FLOATING GOLD by M C Muir in paperback

Another of my titles is now available in paperback and you can read the opening pages on the Amazon page.
FLOATING GOLD was first published mid-2010 in hardback by Robert Hale Ltd. I never wanted this novel to be published in my full name, so in this edition the by-line bears only my initials.

As you can guess, this is a nautical fiction adventure.
Being a second edition provided the opportunity to add a brief blurb and extracts from reviews to the back cover.



The iceberg is appropriate to the story. I purchased the image from Big Stock Photo which is an excellent on-line outlet for quality photos of just about anything imaginable, and for just a few dollars.

FLOATING GOLD is now available at a discounted price direct from the publisher, GRINDELWALD. It is also available via Amazon.

More reviews for FLOATING GOLD

Below are brief excerpts taken from some additional reviews for FLOATING GOLD. Previous reviews posted on 29 June.

I read FLOATING GOLD in a couple of sessions and my attention was clearly caught by the storyline and the detailed description of life aboard Elusive. Most engaging of all was the search for the treasure which had me rapt.
Margaret Muir has woven a tale worthy of a Hornblower epic.
John Livermore – Maritime Times of Tasmania

Muir crafts a spellbinding nautical tale that captures the reader’s attention and never releases it until the final page is turned. Her research and attention to detail are impeccable and her experience as a mariner enhances the adventure. FLOATING GOLD whisks readers back to the heyday of the British navy and readers find themselves living the life of a sailor and witnessing the awesome beauty and dangers of Deception Island and sailing the seas on a wooden ship in days of yore.
Cindy Vallar – Ed. Pirates and Privateers (www.cindyvallar.com/pirates.html)

There can be no doubting the calibre of the author’s writing. I found the book hard to put down and was kept interested throughout. There is a richness and sharpness to the prose that made FLOATING GOLD so enjoyable. I would certainly not hesitate in recommending it.
John Harding – www.thebookbag.co.uk

As sea-stories go, FLOATING GOLD ticks all the boxes. Ms Muir is adept at characterization, plotting and descriptions as well as showing that she knows one end of a ship from another. We are promised on the flyleaf “unknown dangers and unspeakable horrors” and I can promise some of these. Highly recommended and I do hope the first in a new series.
Rachel A Hyde – www.myshelf.com

FLOATING GOLD is an intriguing mystery featuring murder, spies and skulduggery. The plotting and pace are well maintained throughout and the penultimate chapter is page-turning historical fiction at its best. A book to be enjoyed by anyone who likes historical mysteries or cracking adventure yards about ships and the sea.
Marina Maxwell – Historical Novel Society

FLOATING GOLD - a well-crafted story full of interesting places with carefully and accurately detailed descriptions of now nearly-lost seamanship skills: I recommend this book to both the casual reader of a good story and to readers with an interest in sailing ships and seamanship.
Rob Thomas – T’gallant Lookout, Tasmania

The way that the author captured the language of the times, the mannerisms of the characters and sea terms was remarkable…giving the reader a real sense of what it was like during those years. An excellent novel. A great read, expertly crafted.
David Laing – Australian author

FLOATING GOLD is a historical seafaring adventure/mystery which will be a special treat for those who have salt in their veins, or those who enjoy a quest for an unusual treasure at a time when it was valued far beyond anyone’s dreams.
Rose Frankcombe - Stylus Magazine (ed)

I read FLOATING GOLD and found it to be an enthralling read which kept me wondering what the ‘treasure’ would be.
Bob Petrass – Maritime Times of Tasmania (editor)

Finally: Jon Stephenson – geologist, vulcanologist, member of the Fuchs/Hilary Antarctic expedition in 1958 wrote: ‘I enjoyed the story immensely and kept saying to myself, “this must be Deception Island”’. Jon was correct though the island was never identified by name in the story.
Jon Stephenson – Antarctic explorer and author – CREVASSE ROULETTE (2009)


‘Hundreds of billowing sails, resembling patches of morning cloud, were suddenly seen scudding around the rim of the world while, in the east, great golden spokes fanned across the sky like the helm of an ethereal ship rising from the seabed.’

