About The author
Les Cribb
Born in London England in 1930, Les played guitar in a band with friends. Joe who played saxophone in the band was the twin brother of Joyce, who sometimes sang with the band and was to be the love of his life. In 1965 Les and Joyce emigrated with their three girls to Canada and raised their family in the scenic Hockley Valley, which is where their son was born.
Les was always a gifted story teller who entertained family and friends regularly with his embellished versions of classic fairy tales and a host of made up words that he used to make every day conversation more colourful. Les also wrote humorous poetry and used his talent as an artist to not only do house and garden designs but cartoons and caricatures .
His first novel became a labour of love during his retirement years and was nearing completion when he suffered a severe stroke which robbed him of his wonderful communication skills.
Happily with the help of his family, the original version of The Fo'c'sle Door was published in 2013 and he was able to hold a copy in his hand prior to his death in 2016.
It is a long and captivating mystery involving adventures in smuggling, murder and the supernatural and met with great review from those who read it. However, it was never actively marketed. Les' children, with the help of a new publisher, have since re-published their dad's book as a trilogy, The Ryeport Redemption, in honour of his memory and with the hope of sharing their dad's wonderful imagination and story telling skills with more readers.
The Ryeport Redemption - Trilogy
"Whitt ducked under the lintel and stepped down onto a brick floor. The floor was a good six inches lower than the door's threshold - but he had known it would be so - and that realisation stopped him dead in his tracks, just as the sense of deja vu struck. He had ducked under the lintel, and his step down had been fluid, almost practis
"Whitt ducked under the lintel and stepped down onto a brick floor. The floor was a good six inches lower than the door's threshold - but he had known it would be so - and that realisation stopped him dead in his tracks, just as the sense of deja vu struck. He had ducked under the lintel, and his step down had been fluid, almost practised. He recalled a warning' 'Watch your step. The floor is a goodly step down inside.' Or did he imagine that?
"Roddy dove under the water as bullets splashed around him and wondered how things could have gone so terribly wrong. The 'Viking funeral' had not gone as planned. Despite all of Roddy and Sailmaker's efforts to warn off the villagers about the ambush, a small piece of wood had tumbled from the pile, dislodging the long fuse. It was now
"Roddy dove under the water as bullets splashed around him and wondered how things could have gone so terribly wrong. The 'Viking funeral' had not gone as planned. Despite all of Roddy and Sailmaker's efforts to warn off the villagers about the ambush, a small piece of wood had tumbled from the pile, dislodging the long fuse. It was now wet, and the only choice was for Roddy to remain to finish the job. He would no longer have the time afforded by the fuse to distance himself from the boat quickly enough.
He was numb and feeling the desperation as he realized he could not escape. As strong a swimmer as he was, he could now barely feel his arms and legs, his lungs were burning, and musket balls were splashing dangerously all around him. Then, just as he felt he could move no more and was preparing to give up, he saw movement at the bottom of the cliff.
"Now under cover in the bottom of the jolly boat Sailmaker was unable to move or call out as the sailors hurried to get him aboard the ship unnoticed. Slowly as he began to regain consciousness, he recognised what had happened. He had been shaghaied! He struggled to call out for help, hoping to be heard by his friends onshore but his v
"Now under cover in the bottom of the jolly boat Sailmaker was unable to move or call out as the sailors hurried to get him aboard the ship unnoticed. Slowly as he began to regain consciousness, he recognised what had happened. He had been shaghaied! He struggled to call out for help, hoping to be heard by his friends onshore but his voice was just a whisper and the ship had already moved past The Dragon's Tail.
He was now beyond help and at the mercy of the violent Captain Currie. He was also destined for a new an unexpected friendship, but one with unforeseen and terrifying power which was to also change the lives of everyone he knew and loved."