James Nelson has served as a seaman, rigger, boatswain and officer on a number of sailing vessels. His novel Glory in the Name: A Novel of the Confederate Navy was the winner of the American Library Association's 2004 W.Y. Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction. He is also the author of the five books comprising The Revolution at Sea Saga and The Brethren of the Coast trilogy. His first non-fiction book is Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack. He lives with his wife and children in Maine.

His web site can be found at: www.jameslnelson.com