FLOATING GOLD by Margaret Muir – published by Robert Hale Ltd (2010)
To order a copy WORLD WIDE POSTAGE FREE go to The Book Depository
Sunrise image from Google free images

Interview with Hale's nautical fiction author Margaret Muir

Astrodene's Historic Naval Fiction is pleased to have obtained an interview with Margaret Muir, author of FLOATING GOLD which will be released on 31 May 2010 and is already available for pre-order.
I am sure you will find some of the answers very intersting.

What can you tell us about FLOATING GOLD, without spoiling the plot for readers?

The year is 1802 and Captain Oliver Quintrell is frustrated at being land-locked. However, when he is granted a commission, he is cynical that his vessel is a mere frigate. But Elusive is a sound ship and with a seemingly loyal crew he sails from Portsmouth. On entering the tropics, he discovers the purpose of his cruise and from Rio he heads south into the inhospitable waters of the high latitudes beyond Cape Horn.
But the secret orders he has been entrusted with are veiled in mystery and the chances of success seem near impossible. Murder, treason, enemy ships, ice, and the near loss of his ship are but some of the problems to confront him. His mission is to retrieve a valuable cargo and return it to England and Captain Quintrell intends to succeed no matter what the cost.

What made you decide to write your first book in the historic naval fiction genre?

Several things. My love of the Horatio Hornblower series. Inspiration after stepping aboard HMS Victory in Portsmouth. Experiences at sea sailing aboard replica vessels such as Captain Cook's HM Brig Endeavour and the tiny Colonial Brig Lady Nelson. Several voyages on a sail training vessel and a voyage across the Atlantic in a (latter day) barquentine.

What things in particular inspired you to write this book?

Two things. Firstly a visit to the Antarctic Peninsula a few years ago – what a remarkably unforgettable place that is! And secondly reading an article about a lump of ambergris being found on a beach in South Australia.

How did you undertake your research for the book?

My research is mainly through reading, but not fiction (that came earlier). And I tend to read factual seafaring accounts such as Cordingley’s, Billy Ruffian, Taylor’s, The Caliban Shore, Bergreen’s, Over the Edge of the World, besides reference books such as Goodwin’s, Nelson’s Men o’ War and similar. I read almost anything which is related to the days of wooden sailing ships. Obviously I also use the internet and where possible view primary source material of ships’ logs, reports or personal letters.

Where did your interest in the sea originate?

I don’t know. Perhaps from a model fully rigged wooden sailing ship which always graced the sideboard when I was growing up.
Then in the late 1990s I took my first tall-ship sailing adventure – a 12 day voyage as trainee crew on a barquentine, STS Leeuwin. Sitting on deck on bow watch one night while in the Indian Ocean, I was amazed to see the marine luminescent particles sparkling in the bow wave. At the time I didn’t know what this phenomenon was. I called these flashes of light illusive diamonds (they reminded me of the illusionist’s magic dust) and Illusive Diamonds was the proposed title for my first book. I was later advised that title would never sell so I changed it to Sea Dust which is less inspiring but possibly more marketable.

What drew you to write your first novel?

As I said, my first novel, Sea Dust (2005) was a sea story – a historical fiction story with a female protagonist. Set in 1856 in Whitby, Yorkshire it tells the tale of a young woman who escapes from England by stowing away on a cargo vessel and sailing to Australia. In retrospect, I think the story epitomises my own fantasies to run away. (I did leave Yorkshire many years ago and emigrated to Australia but my passage was on a Boeing 707)

Do you plan your stories before starting to write?

No. I don’t have a pre-conceived plot. If a particular setting or a person or action grabs me, that is where I begin and I let it flow from there. Sometimes the idea I come up with might be midway through the story (as with Sea Dust onboard ship). I then have to thread a beginning to it. Sometimes the most amazing things crop up as the story progresses which surprises even me.

