James L. Nelson

James L. Nelson (born 1962) is an American historical nautical novelist.

Early life

He was born in Lewiston, Maine in 1962. In 1980, Nelson graduated from Lewiston High School. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts for two years, and then transferred to UCLA, with the ambition of becoming a film director.

Personal life

Nelson, his wife, Lisa, their daughters Elizabeth and Abbey and their sons, Nathaniel and Jonathan, live in Harpswell, Maine, where Nelson continues to write full-time. He is also the Skipper of Sea Scout Ship 243, out of Maine Maritime Museum, in Bath.

Awards

He received the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction from the American Library Association in 2004 for his novel, Glory In The Name: A Novel of the Confederate Navy.^[1]

Bibliography

Novel series

Revolution at Sea saga

features "Isaac Biddlecomb"

1. By Force of Arms (1997), ISBN 978-0-671-51924-7
2. The Maddest Idea (1997), ISBN 978-0-671-51925-4
3. The Continental Risque (1998), ISBN 978-0-671-01381-3
4. Lords of the Ocean (1999), ISBN 978-0-671-03490-0
5. All the Brave Fellows (2001), ISBN 978-0-671-03846-5

Brethren of the Coast series

features "Thomas Marlowe"

1. The Guardship (2000), ISBN 0-380-80452-2.^[2] Spanish edition published by Ediciones B as "El vigía" in 2004.
2. The Blackbirder (2001), ISBN 0-06-000779-6.^[3] Spanish edition published by Ediciones B as "El negrero" in 2005.
3. The Pirate Round (2002), ISBN 0-06-053926-7.^[4] Spanish edition published by Ediciones B as "La ronda del pirata" in 2007.

Civil War at Sea series

features "Samuel Bowater"

1. Glory in the Name (2004), ISBN 0-06-095905-3^[5]
2. Thieves of Mercy (2005), ISBN 0-06-019970-9^[6][7]

Book of the Norsemen

A Tale of Viking Age Ireland

• Fin Gall: (2013) ISBN 1-481-02869-3
• Dubh-Linn: (2014) ISBN 1484878930
• The Lord of Vik-lo: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (2015) ISBN 1508699445
• Glendalough Fair

Standalone novels

• The Only Life that Mattered: The Short and Merry Lives of Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack (2004) ISBN 159013060X
• The French Prize (2015) ISBN 9781250046611

Non-fiction

• Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack (2004) OCLC 60410100
• Benedict Arnold's Navy: the Ragtag Fleet that Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain But Won the American Revolution (2006), ISBN 0-07-146806-4 OCLC 64510314
• George Washington's Secret Navy: How the American Revolution Went to Sea (2008), ISBN 0-07-149389-1 OCLC 212627064
• George Washington's Great Gamble: And the Sea Battle That Won the American Revolution (2010), ISBN 0-07-162679-4
• With Fire and Sword: The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the Revolution (2011) ISBN 978-0-312-57644-8^[8][9]

References

1. http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/2/all_years Boyd Award Recipients List
2. Review, Chicago Tribune, 2000/02/04, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-02-04/features/0002040148_1_patrick-o-brian-aubrey-and-maturin-jack-aubrey
3. "Fiction Review: The Blackbirder by James L. Nelson. Publishers Weekly". Publishersweekly.com. 2001-03-01. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
4. Review, Publishers Weekly, http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-380-80454-2
5. Review, Publishers Weekly, http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-019969-2
6. Review, Kirkus, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-l-nelson/thieves-of-mercy/
7. Review, Publishers Weekly, http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-019970-8
8. Review, Kirkus, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-l-nelson/fire-and-sword/
9. Review, Publishers Weekly, http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-57644-8

External links

• James L. Nelson Official site
• Bibliography at Fantastic Fiction
• Interview at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library recorded on March 14, 2009