When The Mermaid Sings
When The Mermaid Sings
Helen Hollick
Helen Hollick
Genre: Historical adventure, YA
Series: The Sea Witch (can be read as a standalone)
Release Date: 29 September 2017
Publisher: S Books
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.
Throughout childhood, Jesamiah Mereno
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. 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.
Jesamiah
makes enemies, sees the ghost of his father and hears the mysterious voice of a
Cornish girl in his mind. But can he avoid the beguiling lure of a sensuous
mermaid…?
BLURB:
As followers of Jesamiah
Acorne’s various nautical adventures know, the series of Sea Witch
Voyages starts in January 1716 with Jesamiah, not yet a Captain of his
own ship, about to take part in a pirate ‘Chase’ and a fight at sea with a
prospective Prize.
He is aboard the Mermaid,
with Captain Malachias Taylor in charge, and the opening scene, set off the
coast of Africa, leads the way to what will be a turning point in Jesamiah’s
life.
But what of his
life before the events of Sea Witch? We know from
the backstory that he fled his home in Virginia to escape the vicious bullying
of his half-brother, Phillipe, and then crewed with Taylor, but how did
that happen?
How did he learn to be
the experienced seaman - and pirate - that he is?
How did he learn to
fight?
What adventures, and
risks, did he face in those days of his youth?
How did he develop from
the frightened boy of not quite fifteen years old, to the cocksure,
confident Captain that he became?
“You alright, son?”
A man was
bending over him, taking his arm, half-shaking it, half-assisting him to
rise. Jesamiah looked up into a face with weatherworn, tanned skin,
several teeth missing and a beard that was more grey-grizzled than the
brown it had once been. Bright eyes sparkled beneath a three-corner hat
that sprouted a feathered plume.
“You
alright?” the man asked again.
“Yes, I
think so,” Jesamiah answered, scrambling to his feet. He was at the harbour –
how had he got here? Three ships, in addition to Anna, rested
at anchor, the nearest sporting a splendid figurehead with carved seaweed
hair draped over her bare breasts; her fishtail curled as if clinging to
the bow itself. Mermaid.
“You sure?”
the sailor asked again, his hand still clasped to Jesamiah’s arm.
“Just a bit
dizzy, that’s all.”
“Not
surprising,” the man said with a nod and grim smile. “That’s some cut to your
head. You came down quite a wallop.”
Touching his fingers to his temple, Jesamiah looked at the sticky smear of blood left on them.
“I saw you
take the tumble as I were coming ashore. Noticed you earlier, too, with
Tom Markham?”
Jesamiah
nodded, then wished he hadn’t. “Aye, from Anna over there.” He
pointed her out.
“Stannis
still her bosun?”
Not risking
another nod, Jesamiah confirmed that he was.
“Nasty piece
of work. I’d as soon shoot him as serve with him.”
Not making a
comment that could land him in trouble, Jesamiah answered, tactfully,
“You know him, then?”
The man
indicated a scar on his face. “We had a serious falling-out a few years back.”
The dizziness clearing, Jesamiah took a deep breath and was grateful that the man made a grab for him as he again tottered precariously. He attempted a jest: “I’m not sure if it’s the wound or not finding my land-legs yet. The ground’s pitching as much as the deck did.”
“Ah, you’ll
soon adjust, son. Your pa always takes a few hours to do so.”
That cleared
Jesamiah’s head as efficiently as a dousing with a bucket of cold
seawater. “My pa?”
The man
studied the boats at anchor in the harbour. “Aye. I take it Charles is not
here? No sign of his vessel out there. Has he sent you off to sea?” The
man chuckled. “’Bout time, if you ask me.”
Unexpected
tears swam in Jesamiah’s eyes. He rapidly blinked them aside. “My
father passed away a few months ago.”
The man
removed his hat, wiped his hand across his mouth and nose, sniffed loudly
and blinked as rapidly as Jesamiah had done. “I’m sorry to hear that, lad.
Right sorry. He was a good man.”
Taking a
step backwards, the man held out his hand. “You are, of course, Jesamiah?
You are the image of Charles. Got your ma’s dark Spanish eyes and hair,
though.”
Initially
tentative, Jesamiah hesitated, but took the proffered hand and gripped it in a
firm handshake. “My apologies, but you are…?”
“Taylor.
Captain Malachias Taylor of the Mermaid, yonder.”
BUY LINKS
ABOUT HELEN HOLLICK
Helen Hollick moved from London in 2013 and now
lives with her family in North Devon, in an eighteenth century farmhouse
surrounded by fields and woodland. She owns variety of pets including horses,
Exmoor ponies, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks and geese.
First published in 1994 her passion now is her
pirate character Captain Jesamiah Acorne of the nautical adventure series The Sea Witch Voyages.
Helen became a USA Today bestseller with her
historical novel The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK). This is the story
of Saxon Queen Emma of Normandy. Her novel Harold the King (titled I Am The Chosen King in the US) explores the events that led to the 1066
Battle of Hastings. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy, set in the fifth century,
is widely acclaimed as a more historical version of the Arthurian legend.
She has written non-fiction books including Pirate - Truth and Tales, a book about smuggling (due to be published
2018) and Discovering the Diamond, a short advice guide for new
writers interested in self-publishing which she co-wrote with her editor Jo
Field.
Helen is published in various languages including
Turkish and Italian.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenHollick
Website: www.helenhollick.net
Newsletter: http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick
Publisher: http://sbooks.co.uk
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