Are your books available?

My previous four titles are available in Large Print only as they never went into paperback after the hardback edition sold out. The Condor’s Feather (2009) – an equestrian adventure set in Patagonia – is still available from on-line bookshops in hardback. FLOATING GOLD can be ordered on-line from The Book Depository, Hale Books or any on-line bookstore.

What intrigues you about the period in which the book is set?

I love the sense of adventure, heroes, challenges, hubris, courage, loyalty, tenacity and ingenuity; of man against man, and man against the elements.

Are you planning to write further naval fiction books set in the age of sail?

I had started writing the sequel to FLOATING GOLD, before I got sidetracked on a book about Tasmanian bushrangers. To complicate matters further, this year I embarked on more university studies. However if FLOATING GOLD is well received there will certainly be a sequel. Originally I had plans for a series of sequels and possibly a prequel.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Writing is a lonely experience and authors get little feedback about their work - either good or bad. Without any follow up it’s hard to know what readers really want. I’m always happy to take on board any comments, feedback, suggestions or offers from publishers to take up the paperback rights.

My thanks to the Historic Naval Fiction Blog for this interview.

To read more about the book, go to www.squidoo.com/floatinggold

Interview with Margaret Muir - written by Astrodene

FLOATING GOLD - first step in book production

The jacket cover is one of the first things completed in the process of publishing a book. It is required for all pre-publication advertising and promotion.

It's a well used cliche that you can't judge a book by its cover but it's also a fact that a good cover will go a long way to selling a book.

Revealed today is the jacket cover for FLOATING GOLD, Margaret Muir's latest novel due for release in May 2010.

The artwork by Michael Thomas is certainly colourful and will hopefully prove to be an eye-catcher on library shelves.

The Blurb which will appear inside the jacket flap reads as follows:

1802 - The fragile peace with France has brought massive debt and unemployment to England and frustration to its naval officers.

After an enforced absence, Captain Oliver Quintrell is eager to return to the sea, but the commission he is granted leaves him cynical and disappointed. In command of a mere frigate, he heads south unaware of the unimaginable dangers which lie ahead.

The seething Southern Ocean, enemy ships, a discontented crew and the secrets held by a living breathing volcanic island pose more of a threat than a full broadside from a man-of-war.

FLOATING GOLD is a nautical fiction adventure which follows the tradition of the CS Forester and Patrick O’Brian stories.

Margaret Muir (Tasmania)

FLOATING GOLD - new tack for Hale author

Due for publication in May 2010, FLOATING GOLD is an age-of-sail nautical fiction adventure. It is set in 1802 during the awkward Peace of Amiens when both naval ships and men lay idol. Frustrated by an old injury and by the Admiralty’s lack of response to his recent requests for a commission, Captain Quintrell reminisces:

Closing his eyes for a moment, he pictured a white beach the morning after battle. A bay littered with bloated bodies, some washed ashore, others turning in the shallows like pigs roasting on spits – carcases rolling over and over unable to made landfall. Dead men stripped of clothes and skin. Faceless faces devoid of their human masks. Arms, wrenched from shoulders, scattered haphazardly. Hands poking up through sand. Fingers outstretched in supplication. Severed heads without ears. Human hair blowing in the breeze. The scream of frenzied gulls.

Such an inglorious end robbed a man not only of his raiments but all evidence of nationality, allegiance and rank. For those departed souls there was neither honour nor glory nor recognition - not even a Christian burial. Their mortal remains would be stripped clean by armies of invading crabs. And there were many fat crabs on the beaches that season.

When he is summonsed to attend the Sea Lords, the captain receives his orders - to head for the Southern Ocean in search of an unspecified treasure. But when Oliver Quintrell sets sail from Portsmouth, he has no idea of the dangers which lie ahead.

FLOATING GOLD is a maritime adventure inspired by the classic seafaring stories of CS Forester and Patrick O’Brian. Unlike Margaret Muir’s previous books, this novel targets a male audience.