Welcome to my website! Thanks for visiting. The sequel to Half Staff 2018, Chokepoint, was published in 2019. The final book in the trilogy is The President’s Hail Mary, published in 2024. Dan Steele is slightly older and a little wiser as he tackles an impossible situation where his two archnemeses from the first two books have teamed up in a toxic union that directly threatens a shaky strategic balance in Europe and the Middle East. Steele has also developed a close partnership with an LA-class submariner who becomes much more than a teammate. The President’s Hail Mary offers a plausible scenario that will leave you energized and grateful for Steele’s efforts.
Thanks again for your interest in my writing.
— John P. Morse
The official website for author John P. Morse, a 25 year Navy Veteran, turned novelist.
Following a naval career as a surface warfare officer that included world-wide deployments and command of two surface combatants and a second career with a large defense contractor in both the domestic and international business worlds, John has started his third career as a novelist.
In his first novel, Half Staff 2018, published in June 2016, he introduces Dan Steele, an ex-US Navy SEAL, who combines fearless leadership, resourcefulness and instincts forged in the crucible of combat operations to stop a terrorist plot with worldwide reach. If you’ve been following the events of the last few years, you might wonder what the likelihood of such an event happening in the United States might really be.
The latest Al-Qaeda statement contained a dire prediction that in years to come, children in the United States would never see the American Flag flying at the top of the flagstaff. The pledge made it very clear. Al-Qaeda's objective was to make certain the Stars and Stripes would hang at half-staff each and every day.
—Half Staff 2018