I'm a novelist and non-fiction author of twenty-two books, the latest of which is "The Trojan Icon," the eighth in the series of Ethan Gage Napoleonic adventures. (February, 2016). A related title to this series is "Napoleon's Rules: Life and Career Lessons from Bonaparte." (March, 2015.) This nonfiction examination of Napoleon's life and maxims is an inspiring and cautionary tale for leaders, entrepreneurs, officers, or anyone with ambition and curiosity.
I published two books in the fall of 2014. One is my first young adult/adult thriller, "The Murder of Adam and Eve." This time-travel environmental-evolutionary tale set in prehistoric Africa has two 16-year-olds, Nick Brynner and Eleanor Terrell, trying to save our genetic ancestors from annihilation by an alien race. It's a coming of age story, survival story, love story, and environmental fable.
The other is a nonfiction coffee table-type book called "The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby." The Mountaineers Books publication has more than 200 photos and illustrations and is a gorgeous read.
Meanwhile, my bestselling HarperCollins series of Ethan Gage adventures has sold into 28 languages. Other recent titles: "The Three Emperors," 2014, and "The Barbed Crown," 2013. All the Gage books are available in hardback, paper, and ebook versions.
I began my writing career as a newspaper reporter in 1973, eventually sharing a Pulitzer at the Seattle Times for coverage of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. I also taught for five years at Western Washington University's Huxley College of the Environment.
I published my first non-fiction book, "The Final Forest," in 1992. It was updated in 2010 to "The Final Forest: Big Trees, Forks, and the Pacific Northwest." It won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award and the Governor Writers Award.
I followed that with "Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River." A new edition with a new introduction is planned for the fall of 2016.
My first novel, "Ice Reich," came in 1998 and is a World War II thriller based on a real-life Nazi expedition to Antarctica. This bestseller is still available as an ebook.
My other novels:
"Getting Back." An eco-thriller set in the Australian Outback in the near future. Ebook.
"Dark Winter." A killer is on the loose among the personnel at America's South Pole base. Creepy! Ebook.
"Hadrian's Wall." Love, war, and conspiracy during the late Roman Empire. All formats.
"The Scourge of God." A young couple must survive the invasion of the empire by Attila the Hun. All formats.
"Blood of the Reich." A contemporary Seattle woman sees her car blown up and learns of her horrific connection to a 70-year-old Nazi conspiracy that will take her to Tibet and Germany. All formats.
And the Ethan Gage novels:
"Napoleon's Pyramids." Our American hero accompanies Napoleon's 1798 invasion of Egypt and grapples with pyramid mysteries.
"The Rosetta Key." Ethan and his companion Astiza are caught up in Bonaparte's 1799 invasion of the Holy Land and his ascension to power in France.
"The Dakota Cipher." Norse mysteries play a role in a struggle for power on the Great Lakes frontier.
"The Barbary Pirates." Ethan and his scientist friends find an ancient super-weapon coveted by pirates who are at war with America.
"The Emerald Storm." A stolen emerald leads Ethan and his new family into peril in Haiti and the lush, perilous isles of the Caribbean.
"The Barbed Crown." Ethan finds himself a spy as Napoleon prepares to crown himself emperor and France challenges England at the naval showdown of Trafalgar.
"The Three Emperors." Seeking to reunited with Astiza and his son Harry in 1805, Ethan must survive the battle of Austerlitz and hunt down a medieval machine that can foretell the future.
Additional nonfiction includes:
"On Puget Sound." With Art Wolfe photos.
"Natural Grace." Essays on plants and animals in my native Pacific Northwest.
"Green Fire: A History of Huxley College." The nation's first dedicated environmental college.
As you can see, I'm curious about many things. I also enjoy research.
Travel for my novels has taken me to the Arctic, Antarctic, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Australia, Sicily, Greece, Paris, Britain, Hungary, Tibet...hey, someone's got to do it. I've traveled on a sailboat in the South Pacific, landed on an aircraft carrier, flown in a B-52, visited the South Pole, and been terrified flying with the Blue Angels.
As a journalist, I was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, won National Science Foundation fellowships to Antarctica, and speak frequently on environmental issues. I've covered Congress, the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the environment, science, social issues - even the military. I've traveled frequently for my writing, but live in the Pacific Northwest where I was born. I'm married, with two grown children.
I live in a house looking out at the San Juan Islands, surrounded by fir, cedar, and hemlock, and sometimes get to watch bald eagles while I'm writing. Connecting with readers is one of life's biggest thrills.
Email inquiries can be addressed to billdietrich@williamdietrich.com
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