POYER, David 1949-

PERSONAL: Born November 26, 1949, in DuBois, PA; son of Charles and Margaret Poyer; married Lenore Hart (a novelist); children: Naia (daughter). Education: U. S. Naval Academy, B.S. (with merit), 1971; George Washington University, M.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—7018 Wildflower Lane, Frank-town, VA 23354.

CAREER: U.S. Navy, 1971-2001, line officer on frigates and amphibious ships, 1971-77; transferred to U.S. Naval Reserve, 1977; became commander; freelance writer, 1977—. Teacher or lecturer at U. S. Naval Academy, Flagler College, University of Pittsburgh, Old Dominion University, Armed Forces Staff College, University of North Florida, Christopher Newport University, and other institutions. Guest on PBS's "Writer to Writer" series and on Voice of America. Founding member of Tidewater Writers Workshop.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, U.S. Naval Institute, American Society of Naval Engineers, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association, SERVAS.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

White Continent (adventure novel), Jove (New York, NY), 1980.

The Shiloh Project (adventure novel), Avon (New York, NY) 1981.

Star Seed (science fiction novel), Donning (Norfolk, VA), 1982.

The Return of Philo T. McGiffın (comic novel), St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1983.

Stepfather Bank (science fiction novel), St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1987.

The Only Thing to Fear, Forge (New York, NY), 1995.

"TALES OF THE MODERN NAVY" SERIES

The Med, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1988.

The Gulf, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1990.

The Circle, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1993.

The Passage, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1994.

Tomahawk, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1998.

China Sea, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 2000.

Black Storm, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 2002.

"HEMLOCK COUNTY" SERIES

The Dead of Winter, Tor (New York, NY), 1988.

Winter in the Heart, Tor (New York, NY), 1993.

As the Wolf Loves Winter, Forge (New York, NY), 1996.

Thunder on the Mountain, Forge (New York, NY), 1999.

Winter Light (contains Winter in the Heart and As theWolf Loves Winter), Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

"TILLER GALLOWAY" SERIES

Hatteras Blue, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1989.

Bahamas Blue, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1992.

Louisiana Blue, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1994.

Down to a Sunless Sea, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1996.

"CIVIL WAR AT SEA" SERIES

Fire on the Waters: A Novel of the Civil War at Sea, Simon & Schuster, 2001.

A Country of Our Own, Simon & Schuster, 2003.

OTHER

(Editor) Command at Sea, 4th edition, U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1983.

Contributor of stories to periodicals, including Analog, Galileo, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazine, and Unearth.

ADAPTATIONS: Film rights to The Return of Philo T. McGiffın were bought in 1991 by Universal.

SIDELIGHTS: David Poyer has won special praise for his books that exploit his knowledge of the sea and the world of sailors and divers. Speaking of Poyer's "Tales of the Modern Navy" series in Booklist, Roland Green called the books "one of the outstanding bodies of nautical fiction in English during the last half-century" and praised Poyer for balancing "hardware description and an extremely well drawn cast of characters with enormous skill."

The "Tales of the Modern Navy" series created by Poyer features U.S. Navy officer Dan Lenson, an Annapolis graduate whose career leads him through many assignments and adventures. Reviewing Tomahawk, Green commented: "Poyer's Lenson novels are so character driven that calling them thrillers is misleading, and here Poyer includes a solid cast of secondary characters who are thoroughly individualized yet serve to raise the ethical questions Poyer always brings to the fore. This demanding, excellent novel is probably the best so far in a major contemporary seafaring saga." China Sea finds Lenson ordered to deliver an outmoded frigate to the Pakistani government as part of a trade. On the voyage, he faces conflicts between the American and Pakistani crews, a serial killer stalking the ship, and an unexpected detour to battle a Chinese pirate organization. "Poyer displays a fine sense of pace and plot when the focus is on seagoing affairs, and the battle scenes are scintillating and satisfying," according to the critic for Publishers Weekly. Patrick J. Wall in Library Journal found that "Poyer's characters are as good as ever, and the action scenes are lively." Lenson returns in Black Storm, set during the Gulf War of 1991. American intelligence has learned that Saddam Hussein has a secret weapon he plans to use against Israel; Lenson and a crew of special operations experts is sent to Baghdad to locate and destroy the weapon before it can be unleashed. Robert Conroy in Library Journal noted that "Poyer captures the technical and emotional feel of such a dangerous mission, which ranges across the bleak desert and through the claustrophobic sewers of Baghdad." Green labeled Black Storm as being "one of the strongest books in an outstanding series."

