David Poyer (born 1949) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
author
In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
and retired
naval
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...
officer. He has written over 40 books, mostly novels.
Early life
He was born in
DuBois, Pennsylvania in 1949.
Career
Poyer graduated from the
U.S. Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...
in 1971. He wrote as an active duty naval officer and a
naval reserve captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
;
[Gidmark, p.365.] his service included duty in the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific, Caribbean, and Persian Gulf area prior to his retirement from the
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
in July 2001.
Poyer began writing in 1976 and as of 2021 had published well over forty books. He has been called "the most popular living author of American
sea fiction".
Although best known for his
naval fiction, during the 1980s, Poyer also wrote
alternative history
Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
and
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
David Andreissen.
He has also published short fiction and nonfiction in numerous magazines, and is currently the contributing editor of SHIPMATE Magazine.
Poyer's most popular novels, set in the present day, follow the career of U.S. Navy officer Dan Lenson, a thoughtful surface line officer whose ethical questioning sometimes conflicts with his duty. Another series, more slanted to the adventure genre, features an ex-Coast Guard commercial diver, Lyle "Tiller" Galloway.
Both series have been published by
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...
. A series about the US Navy during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
is also published by
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
. According to Poyer, much of his work draws upon his own experiences in military service and as a cruising sailor and sport diver.
Poyer also published a series of books set in a fictional Hemlock County. They explore the history and folklore of north-western
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and the Pennsylvania oil industry that was the original basis for American industrial power. One of the 2018 books in the series, ''Thunder on the Mountain'', is set in the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
period.
Poyer taught in the
Wilkes University
Wilkes University is a private university in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students (both full and part-time). Wilkes was founded in 1933 as a satellite campus of Bucknell University, and bec ...
MA/MFA low-residency program in Creative Writing for sixteen years. He retired from teaching in 2021 but still consults. He's a fellow of the Ossabaw Writers Retreat and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a life member of ASNE, SNA, and USNAAA, and has served as a board member of the Library of Virginia and the Eastern Shore Public Library.
Personal life
He lives with
Lenore Hart on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Publications
Dan Lenson Novels
* ''The Gulf,'' St Martins Press, 1990.
* ''The Med,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks 1991
* ''The Circle,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1993.
* ''The Passage,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1997
* ''Tomahawk,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2000.
* ''China Sea,'' St. Martin's Press, 2000.
* ''Black Storm,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2003.
* ''The Command,'' St. Martin's Press, 2005.
* ''Korea Strait,'' St. Martin's Press, 2007.
* ''The Threat,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2007.
* ''The Weapon,'' St. Martin's Press, 2008.
* ''The Crisis,'' St. Martin's Press, 2009.
* ''The Towers,'' St. Martin's Press, 2011.
* ''The Cruiser,'' St. Martin's Press, 2014.
* ''Tipping Point,'' St. Martin's Press, 2015.
* ''Onslaught,'' St. Martin's Press, 2016.
* ''Hunter Killer,'' St. Martin's Press, 2017.
* ''Deep War,'' St. Martin's Press, 2018.
* ''Overthrow'', St. Martin's Press, 2019
* ''Violent Peace'', St. Martin's Press, 2020
* "Arctic Sea", St. Martin's Press, 2021
* "The Academy", St. Martin's Press, December 12, 2023
Tiller Galloway Thrillers
* ''Bahamas Blue,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1992.
* ''Hatteras Blue,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1992.
* ''Louisiana Blue,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1995.
* ''Down to a Sunless Sea,'' St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1998.
Hemlock County
* ''The Dead of Winter,'' Tor Books, 1988.
* ''As The Wolf Loves Winter,'' Forge Books, 1997.
* ''Thunder on the Mountain,'' Forge Books, 2000.
Others
* ''White Continent'' Jove Publications, 1980.
* ''The Shiloh Project: What If The Civil War Happened Now?'' Avon Books, 1981.
* ''Star Seed'' (Starblaze Editions), Walsworth Publishing Company, 1982.
* ''The Return of Philo T. McGiffin'' St. Martin's Press, 1983.
* ''Stepfather Bank'' St. Martin's Press, 1988.
* ''Task Force 61'' New English Library Ltd, 1990.
* ''Winter in the Heart'' Tor Books, 1994.
* ''The Only Thing to Fear'' Tor Books, 1996.
* ''The Return of Philo T. McGiffin'' (Bluejacket Books) US Naval Institute Press, 1997 (reissue)
* ''A Stopover in Utah'' (Kalliope: a Journal of women’s literature and art, 1
998)
* ''Fire on the Waters : A Novel of the Civil War at Sea'' Simon & Schuster, 2003.
* ''A Country of Our Own: A Novel of the Confederate Raiders'' Simon & Schuster, 2005.
* ''That Anvil of Our Souls: A Novel of the Monitor and the Merrimack'' Simon & Schuster, 2006.
* ''Ghosting'' St. Martin's Press, 2010.
* ''The Whiteness of the Whale'', St. Martin's Press, 2013.
* "Heroes of Annapolis", Northampton House Press, 2018.
Citations and notes
References
* Gidmark, Jill B., ''Encyclopedia of American Literature of the Sea and Great Lakes'', Greenwood Press, 2001.
External links
David Poyers home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poyer, David
1949 births
Living people
People from DuBois, Pennsylvania
American male writers