Christy Parker talks to a Youghal writer whose debut novel is set to rules the waves.

The writing talents of Youghal man John Stack are poised for global recognition as his debut novel hits the shelves this month. Top publishers Harper Collins won the rights to his book, Ship of Rome, and have commissioned a further two novels to form a trilogy called Masters of the Sea. The series, “a historical fiction” is set in the Punic wars waged between the emerging Roman navy and the Carthaginian Empire from 264-201 BC.

John, 36, is the son of Gerry and Kitty Stack, Kilcoran Park and lives near Rochestown with wife Adrienne, daughter Zoe, seven and two year-old twins Amy and Andrew. His commission carries a six-figure sum over four years.

It would be entirely apt if John’s books proved ‘moving’ -as he writes from the passenger seat of his green Opel Zafira! He struggled with domestic distraction when embarking on Ship of Rome in March 2007 and achieved a semblance of a solution by using a friend’s house. One day, on forgetting his key, he drove to a nearby car-park overlooking Cork harbour and started up his laptop. There, doors locked, he found “perfect privacy.” Furthermore, he had “the option of a different vista every day!”, he recalls.

John’s interest in military history was sparked in teenage years by his father’s reading recommendations. The attraction proved lasting, through adult years acquiring a BA and MBA in Business Administration. At some stage he encountered the Punic wars which, come March 2007, inspired the man who had never before written anything “other than essays,” to start a novel.

He would write betwixt his ‘day job’ as a business manager with Wright Line, an American, Cork-based office furniture manufacturer. From early 2007 he knew the firm was pondering closure in Cork and his work uncertainty accentuated his writing, about which he confided only in his wife. This proved convenient when three literary agents rejected his manuscript. He undertook a re-write, researched advice on publishing for first time authors and in August 2007 sent the book to a London agency with established connections in historic fiction.

Click here to purchase “Ship Of Rome” from Amazon.co.uk

September 2007 brought two contrasting and life-changing announcements: the agency would marketing his book to publishers from January 2008 and his ten years with Wright Line would end come November when the company decamped to India.

He reflects on redundancy: “My greatest fear stemmed from the uncertainty about my future following ten years in which the pay-cheques had unfailingly arrived. But at least I had seen it coming and saw the chance to do something I had always wanted to do. If I’d been caught unawares I’m not sure if Ship of Rome would have been written. Uncertainty breeds an overwhelming need for security and for most of us that means a new job, maybe better, maybe worse, maybe the same. For others it drives them towards a new career and a complete change in their lives. ”

“I now feel that perhaps redundancy brings opportunity, great and small -sometimes glaring, sometimes hidden; opportunities to travel, to begin a new career, to immigrate, to follow some wish that has lain dormant in the routine of working-life. Just perhaps, redundancy can be a chance to discover another road that you never knew existed.”

As he searched for another job, the book sat waiting for January on his agent’s desk, cradling between its covers the possibility, if not the promise, of a new future for its author. In January’s dying days came news that both Penguin and Harper Collins wanted the rights. “I felt numb, totally unable to absorb the news,” he recalls with delight. Harper Collins triumphed.

He describes Ship of Rome as “about the early Roman navy and how, from a relatively small domain in the southern half of Italy, it defeated the mighty Carthaginian Empire that ruled the Mediterranean. It doesn’t read like a history novel,” he proceeds “but has wider appeal, with interwoven plots. There are two heroes -Atticus, a Greek naval captain -of a conquered race and unloved but respected by the Romans- and Septimus, a centurion on board his ship.”

The story also focuses on “the view of ordinary men caught up in history,” Through this prism, he captures the crucial role of a new device called the corvus. “It was a spiked boarding ramp that allowed the Romans fast and lethal access to the enemy’s ships. It probably won them their victory, yet nobody is credited with inventing or designing it,” says John. “In a wider context, Rome’s victory led to the subsequent formation of its empire and the eventual evolvement of modern Europe. The Carthaginians were of North African extract and we can assume Europe today would be fundamentally different if they had persevered.”

John has seldom ventured forth in a boat himself but does credit Youghal with influence on his success. “Influences persist. If you grow up by the sea, it stays with you forever. Its entirely possible if I had not been reared in Youghal, I might not have been inclined to write that kind of book,” he concludes. Then again, maybe it was the car parks that inspired him.