by Dan Thompson
“Is this everyone?” Collins asked.
Michael nodded. “It’s all I have, really.”
“Well, it has to be done before witnesses, but there’s no minimum requirement.” He pulled out a pad and an ancient book with red-tinted trim on the pages. “I forgot to ask about your religious preferences,” he said, “but you’re supposed to swear on something that’s holy to you.”
“I know.”
“Ah, well, I brought an old family Bible of my mother’s if you’d like to use it.”
Michael shook his head. “Thank you, but no. I brought my own holy book.” He held it out. The green cloth cover bore the title “Journal 18.”
Collins raised an eyebrow but took it without comment. Instead, he turned to the assembled officers and crew and said, “I believe we’re ready. Thank you for coming.” He referred to his notes on the pad. “Tradition states that the oath of a privateer is to be sworn before a naval flag officer, an able seaman, and a nobleman, and if I am to believe Lieutenant Weston’s genealogy claims, we have all three. Also by tradition, privateers are only used during wartime, but as the Yoshido Syndicate’s recent actions have made clear, we are forever at war, declared or not. And by the final tradition, the oath is to be sworn upon a book that is holy to the oath-taker. Captain Fletcher has provided this book for that purpose.”
He turned to Michael and held out the journal. “Place your left hand on the book and raise your right hand.”
Michael did so, the rough texture of the cover speaking to him through his fingertips.
“Michael William Fletcher, do you swear to seek out the enemies of the Confederacy, bring them to heel, protect the ships of the innocent, inform your superiors, and uphold the Navy’s privateer code?”
He nodded. “By the names of my fathers, I do swear it.”
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AUTHOR'S NOTES
I want to begin this with an apology for taking so damn long to get this book into your hands. When I published Ships of My Fathers in May of 2013, an author friend of mine gave me the very excellent advice of getting the next book out as soon as possible, and then the next, and the next after that, and so on. It was advice I was intent on following. I had already written the first draft of Debts of My Fathers before releasing Ships of My Fathers, so all it needed was a quick trip through the edit and production processes, and it would be out the door in short order. Clearly, that didn’t happen. As I wind down production on this book, I’m just past the fourth anniversary of the publication of Ships, so despite my intent, I clearly failed to follow that most excellent advice. So I was listening, Nathan. I just rolled a 1 on the execution.
So what the hell did happen? A lot of things, but they bunch up into three categories. The first was that my health went to crap. Perhaps the biggest deal is that I got two herniated discs in my mid-back in September 2013. This has left me in chronic pain for over three years now, and pain killers are also brain killers, so it’s been hard to work. Physical therapy is slowly improving matters, but even as I’m typing this, I’m acutely aware of the figurative fiery dagger stabbing me in my back. At least, that’s what it feels like. Toss in a couple of bowel obstructions, corneal abrasions, and a brush with cancer – more of a drive-by, really, so don’t worry – and it’s been a challenge to spend enough quality butt-in-chair time to get this book done.
The second thing that slowed the book down was that I got a day job. I had taken several years off to spend time with my special-needs kids, but it was time to go back. I got an offer I couldn’t refuse, and it’s good that I took it. If for nothing else, it came just in time to start paying all the medical bills I’ve racked up. But that’s still 40+ hours a week that I’m not working on books, and it took a while to readjust to fitting my writing and editing time into the evenings and weekends.
The third thing that slowed it down was the book itself. Ships came out as a fairly clean draft. Sure, it had typos and continuity errors galore, but the basic story was there, and it worked. The same was not true for Debts. I had my doubts when I handed it off to my beta readers, and they confirmed those doubts. Debts had problems in the basic story, and I was stumped on how to fix them. It took a while, but I finally found the right path. So, to the extent that these longer edits are to blame for the book taking so long, they’re also the reason the book came out as well as it has.
So, will I be able to follow that excellent advice this time? I hope to. As before, the next book is already in draft form, and as this heads into the final phase of production, I’m starting my edits to Oaths of My Fathers. I’ve also laid out the basic plots for the final two books in the series. My health is improving, and I’ve worked out how to do this thing in the hours I have available.
With that out of the way, I’d like to thank a boatload of people. First, my beta readers: Julia, Rose, Abigail, David, and DeLayne. I especially want to thank the one who smacked me around and made me face the problems head-on. You know who you are.
I also want to thank my editor Karen Conlin. She fixed all those things a spell-checker won’t, seduced me into the occasional semi-colon, and forced me to put a stake in the ground and meet a deadline. Sort of. I actually missed both of my deadlines with her, but I missed by weeks or months instead of years. Still I look back at the decision to hire her as the thing that finally kicked me into motion.
Speaking of kicks in the butt, my local Indie writers’ group kept me going through some rough times, especially Cathy and Linda. Linda has always been a good listener, and Cathy has prodded me into action more times than I can count.
And a big thankyouverymuch to my friends, both in meatspace and out in the wilds of the Internet. From the pixel-stained techno-peasants to the folks elsewhere, it’s been nice knowing you’ve had my back.
Lastly, I want to thank Julia and Rose, who have both supported and prodded me along this whole way. Given the rough ride of the last three years, I wouldn’t be here without you, let along this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Thompson started writing fiction at the age of ten. Luckily for the world, all copies of that early Star Wars rip-off have been lost to time and Sith retaliation. Moving on from that six-page handwritten epic, he wrote short stories through the 1980’s and 1990’s and sold a few of them to magazines that rarely lived past his stories’ publication.
After three or four abandoned novels, he finally started finishing some and decided they should do more than collect dust and red scribbles. Because of the shakeup e-books have brought to publishing, he decided to pursue self-publishing for the time being. Thus Quantum Forge Press was born.
He lives near Austin with his wife and three children, drives old police cars, wears kilts when the weather permits, visits with friends as much as possible, and is generally considered to be the weirdo next door. Fortunately, the neighbors don’t know how weird he really is.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locations, or events is entirely coincidental.
DEBTS OF MY FATHERS
Copyright © 2017 by Dan Thompson
Cover art by Dan Thompson
(with source photo courtesy NASA)
All rights reserved.
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, etc.), or stored in a retrieval system, without prior written permission by the publisher.
Print ISBN: 978-0-9854146-2-7
Blog: www.DanThompsonWrites.com
www.QuantumForgePress.com
