Author: G.L. Tysk
Edition: First Edition
Format: eBook and Paperback
Publication Date: October 18, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
ISBN: 13: 9781480121836
Synopsis:
It is 1841. Japanese fisherman Shima and his younger brother, out on a routine fishing expedition, are wrecked on an uninhabited island by a freak typhoon. Their rescue by a passing American whaling ship proves a short-lived miracle when, barred from reentering Japan, the ship heads for the whaling grounds of the South Pacific.
Shima becomes an unwilling passenger in a strange floating world filled with foreign faces, a new language, and a hostile chief mate. But when the reclusive captain suddenly falls ill, Shima and third mate Daniel Ellis stumble upon a secret from his past that brings together their previously isolated worlds.
Inspired by the true story of John Manjiro, one of the first Japanese in America and later interpreter to the shogun, The Sea-God at Sunrise is a tale of friendship and forgiveness across two cultures at the height of America’s Golden Age of Whaling.
About the Author
G.L. Tysk was born in Chicago to Hong Kong immigrants. Her maternal grandfather made a living selling gasoline to the local fishing boats, and her mother grew up among the children of fishermen. Both of her parents left their islands behind in the mid ’70s when they came to the United States, but their roots as island dwellers have shaped her and brought her back to the sea in her writing.
Raised in Colorado and Texas, Tysk received her B.A. in English Literature at the University of Texas at Austin, and then moved abroad to Japan. When she returned, she tried her hand at a variety of careers, including graphic design and librarianship. While working at a local library, she discovered Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. That book changed her life, leading her to write the novel that would become The Sea-God at Sunrise and an eventual move to Massachusetts. She now lives in Boston with her Norwegian-American husband.
This muddling of multiple careers and cultures drives her to explore the effect of cultural exchange and diversity in her writing. She is most inspired by the history of American whaling, the United States’ first equal opportunity employer, its first worldwide industry, and the young country’s first true “melting pot.” The city of New Bedford, about an hour’s drive from Boston, was once known as the whaling capital of the world.
In addition to writing, she works as an artist, costumer, and photographer in the greater Boston area. Tysk also performs as part of a local Japanese taiko drumming ensemble. Some of her non-writing interests are anime, video games, and k-pop. 🙂
Her favorite authors are William Faulkner, JRR Tolkien, James Joyce, and Herman Melville.
Click here to read G.L. guest blog on Plain Talk about whaling.
This tour courtesy
Plain Talk is proud to be a part of The Sea God At Sunrise tour.
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