Tempest at Dawn Review

Mike Reads has reviewed Tempest at Dawn. Link

"I found this novel to be an interesting read.  I thoroughly enjoyed it."

If you would like to read the real story of our nation's founding, pick up a copy of Tempest at Dawn.

Tempest at Dawn by James D. Best

Feeling Rejected?

Rejections come with traditional publishing. Since you can't get a publisher without an agent, you have two opportunities to be rejected. Actually, you should consider yourself lucky if you vault the agent hurdle, but I can tell you from experience that securing a big time agent does not provide a ticket to Wonderland. Publisher rejections still come, but they are no longer form letters.

A personal touch sometimes makes rejection worse, especially when there’s nothing you can do about it. For example, one publisher said there was not enough physical action in Tempest at Dawn, my novelization of the Constitutional Convention. I had already added a horse race, steamship demonstration, rowdy tavern arguments, and even a house traveling down a Philadelphia street. The conflict came from the debates, not fist fights. Since publication, Tempest at Dawn has remained one of the top selling books on the Constitutional Convention. So … keep plugging away. Publishers don’t know everything. To prove it, here are some rejections sent to aspirating writers who went on to become bestselling authors.

"Try,Try Again: Rejection Letters Received by Bestselling Authors"

Guest essayist on Constituting America

I had the honor of being invited to write another essay for Constituting America. This one is on a sermon delivered by Gad Hitchcock in 1774. 

"How did a revolution commence in the minds and hearts of Americans? It germinated in pulpits and taverns, and from pamphleteers and newspapers. By the time the Declaration of Independence was signed, there was a colonial consensus on a few key principles. Today, we call these the Founding Principles or First Principles."

You can read the full essay at Constituting America 

Book Review at On Transmigration

Tempest at Dawn

"The book brings our founders to life with great writing, historic accuracy and amazing wit." the cajun at On Transmigration.

You can read the full blog article here.

Tempest at Dawn: The real story of our nation's founding

The following is excerpt from my essay on the 27th Amendment for Constituting America.

"We often hear laments that our politicians no longer honor their pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  This is backward.  The Constitution was not written for politicians.  Our political leaders have no motivation to abide by a two hundred year old restraining order.  Americans must enforce the supreme law of the land.  The first outsized words of the Constitution read We the People.  It’s our document. It was always meant to be ours, not the government’s.  It is each and every American’s obligation to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Most popular Constitution Books
Constituting America

Review of Principled Action

Martin, at What Would the Founders Think reviews Principled Action, Lessons from the Origins of the American Republic.

(Martin appropriately opens his review of my book with the following disclaimer: "The author of Principled Action is a primary author on What Would The Founders Think and also a good friend of this reviewer.")

"The Constitution lays out the framework and defines the limits of government authority.  Best devotes several chapters to the thinking that went into its design as well as the issues of the time in which it was written.  In so doing, he offers clarity and exposes some of the stretched, or downright inaccurate interpretations prevalent today ... Best offers some advice on regaining the government formed by the second revolution.  One such suggestion is that we restore the Founders’ Suspicion of Powerful Government.  Only by reaffirming those Founding Principles can we once more become a people of Principled Action."

You can read the full review at What Would the Founders Think? 

Principled Action—Part of a Plan

I've been asked why I chose to write a non-fiction book about the Founders’ principles. Steve Dancy fans seem especially irked that I didn't write another book in my Western novel series. Before I answer that question, I'd like to assure my readers that I am currently working on the fourth Steve Dancy Tale. I expect the book to be available well before Christmas.

In truth, interrupting the series is not new. I have always written a completely different kind of book after each Steve Dancy Tale. The Shut Mouth Society followed The Shopkeeper, Tempest at Dawn followed Leadville, and now Principled Action has followed Murder at Thumb Butte. This is purposeful. If every other book is outside the Western genre, I'll always be eager to get back to the series and it will keep the Steve Dancy Tales fresh.

That said, I wrote Principled Action, Lessons from the Origins of the American Republic because I had developed the theme while preparing a lecture for the web-based Beck University. The Theme—and resulting book—was a natural follow-on to Tempest at Dawn, a historical novel about the Constitutional Convention. Fiction has certain advantages over non-fiction and vice versa. I meant Principled Action to be a companion book to Tempest at Dawn—Tempest engages the reader by telling an exciting story populated with real people, while Principled Action is explicit in describing the motivations and beliefs of the Founders. In both books I used the Founders’ own words, but in the novel I modernized the language, and sometimes moved it around to fit the plot line.

The premise of Principled Action is that there were basic principles that all of the Founders believed. They disagreed on how to handle many issues, but not these basic principles.

·      Rights Come from God, Not Government

·      All Political Power Emanates from the People

·      A Limited, Representative Republic Protects Liberty

·      Consent of the Governed Requires a Written Constitution

·      Liberty Depends on Private Property Rights

·      Power Must Be Balanced and Checked

These are often called First Principles. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution were not cobbled together like a modern law. These documents were firmly grounded in the teachings of the brightest thinkers from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment. More important, these principles were understood and debated by a large portion of the populous. The United States of America was not founded by fifty-five men who held a long meeting inside a stuffy room in what we now call Independence Hall. Our nation was founded by We The People at Ratification Conventions that were independent of national and state governments.

The Constitution never belonged to politicians. It belongs to us. The Constitution never empowered government. It restrained government. The Constitution does not protect rights. It orders government to not interfere with rights. The Constitution is not a list of laws. It defines a government form consistent with First Principles.

