning and a ship commanded by a bloodthirsty rogue that had no business being there, in that time, appeared and changed their lives forever. The brothers had to rely on their twenty-first century wits and technology to escape death, both at the hands of their new, sadistic captain and crewmates and the governmental authorities' intent on their destruction. To their friends and family, the brothers had been lost at sea, the Belvedere disappeared without a trace. People were shocked when, through a bizarre set of circumstances, the brothers were found and rescued from an uncharted island, close to where the Belvedere had disappeared two years prior. Not wanting to recount what had happened to them in those lost years, the brothers returned home. Roger resolved to forget the past and build a normal life, marrying Rebekah, moving to Sarasota, FL, and raising two children. Tom moved to Sarasota as well, to be near Roger's family, and to start a new chapter in their lives. The past proved more difficult to ignore than Roger imagined. His new wife and her friends were mystified as evidence—ancient weapons, valuable coins, names of ships and captains long since vanished—keeps surfacing. As the evidence mounts, Rebekah is left to wonder; did something unbelievable happen to her husband and his brother after their ship was lost? And can Roger deflect her suspicions without destroying his family and driving himself insane?  I dreamed of being a pirate when I was a young boy, also a cowboy, fighter pilot and an astronaut. Reading this book was a little like returning to that dream, but not nearly as romantic and far more deadly. Stories about time travel are some of my favorite and this story exemplifies that category so well! I love the tension of revealing the truth to his wife and friends that Roger is slowly floundering in. The question of what people will think is a biggie. The author plays that song so well. I enjoyed reading this story so much. It’s quite well written, the dialogue shines, the scene-setting is delightful and the action is vigorous without being too detailed. The balance was perfect for me. I award 4.8 stars to “Plundering the Past”.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Plundering-Past-Tide-Times-1-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-plundering-the-past https://www.barnesandnoble.com/plundering-the-past-robert-a-tayler You can follow the author: twitter.com/robertatayler17 https://robertataylerauthor.com facebook.com/robertataylerauthor https://www.instagram.com/robertatayler mail to: [email protected] Tags: sea adventures, historical fiction, time travel, Caribbean, Florida, pirate, sailing Copyright © 2023 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction
18 Comments
4/11/2023 12:32:16 pm
I have used an editor and editing software in the past, but Mark is the best. His comments are always pertinent, and I have some new projects that I'll use him for. It always pays to have a professional proofread your work, and Mark is unparalleled.
Mark
4/11/2023 01:42:14 pm
Thank you, Robert. I appreciate the nice things you said about me. You are quite correct, it does pay to have a manuscript proofread when an author thinks it is ready for publishing. A good proofreader will find lots of things that no spellchecker can measure up to. As complicated as the English language is I am not worried about AI taking my job anytime soon. The fact that many tens of thousands of books have been read by artificial intelligence includes all of the errors in those books. I read 40 to 60 published books a year and they have spelling and punctuation errors in them. Except once a year I find a book without spelling errors. That average has held for over 8 years now. 4/12/2023 03:15:29 pm
My background is actually in business, which is what my degree is in, but I also have minors in Political Science and History. I have a fairly vivid imagination and have always loved telling stories - in the third grade, I told my class that my dad was fighting in Vietnam but came home on weekends. I was bitten by a friend's dog when I was six, but told my friehds I had been injured by a lion while on safari. So storytelling has been a part of my life since the beginning.
Mark
4/12/2023 03:31:32 pm
A business degree can be very handy regardless of what else you do. I wish every independent author had a degree in business because they are in business though many fight against the idea. Truly, the book is merely a product for the business to produce and sell. 4/12/2023 05:35:14 pm
The genesis of Plundering the Past is quite comical. Our family visited Disney World in 2017, and one of our favorite rides is Pirates of the Caribbean (which shows up in the book, incidentally.). There was a shop by it called the Pirate League, where makeup artists could paint your face to resemble a pirate, zombie, or mermaid. My wife surprised my children by signing them up for this, and my daughter was so excited at the prospect other artists came into the lobby just to see her reaction.
Mark
4/12/2023 06:41:11 pm
We live a few minutes away from Disney World in Orlando. It is one of our favorite rides. 4/13/2023 08:57:32 am
Not really. I retired on Social Security Disability last year, and before that I worked in the transportation industry for thirty years. My writing is more informed by experiences I've had outside of work, and people I've known or come into contact with.
Mark
4/13/2023 09:03:55 am
That makes sense. Writers draw upon their life experiences whether big or small, important or minor. Everything becomes grist for the mill. Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. 4/13/2023 09:22:52 am
A lot!
Mark
4/13/2023 10:04:12 am
A lot of authors want to get their book out there as soon as possible. Your impatience is very understandable. You have also learned a great deal about writing and publishing so your next book will be better and the one after that more so. 4/14/2023 10:37:08 am
I'm not sure there's anything unconventional about my technique. I tend to word vomit then go back and edit what I've written. I know some authors just write until their first draft is done and then start editing, but I do it on the fly. I do tend to get ideas when I'm doing unconventional things like taking a shower; I'll shout at my phone to text myself the ideas so I remember them.
Mark
4/14/2023 11:30:41 am
Your style of writing sounds quite conventional. It works for you and a lot of other writers. 4/14/2023 11:05:48 pm
About the title. As I stated earlier, it began as Raise the Jolly Roger, but that kind of left me cold. In talking with other authors, many of them suggested using strong, descriptive words in the title. Since my book involved pirates, Plundering seemed a natural fit. And the nature of Roger and Tom’s adventures led to the Past. Thus, Plundering the Past was born.
Mark
4/15/2023 08:12:31 am
Those authors gave you good advice. 4/15/2023 03:51:12 pm
I know some authors really struggle with character names, but that's one thing that came easily to me. Some are an amalgamation of names I know, and some I made up, like Benjamin Craven. I chose names that I thought sounded good saying them out loud; readers I've talked to say they won't read or finish books that have names they can't readily pronounce. I've taken that advice to heart.
Mark
4/15/2023 04:08:10 pm
I understand the comment about unpronounceable names. I have struggled with strange names in the past. 4/15/2023 11:54:01 pm
Yes, I have one other book published called The Spartan Initiative, which is also historical fiction. Other projects I'm working on are sequels to Plundering the Past and The Spartan Initiative as well as additional books in each series, a children's book, and some unrelated projects.
Mark
4/20/2023 09:29:39 am
Historical fiction is my third favorite genre after science fiction and fantasy. The Spartan Initiative sounds very interesting. Leave a Reply. |
Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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