Author James L. Nelson has a new book out  which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, George Washington's Great Gamble: And the Sea Battle That Won the American Revolution. Release date 1 June 2010.

In the opening months of 1781, after six years of grinding war, General George Washington feared his army would fail to survive another campaign season. The spring and summer only served to reinforce his despair, but in late summer the changing circumstances of war presented a once-in-a-war opportunity for a French armada to hold off the mighty British navy while his own troops with French reinforcements drove Lord Cornwallis's forces to the Chesapeake. It was the only opportunity Washington and his French allies ever had for a combined land-and-sea action against the British, and they used it brilliantly.

I'm halfway through Doctor Dogbody's Leg and all I can say is "why has it taken so long to find this!". Beautifully written, authentic, hilarious stories that remind me of Spider Robinson's science fiction masterpiece series, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. Both tout memorable characters, outrageous yarns that always seem to have a kernel of truth, and passages that literally make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I read them (you can rest assured that the Dogbody tales will get multiple readings).

Peter Smalley does not rest on his laurels in this latest, the fifth, in the Hayter/Rennie series. He has created a readable, interesting tale: characters we care about, a compelling story, lots of action and a window on history. James Hayter, haunted by doubts about his leadership ability and beset by tragedy at home, resigns his commission in the Royal Navy, a step he soon comes to regret. He is recruited by the shadowy agency that has already touched his life and he finds a new calling, one that gives him an opportunity to collaborate with mentor and friend, Captain William Rennie. As France reels from the Terror, Hayter and Rennie find themselves embroiled in a scheme to foil the worst excesses of the revolution. Their masters resolutely keep them in the dark and they chafe at being pawns in a game whose rules they don't understand. Nothing is straightforward in their mission and, faced with betrayal, they wind up in a desperate fight for their lives.