"A1" | MARITIME MUSINGS
- Thomas Wing
- Apr 21
- 5 min read
April 2026
"A1 was issued to ships whose hull and gear were of the highest quality."
Words and phrases that you've heard but didn't know they originated at sea ...
"A1"
You’ve heard people talk about something being top notch, or A1. Of course, it has a nautical origin.
Beginning in the late 1600’s, Lloyd’s of London, a well-known insurance firm, began issuing ratings on merchant ships, an assessment of their construction materials and methods. “A1” was issued to ships whose hull and gear were of the highest quality. As often happens, such an assessment made its way ashore, such that even characters in Charles Dickkens’s Pickwick Papers use the term “’He must be a first-rater,’ Sam said. …’A1,’ replied Mr. Roker.”
Friends' Books
In the recent past, my friend Megan Haskell has released the second in her The War of the Nine Faerie Realms series, Quenched in Secrets. If you love “myth, magic, and mayhem,” these books are for you! I thoroughly enjoy her mix of mythology, the worlds she created for both this series and The Sanyare Chronicles, and the real world. These are highly recommended, as are her Rise of Lilith books. Not just for fans of fantasy, these are great action reads, as well!
Soon to be released is Dennis K. Crosby’s fourth book in his Kassidy Simmons series. While I don’t have the title yet, I know it’s gonna be a barn burner! His action scenes are fantastic! And his characters are completely flawed, yet we love them, and want them to not only prevail, but heal along the way. The series began with Death’s Legacy, and man, I cannot wait until the fourth one is out in June!!
Gene Desrochers is penning another in his Crime series. Set in St. Thomas, where Gene grew up, these gritty private detective stories are excellent, competing well with those of Sam Spade and Philip Marlow. The fact that they’re set in a Caribbean paradise that isn’t, with the seamy side of the USVI on full display, is icing on the cake. I can’t wait!
Last but not least, Laura Rader continues to polish her next work, The Lark. The novel blends real history with fictionalized conversation between actual people, and is the story of the man who wrote the first musical based on The Wizard of Oz back in the early 20th century, long before the movie classic. I’m reading the manuscript now, and her meticulous research shows with the visceral scene setting and the wonderful characters we meet. I’m already “shipping” two of the characters (my daughter tells me that “shipping” is a verb, meaning I want them to end in a relationship). We shall see how they turn out! Her first, Hatfield 1677, is an award winning historical fiction novel that tells the true story of her own ancestors.
Books, books, books!
As I mentioned last month, the new release date is 13 June, by Acorn Publishing. If you’d like to be an Advance Reader, contact me; my e-mail is below. I’ll happily send you an ARC as soon as they are ready. BUT, you MUST agree to write a review and post it online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, GoodReads, NetGalley, and BookSprout websites. Come on, it’s easy! A review needs only two things. The “star rating,” one to five stars, and…. Oh, that’s it! You don’t HAVE to write anything….though I’d appreciate it if you did. Honesty is desired, too. If you hate it, let me know why. If it was “meh” tell me that, too. But if you loved it, gush about it. Just kidding. You can seriously get away with just writing “I loved/hated it.”
Treadnought is still being written, and I’m making good progress. I’m up to chapter thirty-one of an estimated forty, though I’m at about 88,000 words. I have a self-imposed limit of 100K words, so I’m going to have to be careful going forward. I expect to finish it by the end of April. I also have the Epilogue for the first three books in mind. I’ll revise the book from 1 to 30 June, and give it to Laura Taylor for editing on 1 July. That would see it released about January or February of next year.
What’s after that, you ask?
I will re-engage on Three Brothers (working title), the novel(s) inspired by my dad’s and two of my uncles’ service during World War II. I’ll be querying for an agent for this book(s) to see if any larger publisher might be interested. I love Acorn! But there’s still a small part of me would like a larger publisher to pick this one up. Why do you keep adding the (s)? Because I don’t know if Three Brothers will be a single volume or a duology. I’ve written 92,000 words already, and I’m only up to summer 1943! While I’m certain there’s stuff there that can be cut, I question my ability to tell what are really the stories of three men during the war in a single 95,000 word novel. At least, not without skipping important events!
And, I’m starting to think about where the Hawke family goes. William is the next to carry forward the legacy of service to our nation, in the Quasi-War with France. I’ve got some ideas on what will happen to him. We shall see!
Enough book news!
You can buy signed copies of any of my books here
Unsigned copies are available online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Books, and GoodReads.
An audio version of Against All Enemies is available at Audible.com and Apple Books!
You can also buy copies of Phobia!, which is an anthology that includes a short story I wrote. Phobia! Is available at all the same online sellers, and there’s now an audio version, as well.
Reminders and Events!
Check my website for a book signing near you.
First up is BookCon in Manhattan, New York City, THIS WEEKEND, 18-19 April. It’ll be held at the Javits Center on the Upper West Side.
I’m also working on getting signings in the Northern Virginia and Maryland area in late April and early May.
As far as talks, on 2 May, I’ll be a panelist at the Annapolis Book Festival, 1400 (2 pm) at the Farmhouse, at Key School. The panel is titled “Naval Thrillers: Adventures and Battles on the High Seas,” and is moderated by Benjamin Armstrong, Associate Professor of War Studies and Naval History at the US Naval Academy. My fellow writer on the panel is Jack Bartley, author of a number of books, the most recent of which is a memoir of his time in the Navy, Smoke on the Water.
Then I’ll be a panelist at the Imaginarium Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, 16-19 July. And I’m available to speak to groups, as well.
I’ve got signings in San Diego over the summer, including (hopefully) a book launch for Perilous Shores aboard HMS Rose/Surprise at the San Diego Maritime Museum in June. Then it’s back to the East Coast for the Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday, 27 September, and a signing at Turn the Page Books in Williamsburg, VA, on Saturday, 3 October.
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