It was the summer of 1956 when a relaxing camping trip in League City for three teenaged boys turns awry after encountering an escaped convict.

The friends, Bill, Albert and NoNo, vowed to keep the ordeal a secrecy. Fifty-two years later, Sneed is revealing the action-packed tale and so much more in his newly-published book, "Naked Run to Morning."

News Messenger photo (ENLARGE)

Bill Sneed, author of 'Naked Run to Morning,' poses with a copy of his book.

"I've received a lot of good input on it from all over the United States," Sneed said, sharing many have e-mailed him, giving compliments.

"Consequently, people look at my Web page, so that helps," he said. "I'm looking for something negative once in a while, but I haven't done anything negative yet."

In the book, the local author ties childhood experiences with action, adventure and surprises that will keep readers on their feet. Readers will also get to know the author himself as he discloses his some prized possessions from family photos to Navy documents.

He hopes to entertain, educate and excite readers through his work, which is his second published book. The book explores the themes of courage, faith and destiny.

"I wanted to put a little bit of personal stuff in there about myself because I have so many people asking me about various facts," Sneed said. "I said, 'Well, I'm not going to write any other books like this, so I'm going to put a bunch of personal stuff in there too so if they ask me again, I'll say, 'Read the book.'"

The book, which was actually written in the '90s but recently published, is based on fiction, but some nonfiction is added.

"It was about January, I compiled it all together and sent it to iUniverse Publishers," Sneed noted. "It's a semi-autobiographical book."

The idea of the book derived after a surprise call from a childhood camping buddy, Albert Perez, whom one of the characters is named after.

"Albert Perez called me one summer and I think about 1997 and that's the first time we made contact in a lot of years," Sneed said. "So, I wanted to write something memorable about it."

Sneed began writing a story, often reflecting on their camping trips.

"I just combined what happened with the other ones," he said. "Of course, one thing led to another and I got to thinking, I might actually write a store here.'"

He decided to throw in a convict to make the story more interesting.

"So, I wrote that and finished it probably about the same year," he said.

The author was working at Texas State Technical College at the time. An English teacher there, Mary Lee, urged him to publish his work.

"She got hold of it, she really liked it, she fell in love with that story," he said. "She encouraged me to get it published, but I never did anything with it."

Since publishing it, the book has garnered rave reviews from readers across the country. Sneed, a retired Navy CPO, feels honored to have Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly Jr. as a fan of his book. He personally called Sneed to thank him for sending him a copy of the book.

"He passed it among his chiefs," Sneed said.

"I was just overwhelmed by his call because back in the old days, you didn't mess with the upper, top shot people," Sneed said. "But, he was a great guy to talk to.

"He gave me a lot of incite and he apologized for the delay in getting back to me," the author added. "He felt the military sealift command at least owed me something personal as a response rather than a letter."

"I never had an admiral call me. I was just floored," Sneed continued, describing how he stood at attention while on the phone talking to Reilly. "I said, 'Holy smoke! The top dog's calling me.'"

Sneed considers the book an achievement and something that can be passed down from generation to generation in his family.

"I have something to leave for my grandkids," he said. "Each of them has a hard copy and a paper copy. So, ions down the lane, they'll say man, 'My granddad wrote this; my great-great granddad wrote this," Sneed said, beaming.

Sneed thinks readers will find his autobiographical content intriguing, especially his Navy evaluations and photos.

"That picture of me with the four stripes, with the captains uniform on, was taken when the astronauts first stepped on the moon," Sneed explained. "NASA sent their uniforms by the recruiting command and we had to go to Houston to pick up the uniforms and take them back to Corpus."

Sneed was on recruiting duty and instead of taking uniforms to Houston, he took them to his home in plans of delivering them the next day.

"I said, 'Well, I'll just take a picture of me in the uniform so I can always say I wore their uniform before they did," he teased.

The book also includes five additional short stories filled with action, adventure and humor.

"It's all interesting," Sneed described.

The story, "Fruit From the Poisonous Tree," stems from an actual experience told to Sneed about a drunken seaman sneaking a billy goat onboard.

"I was wondering, 'How did you get a goat aboard ship?' So, we saw a cat scratching himself and I got to thinking what would happen if they took a cat back to ship. So, of course, in writing, one thing leads to another."

In the short story, the seaman's AWOL bag is soaked with lighter fluid. A fire ensues and everyone scatters.

"Even a few jets came swooping down to find out what was going on," Sneed said. "I was kind of proud of that story."

"Naked Run to Morning" can be purchased from any major bookstore or online at amazon.com, bn.com, booksamillion.com, borders.com, iUniverse.com, writerbillusn.com or call iUniverse at 1-800-288-2677, extension 510.