Alexander Spotswood, Charles Eden, and Colonial America: Alexander Spotswood: A Portrait of a Governor (1967) by Walter Havighurst; Alexander Spotswood: Governor of Colonial Virginia (1932) by Leonidas Dodson; Official Letters of Alexander Spotswood, Vol. II (1885) by the Virginia Historical Society (R.A. Brock, Ed.); From Colonies to Nation: The Emergence of American Nationalism, 1750-1800 (2006) by Alexander Ziegler; The Carolina Pirates and Colonial Commerce, 1670-1740 (1894) by Shirley Carter Hughson; Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, Am. and West Indies, Vols. XXIX-XXXII; Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vols. I-X. Edited by W.L. Saunders (1958); A History of the Bahamas (1962) by Michael Craton; A History of Colonial Bath (1955) by Herbert R. Paschal; Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, Vol. II (1857) by John F. Watson; The Journal of John Fontaine: An Irish Huguenot Son in Spain and Virginia, 1710 and 1719 (1972) by Edward Alexander (Ed.); The Story of the Bahamas (1975) by Paul Albury; How the Nation Was Won: America’s Untold Story 1630-1754 (1987) by Graham H. Lowry; Charleston and the Golden Age of Piracy (2013) by Christopher Byrd Downey; Research Guide to the Life and Career of the Former Lieutenant Governor and Colonel Alexander Spotswood (2015) by Devin Leigh; Alexander Spotswood (1676–1740), 2017 Encyclopedia Virginia, contributed by Randall Shrock; Charles Eden (1986), NCPedia by Jaquelin Drane Nash; Charles Eden (1673-1722) (2017) by North Carolina History Project; Alexander Spotswood’s Struggle with his Council (1967) by Joan Schools; Marlborough’s America (2013) by Stephen Saunders Webb; Beaufort County, North Carolina Deed Book I, 1696-1729, Records of Bath County, North Carolina (2003) by Allen Hart Norris; Historic Bath N.C. Historic Sites (2018) by North Carolina Office of Archives & History; Minutes of the North Carolina Governor’s Council, including a deposition, a remonstrance, and correspondence concerning Tobias Knight’s business with Edward Teach (1719), Colonial and State Records of North Carolina. Documenting the American South, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Tobias Knight (2018), Golden Age of Piracy website (informative and mostly accurate website).
I would also personally like to thank the following for their support and assistance. First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife Christine, an exceptional and highly professional book editor, who painstakingly reviewed and copy-edited the novel. Any mistakes that remain are my fault, of course.
Second, I would like to thank my former literary agent, Cherry Weiner of the Cherry Weiner Literary Agency, for thoroughly reviewing, vetting, and copy-editing the manuscript, and for making countless improvements to the finished novel.
Third, I would like to thank Stephen King’s former editor, Patrick LoBrutto, for thoroughly copy-editing the various drafts of the novel and providing detailed reviews.
I would also like to thank Austin and Anne Marquis, Governor Roy Romer, Ambassador Marc Grossman, Betsy and Steve Hall, Rik Hall, Christian Fuenfhausen, Bill Eberhart, Fred Taylor, Mo Shafroth, Tim and Carey Romer, Peter and Lorrie Frautschi, Deirdre Grant Mercurio, Joe Tallman, John Welch, Link Nicoll, Toni Conte Augusta Francis, Brigid Donnelly Hughes, Peter Brooke, Caroline Fenton Dewey, John and Ellen Aisenbrey, Margot Patterson, Cathy and Jon Jenkins, Danny Bilello and Elena Diaz-Bilello, Charlie and Kay Fial, Vincent Bilello, Elizabeth Gardner, Robin McGehee, and the other book reviewers and professional contributors large and small who have given generously of their time over the years, as well as to those who have given me loyal support as I have ventured on this incredible odyssey of historical fiction writing.
