Gale Mariner, Author
@galemariner.bsky.social
THE LAST DAUGHTER OF THE SEA: Coming in 2026
Author of historical fiction about women the ocean wouldn’t let drown. Writing captains, mutinies, and the stories carved into ship’s logs. The sea keeps no monuments—only legends.
Author of historical fiction about women the ocean wouldn’t let drown. Writing captains, mutinies, and the stories carved into ship’s logs. The sea keeps no monuments—only legends.
The sea keeps no monuments. Only stories written in salt and survival. Today I'm drowning in research about women who commanded ships when the world said they couldn't exist. History's most dangerous mutiny is forgetting them.
November 11, 2025 at 5:14 AM
The sea keeps no monuments. Only stories written in salt and survival. Today I'm drowning in research about women who commanded ships when the world said they couldn't exist. History's most dangerous mutiny is forgetting them.
My protagonist just told her first mate "I'm not asking for loyalty—I'm demanding competence." This is what command looks like when you can't afford to be loved.
November 11, 2025 at 4:33 AM
My protagonist just told her first mate "I'm not asking for loyalty—I'm demanding competence." This is what command looks like when you can't afford to be loved.
Writing women who spit into the wind and expect it to change direction. Sometimes it does. Sometimes you just get salt in your face. Both are worth writing.
November 11, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Writing women who spit into the wind and expect it to change direction. Sometimes it does. Sometimes you just get salt in your face. Both are worth writing.
Spent the morning researching scurvy, typhoid, and gangrene. Historical accuracy requires historical suffering. My characters earn their survival through very specific kinds of hell.
November 11, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Spent the morning researching scurvy, typhoid, and gangrene. Historical accuracy requires historical suffering. My characters earn their survival through very specific kinds of hell.
The sea doesn't promise safety. It promises transformation. Every woman who took a ship's wheel knew this. I'm just the one writing down what they already understood.
November 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM
The sea doesn't promise safety. It promises transformation. Every woman who took a ship's wheel knew this. I'm just the one writing down what they already understood.
The folklore said mermaids lured sailors to their deaths. The sailors were already sailing toward death. The mermaids just sang the soundtrack. There's a difference.
November 10, 2025 at 2:20 AM
The folklore said mermaids lured sailors to their deaths. The sailors were already sailing toward death. The mermaids just sang the soundtrack. There's a difference.
Research today: how long can someone survive in North Atlantic water? 15 minutes in summer. 5 in winter. I'm writing a woman who survived 20. History said impossible. Rage kept her warm.
November 9, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Research today: how long can someone survive in North Atlantic water? 15 minutes in summer. 5 in winter. I'm writing a woman who survived 20. History said impossible. Rage kept her warm.
A character just committed treason for love and I'm supposed to make readers understand why. This is what I mean when I say writing is moral negotiation with ghosts.
November 9, 2025 at 6:24 PM
A character just committed treason for love and I'm supposed to make readers understand why. This is what I mean when I say writing is moral negotiation with ghosts.
The difference between a sailor and a captain: one follows the stars home. The other becomes them.
November 9, 2025 at 5:46 PM
The difference between a sailor and a captain: one follows the stars home. The other becomes them.
The hardest scenes to write: quiet moments before violence. The knowing. The waiting. The last second when peace is still possible and no one chooses it.
November 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The hardest scenes to write: quiet moments before violence. The knowing. The waiting. The last second when peace is still possible and no one chooses it.
THE LAST DAUGHTER OF THE SEA will be published in 2026! I'm so excited about this book and finishing it!
November 7, 2025 at 9:20 PM
THE LAST DAUGHTER OF THE SEA will be published in 2026! I'm so excited about this book and finishing it!
Every betrayal in my books starts with trust. Every mutiny starts with loyalty. You can't break what was never built. That's why the relationships matter more than the battles.
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Every betrayal in my books starts with trust. Every mutiny starts with loyalty. You can't break what was never built. That's why the relationships matter more than the battles.
Reposted by Gale Mariner, Author
Sayyida al-Hurra ruled as pirate queen of the Mediterranean in the 1500s. She answered to no man and no nation. Her ships controlled the strait. #CelesteAnchor #QueenOfTheSea
November 6, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Sayyida al-Hurra ruled as pirate queen of the Mediterranean in the 1500s. She answered to no man and no nation. Her ships controlled the strait. #CelesteAnchor #QueenOfTheSea
Reposted by Gale Mariner, Author
Finally chose a name for my book! "OPTIMAL STATE" is coming in 2026!
"She audits the Protocol—the algorithm scoring citizens' access to everything. When she discovers it's manufacturing behavior, not measuring it, she faces a choice: stay trapped in the system, or opt out and lose everything."
"She audits the Protocol—the algorithm scoring citizens' access to everything. When she discovers it's manufacturing behavior, not measuring it, she faces a choice: stay trapped in the system, or opt out and lose everything."
