This here update be all ‘bout one o’ the three Pirates in the collector’s edition, Pirate Captain Jesamiah Acorne.
After havin’ a read o’ author Helen Hollick’s rollickin’ article below, ye’ll see why we could not pass up the opportunity to include just a hint o’ some nautical fiction in the game. She also provided some of the flavor text you'll see on several of the global missions.
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WHEN THE MERMAID SINGS
by Helen Hollick
In 2005 my ex- literary agent thought that I should write something different to my usual historical fiction. “What about a pirate adventure?” I suggested. The idea had been brewing in my mind for some while because I had been searching for a novel which matched the fun of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. There were plenty of ‘straight’ nautical novels: C.S. Forrester, Patrick O’Brian, Alexander Kent etc., and quite a few young adult adventures, but nothing like Curse of the Black Pearl with its supernatural/fantasy, dash of romance, and a swashbuckling rogue of a hero. I wanted something to read that was written as an adult novel, with adult themes and relationships, in addition to the nautical adventure bits. Giving up the search I decided to write my own.
I spent a few months researching the facts about the Caribbean pirates of the early 1700s and my characters appeared overnight, as if they’d been waiting to come alive for some while. I had Captain Jesamiah Acorne, my lead protagonist, quick to laugh but formidable when angry. His second-in-command, Rue, and the ship herself, Sea Witch. (Based on the replica of HMS Rose aka Surprise.) To balance the men and to become the love of Jesamiah’s life (apart from his ship) I had Tiola Oldstagh, a midwife, healer and a white witch. She loves Jesamiah, but he has been known to annoy her...
Writing solid for two months, stopping only for Christmas Day, the words flowed like a following wind, and, finished, excited because I knew I had something special in my hands, I sent it off to my agent. She hated it. “It’s not suitable for teenage boys,” she said. “Er, no,” said I. “ I didn’t write it for boys. It’s for adults.” She snorted derision. “Adults do not read pirate stories." (Now you know why I put ‘ex-agent’ above. We parted company.)
I knew Jesamiah Acorne was going to become popular. I knew Sea Witch was good, the publishing houses I sent it to agreed, but all turned it down because the cross-genre of adventure-supernatural-romance-fantasy did not suit their unimaginative marketing strategies. “Drop the supernatural” they all said... oh, apart from one, who turned it down because, “Women do not write nautical fiction.”
After much thought I decided to self-publish. It was a risk. Back in 2006/7 self-publishing was in its infancy and the literary world sneered at the thought that good writers could independently produce great books. I had nothing to lose, though, I’d already been a USA Today best-seller with my historical fiction, and anyway, this would only be a one-off novel...
Wrong.
I recently published the sixth in the series, and GreenFeet Games were keen to use a prequel novella as a sub-plot for their The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit board game.
I wrote the prequel, When The Mermaid Sings, several years ago, urged to do so by popular demand. Readers wanted to know how Jesamiah had become a pirate, and I wanted to include a mermaid in one of the Voyage stories. The two easily came together, and I managed to include Captain Morgan, Henry Jennings and Charles Vane in my story – along with some swashbuckling pirate adventure, my young white witch, a ghost and, of course, a mermaid.
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When the Mermaid Sings
By Helen Hollick
An early coming-of-age tale of the young Jesamiah Acorne, set in the years before he becomes a pirate and Captain of the Sea Witch.
Amazon Universal Link: https://viewbook.at/WhenMermaidSings
Throughout childhood, Jesamiah Mereno has suffered the bullying of his elder half-brother. Then, not quite fifteen years old, and on the day they bury their father, Jesamiah hits back. In consequence, he flees his home, changes his name to Jesamiah Acorne, and joins the crew of his father’s seafaring friend, Captain Malachias Taylor, aboard the privateer, Mermaid.
He makes enemies, sees the ghost of his father, wonders who is the Cornish girl he hears in his mind – and tries to avoid the beguiling lure of a sensuous mermaid...
The Sea Witch Voyages
Voyage 1 - Sea Witch: https://viewbook.at/SeaWitch
Voyage 2 - Pirate Code: https://viewbook.at/PirateCode
Voyage 3 - Bring It Close : https://viewbook.at/BringItClose
Voyage 4 - Ripples: http://viewbook.at/RipplesInTheSand
Voyage 5 - On the Account : https://viewbook.at/OnTheAccount
Voyage 6 - Gallows Wake : https://mybook.to/GallowsWake
About the Author
First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/supernatural series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She has also branched out into the quick read novella, 'Cosy Mystery' genre with her Jan Christopher Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant. The fifth in the series, A Memory Of Murder, was published in May 2024.
Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Talesand Life of A Smuggler. She is currently writing about the ghosts of North Devon for Amberley Publications, and Jamaica Gold for her Sea Witch Voyages.
Recognized by her stylish hats, Helen attends conferences and book-related events when she can as a chance to meet her readers and social-media followers, although her ‘wonky eyesight’ as she describes her condition of Glaucoma, and severe arthritis is becoming a little prohibitive for travel.
She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon, England, with their dogs and cats, while on the farm there are showjumper horses, fat Exmoor ponies, an elderly Welsh pony, geese, ducks and hens.
And several resident ghosts.
Author Links: Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick
X/Twitter @HelenHollickhttps://x.com/HelenHollick
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These are the two special ability cards of Pirate Captain Jesamiah Acorne
Captain Jesamiah Acorne's Ship
Tiola Oldstagh, midwife, healer and Captain Acorne's trusted companion-- Captain Tom and Team Green Feet Games
