Bay of One Hundred Fires

In Bay of One Hundred Fires, author J. Lanier Yeates weaves a chilling tale of what Saddam Hussein might have done with the deadly weapons many believed he had. This first work of fiction by Yeates has been the focus of his attention for the past three years as unfolding real-life events aligned ever more closely with his developing story. But the story began to take shape soon after the nuclear-powered cruiser, USS California, steamed into Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1975 with Yeates at the helm. "It was then that I became aware of the activities of the Soviet Navy in the sleepy bay at Cienfuegos," said Yeates. "And I began to develop a fictional ‘solution’ to what seemed to be a real threat. From those exciting days of naval service in an exotic place came a significant part of the story of Bay of One Hundred Fires." In Bay of One Hundred Fires, a poor Cuban family from Cienfuegos is swept into a battle between the Navy and a global terror network. To complement its firepower and 21st century technology, the Navy calls on a young lieutenant commander and maverick CIA analysts. The Navy has one more weapon to leverage its powerful assets: Hoss Mueller, the skipper of the re-born USS California. "...a frighteningly realistic geopolitical thriller that cannot be put down." -- Stephan Kinsella, attorney and political risk consultant "Bay of One Hundred Fires brings back old memories and the desire to serve in the US Navy again." -- Rear Admiral Floyd H. Miller USN (ret.)

In Bay of One Hundred Fires, author J. Lanier Yeates weaves a chilling tale of what Saddam Hussein might have done with the deadly weapons many believed he had. This first work of fiction by Yeates has been the focus of his attention for the past three years as unfolding real-life events aligned ever more closely with his developing story. But the story began to take shape soon after the nuclear-powered cruiser, USS California, steamed into Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1975 with Yeates at the helm. "It was then that I became aware of the activities of the Soviet Navy in the sleepy bay at Cienfuegos," said Yeates. "And I began to develop a fictional ‘solution’ to what seemed to be a real threat. From those exciting days of naval service in an exotic place came a significant part of the story of Bay of One Hundred Fires." In Bay of One Hundred Fires, a poor Cuban family from Cienfuegos is swept into a battle between the Navy and a global terror network. To complement its firepower and 21st century technology, the Navy calls on a young lieutenant commander and maverick CIA analysts. The Navy has one more weapon to leverage its powerful assets: Hoss Mueller, the skipper of the re-born USS California. "...a frighteningly realistic geopolitical thriller that cannot be put down." -- Stephan Kinsella, attorney and political risk consultant "Bay of One Hundred Fires brings back old memories and the desire to serve in the US Navy again." -- Rear Admiral Floyd H. Miller USN (ret.)

On active duty in the United States Navy during the Vietnam years, J. Lanier Yeates served aboard the guided-missile destroyer, USS Mitscher before joining the pre-commissioning unit of the nuclear-powered cruiser, USS California, where he supervised the installation of the ship’s high-tech, long-range, air-search radar system. As a plank-owner when the California was commissioned in 1974, Yeates was at the helm when it went to sea for the first time. He again took the helm in 1998 as the California sailed to its final destination, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where it was scrapped in 1999. Yeates is a graduate of Louisiana State University and the LSU Law School.