November 6, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Finally chose a name for my book! "OPTIMAL STATE" is coming in 2026!
"She audits the Protocol—the algorithm scoring citizens' access to everything. When she discovers it's manufacturing behavior, not measuring it, she faces a choice: stay trapped in the system, or opt out and lose everything."
"She audits the Protocol—the algorithm scoring citizens' access to everything. When she discovers it's manufacturing behavior, not measuring it, she faces a choice: stay trapped in the system, or opt out and lose everything."
Reposted by Gale Mariner, Author
RED FLAG SEASON by K. Catherine West is coming out in 2026!
<everyone cheers>
Thank you, thank you, I know. I'm excited, too. 😂
<everyone cheers>
Thank you, thank you, I know. I'm excited, too. 😂
November 6, 2025 at 8:18 PM
RED FLAG SEASON by K. Catherine West is coming out in 2026!
<everyone cheers>
Thank you, thank you, I know. I'm excited, too. 😂
<everyone cheers>
Thank you, thank you, I know. I'm excited, too. 😂
Reposted by Gale Mariner, Author
Pleased to announce that book 2 (a novella and book 1 are already out, see link in bio) is "STEALTH SECRETS", a continuation of the Hearts & Tailwinds series!
It'll be coming out in 2026.
It'll be coming out in 2026.
November 6, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Pleased to announce that book 2 (a novella and book 1 are already out, see link in bio) is "STEALTH SECRETS", a continuation of the Hearts & Tailwinds series!
It'll be coming out in 2026.
It'll be coming out in 2026.
Reposted by Gale Mariner, Author
Excited to announce my book, BREAKAWAY BLADES is going to be published in 2026!
Strong woman athlete!
“She shattered her leg and her career. He’s the PT who won’t clear her until she trusts the titanium rod keeping her together. Turns out rebuilding on ice is easier than falling in love at dawn.”
Strong woman athlete!
“She shattered her leg and her career. He’s the PT who won’t clear her until she trusts the titanium rod keeping her together. Turns out rebuilding on ice is easier than falling in love at dawn.”
November 6, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Excited to announce my book, BREAKAWAY BLADES is going to be published in 2026!
Strong woman athlete!
“She shattered her leg and her career. He’s the PT who won’t clear her until she trusts the titanium rod keeping her together. Turns out rebuilding on ice is easier than falling in love at dawn.”
Strong woman athlete!
“She shattered her leg and her career. He’s the PT who won’t clear her until she trusts the titanium rod keeping her together. Turns out rebuilding on ice is easier than falling in love at dawn.”
Reposted by Gale Mariner, Author
Ching Shih commanded 80,000 pirates in 1800s China. Negotiated her own amnesty, kept her loot, opened a gambling house, died wealthy in her 60s. Ultimate power move. #PirateQueen
November 7, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Ching Shih commanded 80,000 pirates in 1800s China. Negotiated her own amnesty, kept her loot, opened a gambling house, died wealthy in her 60s. Ultimate power move. #PirateQueen
The problem with mermaids: they're always convenient metaphors for male desire. What if they were just angry? What if they sang because the drowned needed a chorus? What if they weren't beautiful—just relentless?
November 7, 2025 at 3:57 AM
The problem with mermaids: they're always convenient metaphors for male desire. What if they were just angry? What if they sang because the drowned needed a chorus? What if they weren't beautiful—just relentless?
My protagonist's fatal flaw: she believes competence should be enough. It never is. Merit doesn't outweigh misogyny. She keeps learning this and keeps sailing anyway.
November 6, 2025 at 5:55 PM
My protagonist's fatal flaw: she believes competence should be enough. It never is. Merit doesn't outweigh misogyny. She keeps learning this and keeps sailing anyway.
My editor keeps asking for "softer moments." I gave her a scene where my captain braids another woman's hair before battle. They both know one of them won't survive the morning. Soft enough?
November 6, 2025 at 2:25 PM
My editor keeps asking for "softer moments." I gave her a scene where my captain braids another woman's hair before battle. They both know one of them won't survive the morning. Soft enough?
Coffee tastes like defeat this morning. The chapter isn't working. The pacing is wrong. The emotional beat lands like a cannonball on an empty deck. Starting over. Again.
November 6, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Coffee tastes like defeat this morning. The chapter isn't working. The pacing is wrong. The emotional beat lands like a cannonball on an empty deck. Starting over. Again.
Writing dialogue between two captains who respect each other too much to lie. The truth between capable people is sharper than any insult.
November 6, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Writing dialogue between two captains who respect each other too much to lie. The truth between capable people is sharper than any insult.
She named her ship Inevitable. Not as threat—as fact.
November 6, 2025 at 12:49 AM
She named her ship Inevitable. Not as threat—as fact.
Storm coming. I can smell it in the air and feel it in the narrative. Weather and writing have always spoken the same language.
November 5, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Storm coming. I can smell it in the air and feel it in the narrative. Weather and writing have always spoken the same language.