Today I welcome my Devon-based friend Helen Hollick, who celebrates her latest release, On The Account, a fabulous pirate tale that you will want to snatch up as quickly as your fingers can hit the “buy” link on your favorite book site. I will permit Helen to explain why she writes pirate-based adult novels. 

We Need A Hero…

By Helen Hollick

Pirates were (are!) not particularly nice people. Johnny Depp, when filming the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl, compared them too modern-day rock-stars. If you are OK with the image of thugs high on the blood-rush of destroying everything in sight, almost continuously drunk, and no regard for law and order, you’d be right to agree with him. The pirates during the early eighteenth century ‘Golden Age of Piracy’ (I always thought that a rather odd description!) were little more than louts and terrorists. They prowled the seas from the Caribbean and North Coast of America to the Arabian Gulf, plundering any unfortunate ship that came into view – providing it was not well-armed or bigger than them.

The art of capturing a Prize was to give Chase, threaten, make as much noise as possible and hope the hapless victim would surrender without too much of a fight. And contrary to popular belief, most pirates did not make much of a fortune, what they did make they spent almost immediate upon reaching harbour in the nearest tavern and brothel. There was, alas, no buried treasure, nor walking the plank.

So why on earth, I hear you muttering, do I write pirate-based adult novels?

The answer is simple: because if you strip away the truth you are left with swashbuckling adventure yarns that are not meant to be taken seriously. I write them for fun, with the intention of them being read as entertaining fun. Yes there are a few darker moments, some gory scenes of death and carnage, but quite a few readers like a dash of (unrealistic) horror. Captain Jesamiah Acorne, my pirate (well, ex-pirate really) gets into all sorts of scrapes. The tag line for the series is: ‘Trouble follows Jesamiah Acorne like a ship’s wake.’ As with any James Bond or Indiana Jones movie you know he will survive whatever I throw at him, but the excitement of the adventure comes with not knowing how he is going to get out of trouble this time.

For me, the difficulty comes when I realise I’ve written a particularly gripping scene – and I have no idea how he is going to get out of it either!

Jesamiah Acorne is a hero figure. He has his faults (several of them) but he’s the sort of guy who would punch a swaggering, loud-mouth obnoxious pest on the nose one minute, and rescue a cat stuck up a tree the next (albeit grumbling while he did so.) That’s the stuff heroes are made off. Quick to smile, formidable when angry.

Bonnie Tyler rather sums up these bad-boy champions of the fictional page in her song ‘Holding Out For A Hero’:

‘I need a hero

I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night

He’s gotta be strong

And he’s gotta be fast

And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero

I’m holding out for a hero ’til the morning light

He’s gotta be sure

And it’s gotta be soon

And he’s gotta be larger than life’

So that’s why I write my Sea Witch Voyages, which are a blend of nautical adventure and believable fantasy. As readers, be it of historical fiction, thrillers, science fiction, romance or whatever, we are seeking entertainment and escapism, whether that is through immersing oneself in the reality-feel of the past, scaring ourselves with heart-pumping thrillers, guessing ‘who did it’, transporting our inner selves into other worlds in space, or relaxing in the gentle bliss of new love. I enjoy the pleasure and fictional escapism of the open sea, the wind in the sails, the creak of the rigging. I immerse myself in my hero-figure who is strong and fast, and often fresh from the fight. Who is sure of himself and larger than life. And you can add tall, dark and handsome to the list.

Real pirates were quite the opposite, but hey, who wants to read about reality when we get enough of that in day-to-day life? Give me the rough-edged tough hero of a good story any day!

The Sea Witch Voyages:

“In the sexiest pirate contest Jesamiah Acorne gives Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow a run for his money.”  – Sharon Penman

“Sea Witch gives us everything we want in a grand pirate adventure – swashbuckling action, great villains, lovely women in distress, sea fights and adventures on land, all grounded in solid research that gives the book a real feel of authenticity. This is a terrific read for lovers of pirate tales, lovers of historical fiction, and lovers of great adventure stories.”  – James L. Nelson

“A wonderful swash-buckler of a novel. Fans of Pirates of the Caribbean will love this to pieces of eight! A fabulous splash of piratical adventure on the high seas. Prepare to be abducted by a devil-may-care pirate and enchanted by a white witch. Mayhem and magic, splendour and squalor, beautiful ships, dangerous pirates and wild women, Helen Hollick has written a fabulous historical adventure that will have you reading into the small hours!”  – Elizabeth Chadwick

Sea Witch – Voyage One

Pirate Code – Voyage Two

Bring It Close – Voyage Three

Ripples In The Sand – Voyage Four

On The Account – Voyage Five (weighed anchor: July 2016)

Links:

Website             Of History and Kings Blog           Sea Witch Page

Facebook           Twitter: @HelenHollick            Amazon Author Page 

Amazon Purchase Link for “On The Account” 

1066 Turned Upside Down (e-book)

Other Books from Helen Hollick…

(The Lost Kingdom – 1066 Series in the United States)

• Harold the King  (published by SilverWood Books 2011) (US – I Am the Chosen King)
• A Hollow Crown  (US – The Forever Queen): The Story of Emma, Queen of Saxon England (William Heinemann/Arrow Books 2004)

The Pendragon Trilogy (from Heinemann) 

The Kingmaking: Book One of the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy

Shadow of the King: Book Three of the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy

Shadow of the King: Book Three of the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy