Acquired Book By:
An interesting story about how this novel came into my life: I originally found out about the book via Kate Tilton’s Book Bloggers wherein I received a complimentary copy of “Beneath Creek Waters” direct from the publisher Smooth Sailing Press, in exchange for an honest review. Between life and circumstances that arose since I received the novel itself, I was hoping to post my thoughts on behalf of this novel sooner rather than later. When I saw the blog tour upcoming from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours I requested to be placed on the tour, as I felt it would be a nice gesture to not only find more readers who might be as curious to read this novel as I was originally but also, to have the chance to host a guest author feature. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why historical adventures interest me:
Adventure fiction is a bit of a departure of my normal bookish tendencies to soak inside a Romance novel or to pick up a traditional historical fiction novel. Although I love most branches of literature, there is one curious branch that has held my attention with a bit of trepidation (moreso than Mystery & Suspense) due to never knowing how far the writer would take the elements inside the narratives and if the action involved were on a level I could not only appreciate but handle reading about! Adventure fiction is the full gambit of being an exciting story rooted on the thirst for uncovering something quite extraordinary and the opposite end where it’s such a narrowing gutting emotional ride towards an ending that may or may not break your spirit by the time you reach it! Therein, of course, lies my interest – to see how an adventure can be knitted together where it’s equally enjoyable to ride on the coattails of the characters as they take their journey and to feel fully satisfied in the concluding chapters to know that everything happened as it should have whilst giving you a measure of closure.
I picked up my first adventure novels when I was younger, even though it was the spin-off Indiana Jones novelisations that truly whet my thirst for a bit more intense drama than what I had traditional picked up to read! I liked the archaeological approach to rooting a suspense plot out of the historical past where artifacts and quests for treasure were key driving forces behind the intensity of the plot! Who doesn’t like a wicked good mystery surrounding artifacts? This was in part due to my curious attachment to the fields of archaeology and anthropology whilst I was growing up as originally I had felt they would have been a good niche for me to take-on professionally. I resolved that I prefer to read the stories left behind than to navigate the murky waters of academia and research.
When I discovered Gigi Pandian’s series involving Jaya Jones, I knew I was starting to take a full step out of my childhood wanderings and finding new series as a book blogger I might have missed otherwise! Finding out that another Indie Publisher was on the brink of encouraging another new series to step forward was quite encouraging! As you will find the author’s (Jason L. Bradshaw) tweet s/o about what comes next past Beneath Creek Waters at the bottom of this post!
Beneath Creek Waters
by Jason L. Bradshaw
Source: Direct from Publisher
In 1845 200 gold coins were minted to commemorate Texas’ entry into the United States. Slated to be given to all major players that helped Texas into the Union, the coins were loaded onto a wagon on a rainy night, near Dallas, Texas and never seen again. Over a century later, traces of the coins resurface, after a couple of kids stumble upon what appeared to be one, in a Southeast Texas creek.
News of the find reach Parks Leslie and Stan Atcher, treasure hunters and historians, always looking for their next big find, and long-time seekers of these coins. Parks and Stan’s interest proves to be an unexpected journey, tangled with blood history ties, new friendships and near-death experiences, calling for sacrifices no one could have predicted.
Places to find the book:
Series: Beneath Creek Waters, No.1
Also in this series: Intangible
Published by Smooth Sailing Press
on September 2014
Format: Paperback Edition
Pages: 245
Published By: Mystic Harbor Press
{an imprint of} Smooth Sailing Press (@SmoothSailingP)
Available Formats: Paperback & Ebook
Converse via: #BeneathCreekWaters, #Western + #BeneathCreekWatersBlogTour
About Jason L. Bradshaw
Jason Bradshaw has had a passion for adventure, history and writing for most of his life; culminating in the writing of his first novel, Beneath Creek Waters. Besides writing numerous articles for various newsletters and publications, Bradshaw is currently completing his second installment to his novel series, titled Beneath Gulf Waters, after which he will begin work for a new series, The Hobbyist, to be completed in 2015. Bradshaw has also co-written two screenplays in conjunction with Todd Rodgers, titled Red Eye and Shadow Ops.
Bradshaw is an avid diver, enjoys flying, hiking, surfing and has a general love for the outdoors. He currently resides in Texas with his wife and two young sons.
A note on Nautical Archaeology:
During my childhood, I considered several different avenues to pursue in Academia prior to choosing to become a creative economist as an adult. One of the passageways I considered was one of the various fields interrelated to archaeology and/or anthropology. Partially I was drawn to exploring a specific field of the two disciplines such as Historical Archaeology or Forensic Anthropology; however, Nautical Archaeology played a keen interest as well.
There was a brilliant school to attend for this (then) emerging field of Nautical Archeology either in Texas or North Carolina; as the two states had the initial programmes to pursue an academic career which would lead to research lateron. This was during the mid to late 1990s and I am sure the field has expanded quite a bit since then, as diving around wrecks off the Gulf Coast and up/down the Eastern starboard of the United States has become quite commonplace. Yet, what I was curious about even more than the oceanic dives were the interior wrecks that may not gain as much attention. Especially on the Great Lakes where wrecks are as infamous up there as they are along the coast!
