Fiction
My first novel, a study of the lifestyle of Pacific North West high-school graduates set during the cultural touchstone year of 2003. Takes place in the Republic of Cascadia, an alternative history ecotopia. 220,000 words.
My third novel, following the social life and career of Claire Parker, New York merchant banker, from Ivy League colleges to Wall Street: set during the halcyon decade of the 2010s. 60,000 words.
My second novel. Explores the startup culture of a group of Blizzard programmers who quit the Valley and move to the Silicon Forest in Oregon to make a revolutionary video game called Hecate. Set between September 2019 and July 2020, during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic. 160,000 words.
Adaptation of Peter Watts’ 2006 science fiction novel Blindsight, written in 2013. 35,000 words.
My fourth novel. A hostage crisis unfolds when Russian paramilitaries occupy Crimea as the political drama of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution envelops the lives of some very different Americans. 60,000 words.
Non Fiction
My first book, a history of British naval aviation during the First World War. Based on my PhD thesis research (2012-2018) on British naval aviation development. Published in 2021 by Routledge. 120,000 words.
My third book, the first history of the Air Department of the British Admiralty. Founded by Winston Churchill, the Air Department was a prototypical think-tank and joint operations centre, responsible for global air operations amidst a torrent of administrative, political, and technological upheaval. The Air Department was at the forefront of 20th century military revolution. 100,000 words.
My second book, situated in the context of the 1983 Cold War crisis, a history of the collapse of the Grenada Revolution, and the US and Caribbean military action that followed during Operation Urgent Fury. Forthcoming from Lexington Books, 2023. 60,000 words.
My fourth book, a history of British naval policy and Admiralty administration in the 19th century. Focuses on foreign and defence policy, seapower, and imperial defence in the Victoria age. 150,000 words.
About Me
“There is nothing more satisfying to me, than to create a complete self-contained world when a computer is controlling it.”
Jim Clark, quoted in Michael Lewis’ The New New Thing
“It is said that Balzac on his deathbed enquired anxiously after the health and prosperity of characters he had created.”
John le Carre, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
“To all beginners, I give credit for being writers already, since they intend, for better or worse, to risk exposing their emotions, their quirks, their attitude toward life, to public scrutiny.”
Patricia Highsmith, Plotting and Writing
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I am a historian who specializes in defence studies.
I completed my PhD thesis with the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London in 2019.
I am the creator of the Canadian War Studies Association, and AirSpace Historian.
I enjoy soccer, skiing, and graphic design.
Contact
Alexander Howlett | History of Warfare | Defence Studies
howlettalexander [at] gmail.com
I live in Vancouver, British Columbia
ahowlettpublications.wordpress.com 