With Fire on the Waters Poyer began a new series of nautical adventures, this time set during the American Civil War. Elisha Eaker is a wealthy young man who has joined the navy to escape his domineering father and an unwanted marriage to his headstrong cousin. Assigned to protect the Union forces at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Eaker finds that as the South secedes from the Union, his position becomes more perilous. Along with a crew of varying loyalty to the besieged Union, he eventually battles not only Confederate forces but storms at sea before venturing to the Chesapeake Bay on a secret mission. The critic for Publishers Weekly admitted that Fire on the Waters has "plenty of meat on the bones for Civil War and naval buffs." Margaret Flanagan of Booklist called the novel "a solid introduction to a promising new series." His second novel in the series, A Country of Our Own, moved the spotlight to Confederate navy lieutenant Ken Custis Claiborne, a Virginian who goes south after Sumter, first defending his state on the banks of the Potomac, the commanding a sea-raider that attacks Yankee trade from Brazil to Boston.

Several of Poyer's nautical novels feature deep-water diver Tiller Galloway, a maverick drifter who, although he is frequently depicted as self-centered and unlikeable, is nonetheless "the perfect denizen of the undersea world: tough, stubborn, solitary, out of place on land," in the opinion of a Publishers Weekly writer. Reviewing Louisiana Blue, the critic noted that "the biggest thrills in this well-written and subtly plotted novel come from the way Poyer brings alive the dangerous, claustrophobia-inducing world of deep-sea diving." Tiller appeared again in Down to a Sunless Sea, rated "one of [Poyer's] best novels yet" by Publishers Weekly. Once again, the realistic descriptions of undersea escapades are singled out by the reviewer as "particularly memorable," especially the "extensive, harrowing" passages about "cave dives, which are riveting enough to terrify experienced divers and hydrophobes alike." Thomas Gaughan echoed this sentiment in Booklist: "The cave-diving scenes are riveting, claustrophobic, terrifying, and beautiful. And Tiller has grown into one of the most spectacularly flawed and failed characters ever to seek redemption in popular fiction. A ripping good read!"

Speaking of his nautical adventure novels in an interview posted at his Web site, Poyer explained that his greatest problem in writing was how to use naval terminology so that the general reader would not be overwhelmed: "I start out defining my military terms in context; then, as the book goes on, I introduce more and more of them, especially in dialogue, because that's the really critical area. So by the end, the characters are speaking pretty unadulterated naval jargon, but you can understand it because you've been gradually introduced to it."

While Poyer's nautical books have proven to be popular, his land-based novels have also been praised as engrossing and thought-provoking works, particularly the "Hemlock County" series. These ecological thrillers feature an unlikely collection of heroes, including W. T. Halvorsen, an elderly, retired oil-driller, and his sidekick, high school student Phil Romanelli. In Winter in the Heart, Halvorsen becomes seriously ill after being splashed by contaminated snow. When he discovers that several other residents in his area have been similarly affected, he begins to investigate who is behind the illegal dumping of toxic waste. It turns out to be a bigger project than he expected, as everyone from the Mafia to the federal government struggles to cover up the crimes. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called Winter in the Heart an "absorbing tale" enlivened by "vividly imagined and deftly rendered characters, each one possessing real depth and a credible place in the story's richly evoked milieu." The sequel, As the Wolf Loves Winter, was praised by another Publishers Weekly critic for its "superb storytelling and characterization." Thunder on the Mountain is set in 1935, when young Bill Halvorsen finds himself entangled in unionizing efforts in the Pennsylvania oil fields. Violence erupts when ruthless communist organizers clash with corrupt businessmen, leading to sabotage, bribery, and death. Thunder on the Mountain is "violent, touching, and incredibly sad as the story careens to its explosive conclusion," Karen Anderson wrote in Library Journal. "Poyer's chilling look into the heart of the early union movement is dramatic and suspenseful, full of despair and hope," according to Melanie Duncan of Booklist. The critic for Publishers Weekly found the novel to be "a stunning period tale."