Lastly, I want to thank anyone and everyone who bought this book and my loyal fans and supporters who helped promote this work. You know who you are and I salute you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AND
FORTHCOMING TITLES
Samuel Marquis is a bestselling, award-winning historical fiction author. He works by day as a VP–Principal Hydrogeologist with an environmental firm in Boulder, Colorado, and by night as a spinner of historical suspense yarns. He holds a Master of Science degree in Geology, is a Registered Professional Geologist in eleven states, and is a recognized expert in groundwater contaminant hydrogeology, having served as an expert witness in several class action litigation cases. He also has a deep and abiding interest in military history and intelligence, specifically related to the Golden Age of Piracy, Plains Indian Wars, World War II, and the current War on Terror.
The ninth great-grandson of legendary privateer Captain William Kidd, he is the bestselling, award-winning author of historical pirate fiction, a World War Two Series, and the Nick Lassiter-Skyler International Espionage Series. His novels have been #1 Denver Post bestsellers, received multiple national book awards (Foreword Reviews Book of the Year, American Book Fest Best Book, USA Best Book, Beverly Hills, Next Generation Indie, Colorado Book Awards), and garnered glowing reviews from #1 bestseller James Patterson, Kirkus, and Foreword Reviews (5 Stars). Bodyguard of Deception, Book 1 of his WWII Series, was a winner of the Foreword Reviews Indie Book of the Year and an award-winning finalist of the USA Best Book Awards. Altar of Resistance, Book 2 of the WWII Series, was an award-winning finalist of the American Book Fest Best Book and Beverly Hills Book Awards. Critics and book reviewers have compared Bodyguard of Deception and Altar of Resistance to the epic historical novels of Tom Clancy, John le Carré, Ken Follett, Herman Wouk, Daniel Silva, and Alan Furst.
Ambassador Marc Grossman, former U.S. Under Secretary of State, proclaimed, “In his novels Blind Thrust and Cluster of Lies, Samuel Marquis vividly combines the excitement of the best modern techno-thrillers.” Former Colorado Governor Roy Romer said, “Blind Thrust kept me up until 1 a.m. two nights in a row. I could not put it down.” Kirkus Reviews proclaimed The Coalition an “entertaining thriller” and declared that “Marquis has written a tight plot with genuine suspense.” James Patterson said The Coalition had “a lot of good action and suspense” and compared the novel to The Day After Tomorrow, the classic thriller by Allan Folsom.
Below is the list of novels that Samuel Marquis has published or will be publishing in the near future, along with the release dates of both previously published and forthcoming titles.
Historical Pirate Fiction
Blackbeard: The Birth of America – February 2018
The World War Two Series
Bodyguard of Deception – March 2016 – Winner Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year Awards (HM) and Award-Winning Finalist USA Best Book Awards
Altar of Resistance – January 2017 – Award-Winning Finalist American Book Fest Best Book Awards and Beverly Hills Book Awards
Spies of the Midnight Sun – June 2018
The Nick Lassiter – Skyler International Espionage Series
The Devil’s Brigade (formerly The Slush Pile Brigade) – September 2015, Reissue April 2017 – The #1 Denver Post Bestseller and Award-Winning Finalist Beverly Hills Book Awards
The Coalition – January 2016, Reissue April 2017 – Winner Beverly Hills Book Awards and Award-Winning Finalist USA Best Book Awards and Colorado Book Awards
The Fourth Pularchek – June 2017 – Award-Winning Finalist American Book Fest Best Book Awards and Beverly Hills Book Awards
The Joe Higheagle Environmental Sleuth Series
Blind Thrust – October 2015 – The #1 Denver Post Bestseller; Winner Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year (HM) and Next Generation Indie Book Awards; Award-Winning Finalist USA Best Book Awards, Beverly Hills Book Awards, and Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Cluster of Lies – September 2016 – Winner Beverly Hills Book Awards and Award-Winning Finalist USA Best Book Awards and Foreword Reviews Book Awards
Thank You for Your Support!
To Order Samuel Marquis Books and Contact Samuel:
Visit Samuel Marquis’s website, join his mailing list, learn about his forthcoming suspense novels and book events, and order his books at www.samuelmarquisbooks.com. Please send all fan mail (including criticism) to [email protected].
ard- The Birth of America
Blackbeard- The Birth of America Page 59
