All of Walter F. Curran’s stories are based on his life at sea and on the waterfront. Both his first novel, “Young Mariner” and the second “On to Africa” uses his background in the merchant marine for setting and are the first two books of a trilogy.

Born in South Boston, Walt developed a love for all things maritime in his early teens and followed that love. Graduating from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1966, he sailed for four years as a Third Mate in the Merchant Marine. Coming ashore in 1970, he worked at a number of Stevedore & Marine Terminal companies in Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Jacksonville and San Juan, P.R.

Walt started writing poetry in 1997 after returning from Ireland and discovering blarney was an innate trait. His first book of poems “Slices of Life-Cerebral spasms of the soul” were composed for the most part riding Amtrak from New Carrollton, MD to Philadelphia.

Walt is retired, currently resides in Ocean View DE, is a member of the Rehoboth Beach Writer’s Guild (RBWG), the Eastern Shore Writer’s Association (ESWA), and the Maryland Writer’s Association (MWA). He is also the current mayor of Ocean View.

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Set in the era of the Vietnam War, Bombs Aweigh-On to Vietnam is a coming of age novel. William Connolly, a young sailor fresh out of the Merchant Marine Academy is hired as a third mate on an aged cargo ship carrying bombs and weapons to Vietnam and Thailand. Crewed by drunks, druggies and borderline psychotics, the desperate ship's captain, himself a recovering alcoholic, turns to Connolly to restore order. Confronting violent and unpredictable crew members at every turn, Connolly is forced to assume greater responsibilities and face greater consequences than he ever imagined.