Meet Jack Bartley, author of The Seekers, Smoke on the Water and Hil Dome on Monday, July 6th at 6:30pm!
Jack Bartley
About Jack:
Jack Bartley lived on Oahu for almost five years while serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy in the 1970’s, completing a WestPac/Vietnam tour on a Knox-class destroyer escort during that time. He returned to the East Coast to earn his Ph.D. in ecology and was an associate professor at the University of Delaware. For fifteen years, Jack brought UD students to Hawaii for the month of January to study reef systems, volcanic origins, evolution, and Polynesian culture.
Jack’s column “Educational Perspectives” appeared monthly in the Newark Post for ten years. He published the romantic comedy Public Ed – A Novel in 2005 and it is still available as an e-book. His fictionalized memoir of his time in the US Navy, Smoke on the Water, was published by Koehler books on April 20, 2025. The first book of his young adult novel series, Hilo Dome, was published by Histria Books on May 20th, 2025, to be followed by The Seekers and The World Awakens.
Jack has released two CDs of Celtic folk music with his former band, “So’s Your Mom,” and is nearing the completion of a double-CD of “Americana Music” with his duo “Whiskey Creek.”
He is now retired and devotes his time to writing and music. Jack is a docent at the James Farm Ecological Preserve near his home in Ocean View, Delaware, where he lives with his wife, Susan, Jesse the Dog, and Clementine the Cat.
The Seekers – Hilo Dome: Book 2
Pele has been angered – survival now depends on ancient ways. When Mauna Loa awakens, survival depends on the wisdom of the past. The Seekers fuses Hawaiian mythology, post-apocalyptic suspense, and expert wayfinding in a high-stakes odyssey where culture, community, and courage are the only paths to salvation.
In the aftermath of the Great War, Nathan Ohana and his crew aboard the canoe Kaulele must find safety as earthquakes and eruptions threaten to destroy Hilo. Guided by traditional Hawaiian navigation, they set out across dangerous seas, hoping to lead their community to refuge before the land is swallowed by fire.
Their journey takes them to abandoned islands and fragile outposts of survivors, where old grudges and cultural divides test their resolve. The crew must weigh survival against tradition, progress against the wisdom of the past, as they navigate both the ocean and the shifting loyalties of those they encounter.
This volume of the series blends Hawaiian mythology, post-apocalyptic survival, and the art of wayfinding in this second volume of the Hilo Dome series. As Madame Pele’s fury builds on Mauna Loa, Nathan and his crew discover that the greatest challenge lies not in outrunning the fire, but in holding fast to the values that can carry their people beyond it. Release date: May 5, 2026