Browseabout Books to host author event May 3

Author Thomas Guay will sign his new book, “Chesapeake Bound: An Annapolis Novel” from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 3, at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach.

“Chesapeake Bound” is a story of desperate immigrants looking for adventure, advancement, love, and most of all, a sense of belonging in the American colonies.

Gifted musician and medical apprentice Michael Shea is living rough in 1763 London after being blackballed from working as a surgeon’s assistant. Not only does he lose his gig playing fiddle in a tavern, but also, he’s framed for the murder of a tavern patron visiting from colonial Virginia. 

Michael and his friend Danny escape, shipping out on the misnamed brig The Delight as lowly indentured servants, along with 48 other desperate souls – everyday people hoping for a better life in the colonies. Michael’s medical skills prove critical as the passengers endure the long trans-Atlantic journey from London to Annapolis that includes killer storms, accidents, sickness and Barbary raiders. While attending to the sick, Michael realizes he has not escaped the murder for which he was framed, and that the real killer will do anything to keep his identity a secret.

Guay earned a communications degree with a double major in history from the University of Maryland and became a journalist because he enjoys writing and telling stories. After a career as a Capitol Hill reporter, he refocused on colonial history and started researching his book. He has also worked as a host at the Charles Carroll House in Annapolis, as a colonial reenactor, and as a tour guide at other historic colonial houses. He lives in Annapolis, Md., and plays traditional fiddle tunes with the Eastport Oyster Boys.