Vengeance at the Falklands is Out Now!

Congratulations to Tim Chant, whose thrilling naval adventure Vengeance at the Falklands, is out now!

Vengeance at the Falklands is the fifth book in the Marcus Baxter Naval Thriller Series: action-packed historical adventures following former Royal Navy officer Marcus Baxter during the early 1900s and through the First World War.

Winter, 1914

Lieutenant Marcus Baxter is working in the supply department at HM Dockyard Devonport, when word arrives that the German East Asia Squadron has destroyed a British squadron at the battle of Coronel.

Baxter seizes an opportunity to impress the First Sea Lord, Jackie Fisher, during a snap inspection of the dockyard and secures an appointment to HMS Astute, a scout cruiser, which is being sent to join the squadron in the South Atlantic.

Surviving a storm in the mid-Atlantic, Astute has a run-in with a mysterious passenger liner sailing under the Stars and Stripes, and duels with a German light cruiser stalking the rich hunting grounds off the South American coast.

After an intense engagement, which sees the Astute fleeing along the coast to Montevideo for emergency repairs, Baxter once again encounters the suspicious liner. And this time he is determined not to let it get away.

Baxter risks everything to sneak aboard, and makes a shocking discovery. He needs to reach the safety of the Falklands before any intelligence falls into the wrong hands.

But with the enemy on his tail, the race along the South Atlantic won’t be an easy one…

Following the success of his many military thrillers, including the Vietnam Ground Zero Series and Wings Over Nam aviation thrillers, we are delighted to announce that we have signed a new historical military series by Eric Helm.

In Eric’s words:

“At the end of the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, the world moved close to a world war that could easily escalate into a thermonuclear exchange that would end modern civilization. There were those who wished for nothing more because they believed it would thrust them to the top and in control of the world. And there were those who wanted to prevent that. Their purpose wasn’t always altruistic, but that goal matched their own climb to power. It is into this world that the characters in this series move, serving on every continent and sailing all the oceans, dealing with those problems.

“The characters are military and civilian, members of the media, and those with an academic frame of mind. Each brings an interesting take to the problems of trying to prevent a world war, except for one nation whose leaders believe such a conflict would benefit them. These are unique situations that require unique solutions. This is a tale told on the world stage with players at nearly every level of society.

“Sapere Books have been very good to me. The packaging of my Vietnam Ground Zero series has been perfect. The enthusiasm with which the books have been received has been wonderful. Sapere is a great publisher who have looked out for my best interests. Everyone seems to be excited by the various projects that I have suggested and there is no pressure to crank out a book quickly. They let it evolve naturally, which I believe makes the books that much better.”

Congratulations to D. R. Bailey, whose thrilling aviation novel, The Night Angels, is published today!

The Night Angels is the second novel in the Secret Sirens Aviation Thrillers Series, heart-pounding Second World War escapades with strong female leads.

1943

Sisters Anna and Jennifer Nightingale are recruits in the top-secret Siren Squadron: a group of women trained in the RAF to fight against the enemy.

The Sirens are tasked with flying a series of night stealth missions as part of Operation Scorpion. The first mission is successful, and on returning to base they are told that new members will be joining their ranks.

Hopeful that this means the all-female squadron has been deemed a success, the sisters welcome the new recruits and start training them on the Mosquitos.

They head out on another night mission. But this time not everyone returns.

With a downed plane found empty off the English coast, fears grow that one of the Sirens hasn’t survived.

But the show must go on. And Anna Nightingale has to destroy the crashed plane so the Sirens can remain classified.

As their night missions continue, increased skirmishes with enemy pilots suggest someone may be leaking information to the Germans.

Have the Sirens been compromised? Can they find the mole?

Or will these daring female agents be forced out of the war…?

Congratulations to Patrick Larsimont, whose paranormal military thriller, The Brookwood Boys, is out now!

Surrey, England, 2019

Tennessee soldier Maurice ‘Mouse’ Forsyth has been watching over Brookwood Cemetery ever since his untimely death in 1917. For over a hundred lonely years, he has become the caretaker of lost souls, welcoming the good as well as the evil, the damaged, the mad and the bad.

But now something strange is happening. For the first time, Mouse seems to be able to communicate with the living. The head gardener’s teenage son, Luke, has seen him.

Overwhelmed, Mouse tries to find a way to communicate with him. But before he can, Luke’s friend Matilda – a sad girl who has often been seen alone in the graveyard – goes missing.

Mouse wants to help Luke, but he has never interfered with the world of the living before.

Leaning on the other spirits in the military cemetery, whose sad past lives are gradually revealed, Mouse is determined to find Matilda.

But the outcome may not be what he was hoping for…

Will Mouse find a way to speak to Luke? Can he help discover what happened to Matilda?

And will the Brookwood ghosts finally find peace?

Congratulations to Neil Denby, whose action-packed Roman adventure, Centurion, is published today!

Centurion is the fourth book in the Quintus Roman Thrillers series.

After wintering in Germania, Julius Quintus Quirinius is commanded to gather up the remains of his cohort and meet with General Drusus, who is marching with many legions west down the Rhine from the Alps.

But treacherous enemies and the fickle gods of the weather combine to slow them down. And a new force, led by a mysterious freedom fighter, is organising the local tribes against them.

Desertion plagues them and when the cohort commander is captured, Quintus and the other centurions have decisions to make.

They need to rescue their commander and destroy the fortress where he is being held, but they also need to lead the men to the Alpen passes that point to Rome and home.

Quintus has faith in his companions and knows they respect him in return. But he doesn’t want to test their loyalty by making an unpopular decision.

Can Quintus lead his cohort to victory – and their homeland?

Or will Rome once more remain beyond their reach…?

