Novel Penned in Swimming Pool

June 6, 2010 - PRLog -- Writer Grant de Graf recently launched his historical novel, Cavalier Call. The story captures the spirit and adventure of the era that led to the Age of Discovery. De Graf eloquently unrolls a tapestry of events to produce a work that depicts the mood and atmosphere of the time, where honor and courage meant everything. The story is gripping and intriguing. Cavalier's Call is a work of fiction, but clearly, a significant amount of research was conducted to produce a setting that accurately reflects geographical and descriptive accounts of the period.

The manner in which the novel was created is interesting. Readers must ponder over the fact that the novel, in true cavalier style, was penned in a swimming pool. De Graf swims a mile a day, and it was during these long aquatic conquests that he was given to stretch his mind and formulate the plot for the novel. Reflective of the manner in which the seeds to the story were sown, the plot is stormy and combines true adventure with boundless passion.  De Graf quips that although the novel was penned in a swimming pool, he allowed for enough time for the ink to dry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgc65yD1FHQ



Cavalier's Call focuses on the early life of Joao de Aviz, father to Henry the Navigator. The novel describes his appointment in the Court of King Ferdinand I as a young courtier, his brilliant defense of a man accused of murderer, and how he tackles the prosecution led by the powerful Don Antonio Esteves. The romance between Ines Peres Esteves and Joao add pepper to this historical story. Ultimately, Joao de Aviz must lead Portugal in its battle for independence. In a thrilling conclusion that provides a twist, an army of five thousand troops march against de Aviz' struggle and threaten to topple his small, but brave force.

The richness of Portuguese history and the implications that it had on the discovery of the New World, augur well for the sequel that the author is in the midst of completing. Cavalier's Call provides readers with an opportunity to penetrate the lifestyle and adventure of the period, in a superlative account that makes this novel a compelling masterpiece. Further details on the novel are available at http://www.grantdegraf.com/

# # #

Grant de Graf is a writer, adventure enthusiast and anchor. South African born and bush educated, he is a University of Cape Town business graduate, a product of braaivleis, rugby, sunny skies and fine dining. Grant has traveled to the four corners of the world, worked and lived in the go-go bars of the rich and famous, scuba dived the Great Barrier and Red Sea, jackerooed on the sheep stations of NSW and Victoria, conducted sea search and rescue off the Mozambique Channel, and braved the jungles of Africa. He spent his impressionable years in Durban, where he matriculated from the Durban High School.

During a stint in the South African Navy he was selected to undergo training as a navy diver, and in underwater explosives. Grant was actively involved in politics in South Africa that saw the demise of apartheid. He currently freelances for a number of news channels and tabloids, and is passionate about writing, history and wildlife.