FireStorm, my 5th novel, is set during the Bloody Conflict Known as King Philip's War
Updated: Jul 20, 2021
Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
Its people must pay the price for their sin.
They are destroyed by fire,
and only a few are left alive. Isaiah 24:6
The bloody Pequot war shifted power from the unorganized tribes of the western frontier to the New England colonies. Without threat of reprisal from the savage Pequots, nothing hindered colonial expansion. A flaming comet in the New England sky from September 1664 through early December. A sign God approved of the colonist’s work? Just an astronomical phenomenon with no particular meaning? Or was it a portent bad times to come?
Massasoit had been the colonist's friend, but his son Philip broke with the colonies, inviting Indians from all over New England to an ongoing powwow at his seat at Mount Hope. After refused to re-appear in court over this outright challenge to peace, Philip’s former secretary and confidant, John Sassamon, was murdered and the comet’s forewarning of bad times began to come true. The two-year action that followed, King Philip's War, pitted native Americans against English settlers in one of the bloodiest conflicts, per capita, in U.S. history.
FireStorm, picks up where Nor'easter left off. It'll be your chance to get better acquainted with Captain Zeke James of the Plymouth militia as he accompanies his childhood friend Ben Church into battle in this rousing tale of colonial expansion. Ben and Zeke build and lead America's first army ranger unit, an integrated combat team of English militia and Indian scouts. They enter into the colonies' second great conflict with the unique perspective for the time. If the English wanted to win, they had to adopt and begin using the same battle tactics as their savage enemy.
The FireStorm manuscript has grown to over 105,000 words and 450 pages. I hope to have a proof copy in the hands of my proofreader son Brady by early autumn. Both printed and digital versions should be available by early next year. Next up, editing and rewriting the historically accurate prequels, books 1, 2, & 3 of the James Family Saga, ThunderSnow, Dry Rain, and HeatLightning. Check back once in a while. I'll keep you posted.