In this behind-the-scenes blog series, Sapere Books authors offer an intriguing insight into how, where and why they write.

Today, we are delighted to spotlight Patrick Larsimont, author of the Jox McNabb Aviation Thrillers.

My writing has two modes, much like the clock, British Summer Time and Greenwich Mean Time. Living by the sea in Dorset, the weather rather sets the mood and often my productivity.

In the winter, when it’s darker, I get up early and write directly onto my computer.  Earlier this year, I acquired two largish monitors, which I have side by side on a stand, below which I have my MacBook Pro. My desk is invariably covered in paper, notebooks and little bibelots that keep me interested, amused and inspired.

When I glance at the nearby window ledge, I see a toy metal Spitfire in desert camo with a spinning propellor, and a pair of painted tin soldiers (not by me), one a bagpiper in full regalia, the other a 1940s RAF pilot, inscribed on the bottom as ‘Hurricane Ace, Battle of Britain.’ Finally, there’s my grandfather’s little silver boar, a memento of his own service during the war. It bears the motto, ‘Résiste et Mords,’ which got him through many battles and the camps. He’s gone now, but just seeing that pig always rids me of any writer’s block, knowing full well that I’ve had it much easier than him.

In winter mode, I stare at a radiator and the world comes to me through my monitors, making me feel like some sort of chaotic air traffic controller. Heaven help the pilots in my care, although old Jox McNabb is holding his own. I generally aim for twelve hundred words a day and have a weekly target of at least five thousand. It’s a cadence I can manage and feeds my nature as an impatient man.

In the summertime, the process becomes two-staged. I write first in my notebook, in terrible doctor-style handwriting, sometimes so awful I can’t even decipher my own hieroglyphics. I can write anywhere — on the beach, at a coffeeshop (rarely) or in our garden (most often), and train journeys are good too. I don’t get too comfortable and like to just write, setting myself the target of twelve notebook pages per session. I then type up, embellish and edit whenever I fancy. Generally, I do about four drafts, plotting out a rough chapter breakdown at first, with two or three sentences for each. Invariably, that synopsis changes, with chapters budding off like yeast.

For inspiration, I depend on the internet and my constantly growing pile of to-be-read books, but often I just make stuff up. A lifetime of blagging it helps. When working on the laptop and monitors, the lure of ‘rabbit holes’ is great, and I can disappear for hours, but when grinding through with the notebook, I try to avoid that, although I do usually have my smartphone in my pocket.

If I did have a writing approach, it would probably be something like Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ (that’s the old adman in me), but ‘Résiste et Mords’ would probably do too.

Congratulations to Eric Helm, whose thrilling Vietnam War adventure, Proxy War, is published today!

Proxy War is the twenty-ninth book in the Vietnam: Ground Zero series: action-packed, authentic historical thrillers set during the Vietnam War.

Republic of Vietnam, 1969

The American government has known for a long time that there were Soviet advisors in North Vietnam, but now it seems they are ready to strike.

Intelligence has been gathered suggesting that Soviet fighter pilots have engaged in aerial combat with American Air Force and Navy pilots.

As of yet the Americans have not retaliated, as the UN is terrified of the Vietnam War escalating into a global nuclear disaster.

But the Soviets have been spotted engaging local Vietnamese troops and it seems they are readying for an attack.

U.S. Army Special Forces Major Mack Gerber and Sergeant Major Anthony Fetterman have been on light duties in Vietnam, during a relatively peaceful period in the war.

But after a visit to a Special Forces Camp, they are told that the enemy have been increasing their assaults on the base.

What are the Soviets planning? How large is their army?

Can the US Special Forces stop their deadly attack…?

Congratulations to Tony Rea, whose thrilling fighter pilot adventure, Bouncer’s Blenheim, is published today!

Bouncer’s Blenheim is the second book in the Gus Beaumont Aviation Thrillers series: action-packed military novels set during the Second World War.

Europe, 1940

After surviving the Battle of Britain, fighter pilot Gus ‘Bouncer’ Beaumont has been promoted to Flying Officer and is posted to a Spitfire reconnaissance squadron.

That is, until Wing Commander Peacock creates another mission for him.

A new top-secret unit called the Special Operations Executive has been formed to gather intelligence on the enemy. And Gus is ordered infiltrate the Greek Resistance and establish their political affiliation.

Mussolini’s army have occupied Greece but the locals have been fighting back. The actions of the civilians seem promising and British Intelligence want to know where the Greeks’ allegiance lies.

To have a chance of success, Gus needs to ditch his plane into the sea and get picked up by the Resistance fighters.

But that is easier said than done … if you want to survive the crash.

Will Gus make it to Corfu in one piece? Can he persuade the Resistance fighters to confide in him?

And can he successfully evade the Italian army…?

Congratulations to D. R. Bailey, whose gripping military adventure, Dawn of Hope, is out now!

Dawn of Hope is the first book in the Spitfire Mavericks Thrillers series: action-packed aviation adventures set during the Second World War and featuring a team of vigilante pilots.

1940, England

After a series of run-ins with his superiors, Flying Officer Angus Mackennelly is posted to Squadron 696 – the Maverick unit full of misfits and outsiders.

Angus has just returned from gunning down enemy aircraft when he is given a shocking top-secret mission.

A spy is in their midst, feeding information to the Germans, and Angus is tasked with exposing him.

MI6 pin their suspicions on one of the squadron’s foreign pilots, but Angus is not convinced. He needs to get closer to the men in his unit to try and unravel their secrets.

As the fight in the skies intensifies, it is clear the Germans are anticipating their every move, putting the lives of the pilots in the Maverick squadron at a deadly risk.

Can Angus unmask the traitor? Will he save the men in his squadron?

Or will the enemy remain one step ahead…?