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    Bloody Rain: Murder, Madness & the Monsoon
    Bloody Rain: Murder, Madness & the Monsoon
    Bloody Rain: Murder, Madness & the Monsoon
    Ebook24 pages21 minutes

    Bloody Rain: Murder, Madness & the Monsoon

    By Rick Spilman

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    About this ebook

    Bloody Rain is a short story set on a sailing ship in the 1880s. The Queen Charlotte was anchored fore and aft off the Calcutta wharves in the Hoogly River, waiting for cargo. She was a fine, three masted iron bark; trim, low and fast on a reach - in all respects, the perfection of the shipbuilder's art. If she had a single great flaw, it was on her quarterdeck in the man that the owners had chosen as captain.

    Captain John McPherson maintains absolute control over his ship and those who sail upon her. The only one that he cannot control is himself, slipping into murder and madness in the face of the relentless monsoon.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRick Spilman
    Release dateFeb 21, 2013
    ISBN9780988236028
    Bloody Rain: Murder, Madness & the Monsoon
    Author

    Rick Spilman

    Rick Spilman has spent most of his life around the ships and the sea. Professionally, he has worked as a naval architect (ship designer) for several major shipping lines. An avid sailor, Rick has sailed as volunteer crew on the replica square-riggers "HMS ROSE" and "HMS BOUNTY," as well as sailing on modern and period vessels along the New England coast, the west coast of Florida, the Caribbean, the Great Lakes and the southwest coast of Ireland. He is also an avid kayaker. Rick is the founder and host of the Old Salt Blog, a virtual port of call for all those who love the sea. He has been published in the Huffington Post, gCaptain, Forbes online, and several canoeing and kayaking print magazines. He was also a nautical columnist on the Clarion science fiction blog and a Cooley Award Winner in short fiction at the University of Michigan. His video has appeared in the Wall Street Journal on-line and in National Geographic Traveler. Rick lives with his wife and two sons on the west bank of the Hudson River.

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      Book preview

      Bloody Rain - Rick Spilman

      Bloody Rain – Murder, Madness and the Monsoon

      Copyright © by Richard Spilman 2013

      Published by Old Salt Press at Smashwords

      ISBN : 978-0-9882360-2-8

      Publisher's Note: This a work of historical fiction. Certain characters and their actions may have been inspired by historical individuals and events. The characters in the novel, however, represent the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

      Bloody Rain – Murder, Madness and the Monsoon

      The Queen Charlotte was anchored fore and aft off the Calcutta wharves in the Hoogly River, waiting for cargo. She was a fine, three masted iron bark; trim, low and fast on a reach - in all respects, the perfection of the shipbuilder's art. If she had a single great flaw, it was on her quarterdeck in the man that the owners had chosen as captain.

      Captain John McPherson was tall and broad. He carried himself with his shoulders squared away like the yards of a well trimmed ship. His black hair, cut short, was streaked with gray. The years of exposure to the wind and sun showed on his face, but he hadn't seemed to age so much as to have been hardened, with any trace of softness worn away by wind and weather.

      McPherson was, without question, the master of his ship. He saw to it that she was

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