As I was reading Beneath Creek Waters I couldn’t help but remember my own conversations with Professors and archaeologists who are appreciating a new territory to explore which combined a thirst for adventure and a passion for swimming whilst diving into the unknown below the surface. Strangely this terminology is not included in the book as it relates to this field from the treasure seekers and hunters viewpoint rather than from an academic one.
My review of Beneath Creek Waters:
Cameron and Max are your typical adventure seekers, with the exception that Max tends to follow Cameron’s lead without his own motivation to push the boundaries. Cameron learnt the inherent trade of taking a risk that could yield to a bounty of reward from his father, who like him, had a keen thirst for adventure and treasure hunting. Armed with an ancient pair of metal detectors they two jaunt off into the woods of their childhood hoping to find something worth making the effort of entreating in a territory that is quite guarded by a family who doesn’t take kind to outsiders. What was a bit of a tickle of a laugh for me is how hypersensitive Max was about the setting and the act of seeking something out of the creek bed verse how animated and focused Cameron was on the task at hand. Their personalities are stark comparisons of how best friends can differ greatly from one another yet have a strength of bond that endures their friendship.
An interesting turn takes place when the point of view shifts forward into the life of artifact hunter Parks Leslie whose passion for history and preservation of the historical past is clearly evident in his pursuit of relics to be placed in museums where the public can find them on display. His clear-cut ambition is not for the glory of the find but for the joy of the pursuit of history lurking just below the surface of waterways others might not have felt the need to dive inside to discover what was awaiting them to find. I like his tenacious side of seeking something in a place no one else thought to look and rather than place his focus on the profit, he focuses instead of the promotion of education, awareness, and conserving the history of the locality of where his finds are found.
Finding out the back-story on behalf of the college-aged boys who attacked a younger generation of treasure seekers was truly sad, but seeing how their father had given up on life and living was equally disheartening knowing how his sons were now living against the law. This thread of the story is what opened the novel, as originally a young man named Cameron found a curious gold coin in the bed of river where you wouldn’t think a coin could be found. His story banks against the tides of where Parks Leslie’s story-line comes into central focus; as Cameron is finding a rare antiquity that has troubled Parks for most of his living years. The two are connected through this (supposed) artifact and the story is told from shifting points of view with segues both into the past and the present revolving around the coin itself.
The situation grows out of control proportionally when Parks and his partner in crime Stan are surprised by their investor sending in quality control to check-up on their progresses. To put it mildly, the men who were called in were more bite than bark, putting lives at risk and creating chaos out of an already difficult situation. All the parties were brought together in one place, which was a classic tie-in to have a showdown between all the characters at once, yet Bradshaw keeps your interest in not knowing how it’s going to pan out. You might think you know the ending but there are a few surprises waiting for you!
Is this YALit or New Adult? Jason L. Bradshaw let’s the reader decide:
I was quite curious to find the designation for this novel was listed as both YALit and New Adult, as I do have the tendency to shy away from New Adult stories (my track record in finding NA that whets my fancy isn’t going as smoothly as I had hoped) as they have the tendency to be on the higher end for vulgarity and/or graphic imagery or violence. Not all of them, per se, but the few that I have stumbled across so far have held within their chapters a few things that did not sit well for my preferences.
When I opened Beneath Creek Waters I was pleasantly surprised not to find an overly amount of strong language, in fact, it’s so quiet on that end of the spectrum the few instances of a stronger word here or there did not worry me because most of it was the alternative name for a donkey! The two characters who said it the most were surfer/diver dudes (Parks and Stan) who had a loose jargon to go with their spirit for adventure.
Bradshaw tells the story with a loose style of telling the story without giving too much away to the reader whilst not spending an overly amount of time on the back-stories either. It’s broken down to necessities and not a full flushing of where both the narrative and the character sketches could have been taken. However, that being said, he holds your attention with the action of wanting to know what is going to happen with the pursued artifact and how the supporting cast of characters will eventually tip a hand into the foreground of where the story is centered.
I appreciated it’s a lighter read and a quicker turnaround to the resolution at the ending, as a light read suited me right now over a heartier one. It’s definitely an adventure you want to take if only to see how artifacts are still a viable trade to procure and secure in today’s world. I personally felt this was more New Adult Lit than YA Lit simply due to the undertones and the direction of where the story took the reader.
Beneath Creek Waters Book Trailer by Smooth Sailing Press
The Virtual Road Map for “Beneath Creek Waters” can be found here:
Author announces the title and cover for book No2 in this series:
(be sure to take his advice and let him know what you think! authors love tweets!)
The Beneath Gulf Waters cover design has been released! Tell me what you think. pic.twitter.com/tFgm8dQNSp
— Jason L. Bradshaw (@AuthorJBradshaw) June 30, 2015
This book review is also courtesy of:
See what I am hosting next on my Bookish Events page!
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.
I’m a Social Reader, tweeting as I read.
Share if Inspired:
#currentlyreading | #BeneathCreekWaters by @AuthorJBradshaw #adventure #bookseries kicks off w/ a curious plot about gold coins! #histfic
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) July 14, 2015
.@SmoothSailingP @HFVBT #bookreview of #BeneathCreekWaters Archaeological adventure #hisfic more #NALit than #YALit http://t.co/twvIURqRoq
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) July 21, 2015
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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