Crimson Bay

An intense, thrilling, historical fiction narrative, CRIMSON BAY (88,000 words) chronicles several ordinary men and women whose lives were changed when they were thrust into extraordinary circumstances following a massive explosion. The story follows actual events which happened on April 16, 1947, when a cargo ship exploded in Texas
city. Hundreds of people were killed, thousands injured.

In this fast-paced novel our protagonists find themselves in a world beyond anything they could have ever imagined. A French Stevedore with a mysterious past and a Texas Highway Patrolman embark on a rescue mission. They not only battle the destruction surrounding them, they also have to combat the racism that was so prevalent at that time. Two longshoremen dig through a collapsed warehouse to save a trapped man in an effort that proves fatal. A clerk has her life transformed as she tends to injured townspeople at a make-shift trauma center. Two dockworkers join a tugboat operator and his mate to search for the wounded, finding only the dead as they sift through the debris that was once Texas’ busiest harbor. A logistics manager for the terminal company is thrust into the leadership role of a rescue and recovery operation, while his wife and her friend scrounge the resources needed to sustain the recovery undertaking.

In the course of their actions our characters stumble across a cover-up aided by mysterious Federal agents who are looking for a scapegoat. Another ship loaded with the same chemical is on fire, but nobody is raising the alarm. If it explodes it will destroy all the evidence of malfeasance. As thousands of rescue and relief people flood into the stricken city, another explosion like the first would be even more devastating.

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“This book is fantastic. It’s one of the most riveting reads I’ve experienced in quite some time.”

Tory Hunter, Critiquing Editor

“I went through a range of emotions from open jawed surprise to deep frustration and finally to thankfulness of the quick and determined group of real life humans who risked their lives to save survivors and give respect to the
dead.”

Toni Woodruff, Professional Beta Reader