Pursuit of the Raven

In the early years of the 1800's, British Naval officer, First Officer, Richard Welch of the HMS Essex, assumes the rank of captain and joins in the hunt for a French warship, the Ombre de Cordeau or Raven's Shadow. In his pursuit, he feels he is somehow connected with it's captain, Armand Gerbier.

Before the beginning of the nineteenth century, the infamous revolution swept over France, with many falling victim to 'Madam Guillotine' and her horrors. Also, before the turn of the century, the conflict between France and the varied nations of Europe, including England continued until 1814. England remained in continuous hostilities with France, and since France considered them a most important adversary, who at any cost, must be defeated. In 1802, the Treaty of Amiens was achieved, which brought eighteen months of relative peace. Our story begins near the end of this treaty with Lieutenant Richard Welch, who has served for twelve years in His Majesty's Royal Navy. The French are preparing to once again restart hostilities, and rumors have been spread by French Intelligence pertaining to a mysterious 'ghost ship' meant to play on the fears and superstitions of many English sailors. As First Officer aboard the HMS Essex, Richard and the ships crew are pursued twice by this ship, Ombre de Cordeau or Ravens shadow, during the treaty. Now, the conflict has resumed, and assuming the rank of captain, Richard is thrust into the forefront of the hunt for this mysterious ship. In the meantime, a young woman, Katharine comes into his life. This book is styled for an audience of older teens and adults.

William Walker was born and raised in the South and has lived most of his life there.He has been fortunate to spend brief periods in other parts of the United States and even a few foreign countries. Following high school, he was trained and worked for many years in the aviation field, maintaining helicopters and other types of aircraft. this endeavor has allowed him to travel to other parts of the U. S. and a few foreign countries. In his work, he has met and shared friendships with many varied types of people. This has provided him with the insight to create the characters he uses in his writing. He has been writing for about twenty years and this has brought him many more friends. Along with a love of adventure stories, he has always been a bit of a history buff. Writing this story has been a long but enjoyable endeavor. It, as all of his stories do, contains small parts of himself.