An Interview with Thomas Wing

Thomas M. Wing, a Naval Academy and Naval War College graduate, retired after thirty-two years as a Navy Surface Warfare officer. He served across a broad swath of tactical and operational billets, including more than ten years at sea in guided missile destroyers and frigates. A dedicated sailor for over half a century, he founded and served as executive director for the Continental Navy Foundation, and commanded the foundation’s tall ship, Megan D.

Tom’s first novel, Against All Enemies, earned awards for military fiction, including a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America. His short stories have been included in the Phobia! anthology and in periodicals. An amateur historian, his second novel is In Harm’s Way. Set during the American Revolution, he drops his main character into the chaos of impending rebellion. Accurate history and authentic settings are his obsession.

He resides in San Diego with his wife and daughter, and a cat and dog. Whatever free time he has is still spent on the water. Keep up with his second obsession, nautical and naval trivia, or deleted scenes from his novels, at his website, www.thomasmwing.com, and on Facebook www.facebook.com/ThomasMWingWriter.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I read constantly, beginning in probably second grade. My folks had an extensive library of all kinds of books: history, many genres of fiction, and other non-fiction, including biographies. And, though small, the nearest town had a pretty decent library, which I began using while Mom shopped at the Safeway across the street, probably in fifth or sixth grade. I can’t narrow it down to one or two authors who influenced me in particular. I can say that C. S. Forester, Herman Wouk, Isaac Asimov, Edmund Hamilton (science fiction writer in the 40s-60s), Captain Edward Beach, Admiral Daniel Gallery, and Irving Wallace were big influences. More modern influences are James L. Nelson, Tom Clancy, Lee Child, Patrick O’Brian, and even Hemingway.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I’ve had four careers, with interconnections between them. My first defined who I was from ages seventeen to nearly fifty. I was a naval officer, serving seventeen years active duty and fifteen as a reservist. I deployed more times as a reservist than active, interestingly, a total of twelve times! After leaving active duty, I became a civilian mariner, teaching Coast Guard licensing, commanded a tall ship, and ran the non-profit that used it for youth experiential sail training. We worked primarily with the Sea Scouts. A few years later, I became a Navy civil servant, where I led teams of brilliant folks who developed and fielded systems for use in all sorts of war fighting platforms, from ships to fighters and bombers, and from army vehicles to command centers. Writing is my fourth career, and the second to provide me a definition. So I guess I’d say I’m a sailor who writes.

Something my readers wouldn’t know? I dabble in languages, and love learning words and phrases in new ones. I’ve never become fluent in a language other than English, but at various times I could order food, find my way around cities, and ask directions in French, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic, the first two being the ones I remember the most of and have practiced the most. I once knew a very few words in Greek, Tagalog, and Brazilian Portuguese, too. In my Navy career, I found that folks the world over really appreciated when I tried learning at least to say “please” and “thank you” in their native tongue. And it was fun learning!

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The title of my first book took me forever to “find.” It wasn’t until I figured out what the theme was in Against All Enemies that the title found its way into my head.

The title for In Harm’s Way, however, was easy. John Paul Jones said once, “give me a fast ship, for I intend to go in harm’s way.” My main character feels the same way, and shares some characteristics (and perhaps some adventures) with JPJ, so it was a natural fit.

What part of publishing your book made it feel real for the first time?

Opening Barnes and Noble and Amazon websites and seeing my book available online. Equally exciting was getting the box of actual books and pulling a few out. Magic!

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

For In Harm’s Way, I would say a few of the traditional sea chanteys, for example, “Blow Ye Winds in the Morning,” “Shenandoah,” “Botany Bay,” “Zamboanga,” and, of course, the Navy Hymn, also called “For Those in Peril on the Sea.” Some are whimsical, others a bit bawdy, and others just nonsensical. Then of course the Navy Hymn is serious and spiritual. But they all have their places and would help me stay in the right frame of mind for whatever is happening in the scenes and chapters I’m writing. I’d love to throw in “Victory At Sea,” “Praise the Lord,” and “Pass the Ammunition,” too, though they are more modern pieces of music.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

That the American Revolution wasn’t a clean, clear-cut conflict. It was a brutal civil war, with unimaginable impact on everyday colonists just trying to eke out a living in America. They were forced by circumstance, and often by friends, family, and neighbors, to choose a side, sometimes at great cost. We must remember that history, not sugar-coat it. The Declaration of Independence came only after our Founding Fathers struggled for more than a year to find a way to reconcile with the king in London. I think most folks forget that, and many don’t know that it was a last resort.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

When the first review came out from someone who enjoyed the story. The most meaningful review of my debut novel, Against All Enemies, was from an old destroyer sailor, who said that while reading it, he could “smell the stale coffee and cigarette smoke,” just as when he served aboard ship.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I am writing the second book of The Sea Hawkes Chronicles (TSHC), which sees Jonas return to sea in Resolute to continue his depredations against British commerce. But he’s got another motivation, now, perhaps even an obsession… I also have the first 40,000 words in a World War II novel, very loosely based on my father’s and two uncles’ service during that conflict. That one will get finished while the third in TSHC trilogy is going through the publication process.

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