Poyer once told CA: "I was born in a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania, in the hills, and named after David Copperfield. My sister, my brother, and I grew up in vicious poverty but always with books around, thanks to our mother. I knew I would write someday, but I needed to see something of the world first. With this in mind, I applied to the Naval Academy—a free education and certainly an opportunity to travel. Much to my surprise, I was accepted. I spent the next six years at sea, married, divorced, and finally asked for transfer to the Reserves. It was time to try for the dream.

"For five years after that, I did the garret-and-starvation routine in Norfolk, Virginia, trying to write novels. Times were rough at first, since my novels returned to my mailbox as surely and as rapidly as homing pigeons. I like to tell the story about raiding demolished buildings for the Civil Defense rations in the basements. A little moldy, but nutritious. . . . Eventually I found a steady market in regional magazines and made several sales to the mystery and science fiction nations. I became a partner in a small guidebook publishing company. At that point, I began writing novels again. The seasoning helped, and White Continent and Shiloh Project sold.

"It is hard to see one's work from the outside; nevertheless I'll try. I admire strong stories with characters who must decide between good and evil—and situations where the choice is not as easy as it may sound. I don't like fantasy, and my work leans toward realism. I value accurate backgrounds, believable characters, and realistic dialogue and dislike wordiness, schlock, and digression. My goal is very simple—to write a novel, someday, that will satisfy me."

Poyer more recently added: "Since then, aside from brief periods as an engineer and consultant, I've worked as a novelist. Gradually success has come, in terms of sales and recognition. But even more heartening is the feeling that I'm still improving, still learning the craft (but with a long way to go yet). I love the profession of fiction. There's no other way I'd rather spend my life—relieved at intervals, of course, with some sailing."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 1994, p. 736; April 15, 1995, p. 1481; October 15, 1996, p. 407; April, 1998, Roland Green, review of Tomahawk, p. 1305; March 1, 1999, Melanie Duncan, review of Thunder on the Mountain, p. 1151; January 1, 2000, Roland Green, review of China Sea, p. 878; July, 2001, Margaret Flanagan, review of Fire on the Waters: A Novel of the Civil War at Sea, p. 1983; May 1, 2002, Roland Green, review of Black Storm, p. 1509.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 1992; February 1, 1996; March 1, 1998.

Library Journal, March 15, 1999, Karen Anderson, review of Thunder on the Mountain, p. 110; February 1, 2000, Patrick J. Wall, review of China Sea, p. 118; May 15, 2001, Loretta Davis, review of Fire on the Waters: A Novel of the Civil War at Sea, p. 165; April 15, 2002, Robert Conroy, review of Black Storm, p. 126.

Publishers Weekly, May 3, 1993, p. 293; July 5, 1993, p. 50; February 7, 1994, p. 70; February 27, 1995, p. 87; March 4, 1996, p. 54; October 7, 1996, p. 63; February 16, 1998, review of Tomahawk, p. 202; February 1, 1999, review of Thunder on the Mountain, p. 77; January 31, 2000, review of China Sea, p. 83; June 18, 2001, review of Fire on the Waters: A Novel of the Civil War at Sea, p. 56; May 6, 2002, review of Black Storm, p. 34.

Shipmate, July-August, 1999, David Poyer, contribution to article "Why They Write."

Water's Edge, July, 1999, David Poyer, "The Abyss."

ONLINE

David Poyer Home Page,http://www.esva.net/~david poyer (April 15, 2003).