Jack Bartley

     I spent nearly five years on Oʻahu serving as a U.S. Navy officer in the 1970s, including a WestPac/Vietnam deployment aboard a Knox-class destroyer escort. After completing my naval service, I returned to the East Coast and earned a Ph.D. in ecology, followed by several years as a high school educator. I later became an associate professor at the University of Delaware. Now retired, I focus my time on writing and music.

     I wrote the monthly column “Educational Perspectives” for the Newark Post for ten years. My novels include the romantic comedy Public Ed – A Novel (2005), based on my public high school teaching experience; the adult Navy novel Smoke on the Water, published by Koehler Books in April 2025; and Hilo Dome, the first book in a Hawaiian young adult series released by Histria Books (Simon & Schuster) in May 2025. Additional works include the forthcoming titles The Seekers, The World Awakens, the children’s chapter book Dinsdale, and the completed adult novel Incoming. missile attack on Oahu in 2018 while I was there with my students during a domestic study abroad program.

    I have released two CDs of Celtic folk music with my former band, So’s Your Mom, and recently completed a double CD of Americana music with my duo, Whiskey Creek.

I am also a docent at the James Farm Ecological Preserve in Ocean View, Delaware, where I live with my wife, Susan, and Clementine the Cat.

Latest News:

Smoke on the Water was released on April 15th, 2025. It won a Silver Medal from the Military Writers Society of America.
Hilo Dome was released on May 27, 2025. It has received a 5-Star Award from Readers’ Favorites. The Seekers, Book II of the Hilo Dome series, is scheduled for release May 5, 2026, and has received a 5-Star Award from Readers’ Favorites.

Annapolis Book Festival (May 2 – all day. Panel discussion at 2 pm in The Farmhouse)
The Greyhound – Book signing event (May 15, 11 am – 2pm)
Hilo, Hawaii (Talk at the Hilo Public Library, June 6, 11 – noon and Book signing at Basically Books 1 – 3 pm)
Barnes and Noble Rehoboth – Book signing event (Jun 27, noon – 3 pm)
Bethany Beach Books – Book signing event (July 6, 6:30 – 8 pm)
Rehoboth Farmers’ Market – Book signing event (July 7, 10 am – noon)
Browseabout Books Rehoboth Beach (July 12, 1:30 – 3:30 pm)