James L. Nelson
Nelson's author photo, used in the Norsemen Saga books
Born	1962 (age 61–62) Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Occupation	Writer, historian
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction, nautical fiction, modern thriller [1]
Years active	1997–present
Notable awards	W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction
Spouse	Lisa Nelson
Children	Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Jonathan, Abigail
Website
www.jameslnelson.com

James L. Nelson (born 1962) is an American historical nautical novelist.

Early life

Nelson was born in Lewiston, Maine in 1962. He expressed an interest in boats from a young age, building a skipjack in ninth grade and a canoe in eleventh. In 1980, Nelson graduated from Lewiston High School. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts for two years, and then transferred to UCLA, with the ambition of becoming a film director. After living in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, Nelson found work aboard the Golden Hinde, where he met future wife Lisa Page. ^[2] In 1992, Nelson completed his first novel, By Force of Arms. ^[3] He and Lisa were married the next year. Nelson currently lives in Harpswell, Maine, with Lisa and their four children, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Jonathan, and Abigail. ^[4] Nelson continues to write full-time, and has published over twenty-five books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Awards

Nelson received the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction from the American Library Association in 2004 for his novel, Glory In The Name: A Novel of the Confederate Navy. ^[5]

He won the 2009 Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature for George Washington's Secret Navy. ^{[6] [7]}

Bibliography

Novels

• Revolution at Sea Saga series

1. By Force of Arms (1997), ISBN  978-0-671-51924-7
2. The Maddest Idea (1997), ISBN  978-0-671-51925-4
3. The Continental Risque (1998), ISBN  978-0-671-01381-3
4. Lords of the Ocean (1999), ISBN  978-0-671-03490-0
5. All the Brave Fellows (2001), ISBN  978-0-671-03846-5

• Brethren of the Coast

1. The Guardship (2000), ISBN  0-380-80452-2. ^[8] Spanish edition published by Ediciones B as "El vigía" in 2004.
2. The Blackbirder (2001), ISBN  0-06-000779-6. ^[9] Spanish edition published by Ediciones B as "El negrero" in 2005.
3. The Pirate Round (2002), ISBN  0-06-053926-7. ^[10] Spanish edition published by Ediciones B as "La ronda del pirata" in 2007.

• Civil War at Sea series

1. Glory in the Name (2004), ISBN  0-06-095905-3 ^[11]
2. Thieves of Mercy (2005), ISBN  0-06-019970-9 ^{[12] [13]}

• The Norsemen Saga

1. Fin Gall (2013) ISBN  1-481-02869-3
2. Dubh-Linn (2014) ISBN  1484878930
3. The Lord of Vik-lo (2015) ISBN  1508699445
4. Glendalough Fair (2015) ISBN  9780692585450
5. Night Wolf (2016) ISBN  1534879684
6. Raider's Wake (2017) ISBN  9780692880265
7. Loch Garman (2017) ISBN  9780692976708
8. A Vengeful Wind (2018) ^[14] ISBN  978-0692169216
9. Kings and Pawns (2019) ISBN  978-0578515106
10. The Midgard Serpent (2020) ISBN  978-0578696423

• Standalone novels
  • The Only Life that Mattered: The Short and Merry Lives of Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack (2004) ISBN  159013060X
  • The French Prize (2015) ISBN  9781250046611
  • Full Fathom Five (2016) ISBN  9780692794883

Non-fiction

• Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack (2004) OCLC  60410100
• Benedict Arnold's Navy: the Ragtag Fleet that Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain But Won the American Revolution (2006), ISBN  0-07-146806-4 OCLC  64510314
• George Washington's Secret Navy: How the American Revolution Went to Sea (2008), ISBN  0-07-149389-1 OCLC  212627064
• George Washington's Great Gamble: And the Sea Battle That Won the American Revolution (2010), ISBN  0-07-162679-4
• With Fire and Sword: The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the Revolution (2011) ISBN  978-0-312-57644-8 ^{[15] [16]}

References

External links

• James L. Nelson Official site
• Bibliography at Fantastic Fiction
• Interview at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library recorded on March 14, 2009
• Appearances on C-SPAN