Paul C. Thornton

Grand prize winner North Street Book Prize! Paul C. Thornton was raised in Brooklyn and Long Island, New York. The Joy of Cruising Trilogy, comprised of The Joy of Cruising, Cruising Interrupted, and The Joy of Cruising Again was a labor of love given Paul’s passion for cruising, and the enjoyment he got out of interviewing, writing about, and sharing the stories of passionate cruisers from all over the world.

The Joy of Cruising was Paul’s second book, a stark departure from his first: White Man’s Disease, a “gripping and inspiring” award-winning memoir about Paul’s “harrowing” brush with death, his journey of recovery from a traumatic event, and ultimately liberation from a 30-year old “curse.” White Man’s Disease is at once poignant, sad, tragic, funny, and compelling. Yet, at the heart of both White Man’s Disease and The Joy of Cruising books is passion, and how passionate people do wondrous things.

Cruising Interrupted is the follow-up to The Joy of Cruising, a cruise fan favorite that shared the fascinating stories of why and how passionate cruisers cruise. Cruising Interrupted was originally titled More Joy of Cruising which was half-complete when the pandemic hit; then I became adrift (see what I did there). The tenor of the book changed somewhat; it was critical that Cruising Interrupted acknowledge and reflect on the pandemic’s impact on cruising, but it is still primarily a fun, upbeat view of why we cruise.

The Joy of Cruising Again (this Spring) is a celebration of cruising’s return from the brink! Concurrent with the completion of writing of The Joy of Cruising Again, Paul created The Joy of Cruising Podcast, featuring weekly conversations the cruise personalities featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy.

In 2019, The Joy of Cruising was selected medal winner, Florida Authors & Publishers Association President’s Book Awards; Finalist, Independent Author Network Book off the Year Awards; and New Apple Summer E-Book Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing. May 2018, White Man's Disease was named Finalist in the 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. In February 2018, White Man's Disease was named Winner, Creative Nonfiction and Memoir, North Street Book Prize. In July 2017, White Man's Disease was awarded Honorable Mention, First Nonfiction in the Harlem Book Fair Phillis Wheatley Book Awards, and in August 2017 was chosen first runner-up, 2017 New Apple Summer E-Book Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing in the Autobiography/Biography/Memoir category.

Paul lives in Mooresville, NC with his wife Cheryl and considers cruising with their grandkids life’s ultimate escape.