To best convey the enormity of these ideas, I believed it took the emotion of storytelling and exactness of non-fiction. Anyway, that’s why I wrote Principled Action, but now I’m enjoying my work on a new shoot ‘em up.

Principled Action is Now Available

Principled Action

Lessons from the Origins of the American Republic

by James D. Best

Prior to 1776, world history was primarily written about kings and emperors. The American experiment shook the world. Not only did the colonies break away from the biggest and most powerful empire in history, they took the musings of the brightest thinkers of the Enlightenment and implemented them. The Founding of the United States was simultaneously an armed rebellion against tyranny and a revolution of ideas—ideas that changed the course of world history. Principled Action shows how the Founders built this great nation with sacrifice, courage, and steadfast principles.


A great non-fiction companion book for Tempest at Dawn

Available at Barnes & Noble or Amazon

Eutychus the Scribe Reviews Tempest at Dawn

"Tempest at Dawn is a novel. Fiction. Historical fiction. It does adhere closely to Madison’s notes when describing what occurred in the Assembly Room. But James Best uses the imagination of the novelist to construct what might have occurred in the taverns, salons, dining rooms and inns. He also draws on historical data to present us with the personalities of the major participants in the convention. The result is a readable, engaging story of the creation of our Constitution."

Read the Full Review

Coming soon to a bookstore or website near you

Prior to 1776, world history was primarily written about kings and emperors. The American experiment shook the world. Not only did the colonies break away from the biggest and most powerful empire in history, they took the musings of the brightest thinkers of the Enlightenment and implemented them. The Founding of the United States was simultaneously an armed rebellion against tyranny and a revolution of ideas—ideas that changed the course of world history. 

5-Star Books Selects Tempest at Dawn

5-Star Books has showcased Tempest at Dawn in their Historical Novel category. 


From the 5-Star Website: "How do we pick the novels featured on 5-Star Books? First, the book must have predominantly 5-Star reviews on Amazon.com. After that qualification, we look at the cover design, the number of reviews, what readers are saying in those reviews, when the book was published, and other subjective factors."

Fifty-five men came to Philadelphia May of 1787with a congressional charter to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead they founded the longest lasting republic in world history. Tempest at Dawn tells their story.

Learning About the Constitution

In order to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, we need to understand it. Luckily, there are some great learning tools available to every American. These include an online course at James Madison’s Montpelier Center for the Constitution, the webcast series Introduction to the Constitution from Hillsdale College, and several good books, including The Heritage Guide to theConstitution, Tempest at Dawn, and Decision in Philadelphia.

     

Read the full article at What Would The Founders Think?

Guest Appearance on the Glenn Beck Show

On Tuesday, November 22, 2011, I had the opportunity to be a guest on the Glenn Beck Show. This was my second appearance, which made me feel good because it meant they didn't think I was really terrible the first time. The show launched Beck's new book, Being George Washington. I was invited onto the program because I had helped with research. I had loads of fun, and Glenn Beck is is a great guy. No surprises...he's just as he seems on his radio and television programs. Being George Washington is an accurate portrayal of the Father of our Country, but told with a more personal touch than other written portraits.

Mr. Madison Writes a Letter to Mr. Jefferson

Prior to championing a Bill of Rights in the First Congress, James Madison wrote a revealing letter to Thomas Jefferson in October of 1788. Interestingly, much of the letter was written in a secret code only the two of them shared. The following extract from the letter gives insight into Madison's mindset and the thinking of many of the Founders.


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Independence Day

I'm late with this post celebrating Independence Day because I've been out enjoying the day with thousands of other Americans. This is a great day for celebration, but the name is a misnomer. We may have declared our independence on July 4, 1776, but it took eight years of war to make the declaration a reality. The signing of the Declaration was a commitment of colossal proportions. There was no turning back. The colonists now had to defeat the greatest empire in the history of the world, or they would be most probably executed, but undoubtedly ruined. Our Founders believed liberty was worth any risk. We should all take a moment today to thank them for our great country.

What would the Founders think? Balances and Checks

“The powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.” Thomas Jefferson

The phrase checks and balances has become so commonplace, it is often spoken as if it were a single word, but in the eighteen century, it was two distinctly different concepts. John Adams may have been the first to put the words together in his 1787 publication, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, but balances and checks is the phrase used in The Federalist, and that is the sequence Madison would have thought appropriate. First balance powers between the branches of government, and then place checks on those powers so they are not abused.

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The Federal Convention of 1787

It was an unusually hot summer for Philadelphia, and for a few weeks there was an infestation of big black flies that buzzed around the delegates eyes.  To facilitate deliberation, the delegates voted for secret proceedings.  The intent was to promote open debate and allow the delegates to change their minds, but it also meant that the windows were nailed shut and the doors remained closed.  The stench of stale sweat and absence of any air circulation made the chamber extremely unpleasant.


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Path to Tyranny Reviews Tempest at Dawn

"Using vivid narrative and expressive dialogue, Tempest at Dawn presents all the major issues the Founding Fathers struggled with. More impressive, you get to know the character of the men who created our great nation."


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Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration

On June 11, 1776, the second Continental Congress appointed a committee to write a declaration of independence. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman were elected to the committee.  One of these five was a renowned writer. For nearly thirty years, only the Bible outsold Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac, and his articles made the Pennsylvania Gazette the most successful newspaper in the colonies.  But Franklin declined to draft the declaration, supposedly due to poor health, so the committee asked the thirty-three year Thomas Jefferson to draft the document.


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What would the Founders Thinks?

I accepted an invitation to write articles for the What Would The Founders Think? blogsite. This is an interesting site where multiple contributors look at current events through the eyes of the Founders.

What Would the Founders Think?