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| Blue Devil Island cover art by M. Wayne Miller |
With its former publisher, Marietta, permanently shuttered, my World War II novel, Blue Devil Island, has been put into the hangar for repairs and is just about ready to soar off again, courtesy of Crossroad Press. It will be first released as an e-book, followed by trade paperback and audio editions. Crossroad Press, for a relatively youthful publisher, has become a first-rate enterprise, with an extensive catalog of work by many of the biggest names in the industry. They've done a killer job with my novels The Nightmare Frontier, The Lebo Coven, and The Monarchs (plus the audio book of Balak), and I couldn't be more pleased they'll be giving Blue Devil Island the kind of treatment it's needed for quite some time. Happily, the Crossroad editions will retain M. Wayne Miller's beautiful cover art, pictured at left.
AUTUMN, 1943: The beginning of the American offensive against the Japanese in the South Pacific. Just west of the Solomon Islands lies a remote, desert island called Conquest, where the U.S. Navy stations a new fighting squadron, led by Lieutenant Commander Drew McLachlan, an ace pilot and veteran of the Battle of Coral Sea.
With his group of air warriors, who call themselves the Blue Devils, McLachlan soars into frequent combat with the Japanese, inflicting serious casualties upon the enemy. However, on the squadron's island home, signs appear that it may not be entirely alone, for in nearby volcanic caves, McLachlan finds evidence of habitation by unknown natives — natives that resemble no known living race, and that may yet exist in the mysterious subterranean catacombs. As the tension on the island mounts, McLachlan is forced to fight on two fronts: against their known enemy, the Japanese, and an unknown, predatory force that leaves mutilated victims as the only evidence of its presence.
As the Solomons campaign enters into its final skirmishes, the Japanese at last turn their attention to Conquest Island. In the final conflict, the Blue Devils find themselves the target of an overwhelming assault by the desperate Imperial Japanese forces—and McLachlan must face the reality that the key to his men’s survival lies deep in the dark and deadly caves of Conquest Island itself.
| "...An enjoyable World War II adventure with a science-fiction plot twist. Readers nostalgic for the era's war movies and pulp fiction will enjoy the ride." — Publisher's Weekly |
You may read an excerpt here. And do stay tuned for all the news that is the news across the nation....