Sea Witch Blog Tour: Guest Post by author Helen Hollick + GIVEAWAY

 

Readers of this blog know what a HUGE fan of author Helen Hollick's I am and so I can't be more thrilled to welcome her to Passages to the Past today as part of her Sea Witch Voyages Virtual Blog Tour!  Helen has written a fabulous guest post about how the Sea Witch series came to be and I also have an opportunity for a lucky reader to win their choice of one of the Sea Witch books.

To follow Helen on her tour, please click HERE to see the other stops on her tour.  Thanks to Helen Hollick for being on Passages to the Past!  It's always an honor to have one of my idols drop by for a visit!

Take it away Helen...

I am delighted to be invited aboard Passages to the Past as part of my Sea Witch Voyages Tour – thank you Amy for the friendly welcome. I’m not sure if my pirate, Captain Jesamiah Acorne, is as welcome though; he is rather in need of a bath and I have to keep the rum hidden….

I met Jesamiah for the first time on a rain-swept English beach. My (now ex) agent had wanted me to write something other than historical fiction – this was several years ago when historical novels were falling out of fashion (temporarily, I’m glad to say!) She wanted me to write fantasy – I did not object to that, but her idea of a Harry Potter look-alike was not very appealing.

“What about a pirate novel?” I suggested.

The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie had been out for some months, and “Jack Sparrow” was almost a household word.

I was thrilled at the idea of writing an adventure fantasy book, for the simple reason that I had been searching for something to read in the same vein as The Curse of the Black Pearl: a sexy protagonist, a beautiful woman for love interest; swashbuckling adventure on the High Seas – and a touch of believable fantasy. Trouble was, although there were plenty of “straight” nautical fiction such as Hornblower and Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey novels there was nothing that matched the fun of P.O.C. – or the sex-appeal of Captain Sparrow. So I decided to write the book I wanted to read.

I researched the subject – the real story of the Golden Age of Piracy – and while on vacation in Dorset, thought up my plot.

The ideas flooded into my mind as I walked, it was truly like opening a door into another world and seeing everything I needed to create an exciting story. I had my ship – Sea Witch, storms at sea, treasure, daring pirate raids – and I had my lead female, Tiola Oldstagh (pronounced Teo-la Oldstaff) Her name is an anagram of ‘all that is good’ and I thought it up while walking along that drizzly, deserted beach. She was to be a healer, a midwife, and a white witch. Not the Harry Potter wand-waving kind, more a Wising Woman, along the idea of the Force in Star Wars.

I had all I needed, except my hero charmer of a rogue.

I sat on a rock and imagined that the sullen, grey English Channel was the sparkling blue of the Caribbean. I looked up. And there he was, standing a few yards away. His boots brushed by the white-foamed surf, his buckram long coat blowing in the wind revealing the pistol thrust through his waist band, and the cutlass at his hip. He had black, shoulder length curly hair, and I could see the glint of a gold earring that was shaped like an acorn. 

He smiled and raised his hand; touched his fingers to his tricorn hat.

“Hello Jesamiah Acorne.” I said.

And I swear all that is true!

I wrote like fury for the next couple of months, unable to stop, pouring my heart and soul into Jesamiah’s story. The more I unravelled about him, the more I fell in love with him.

Glowing with excitement – sure I had a winner on my hands - I sent the finished manuscript to my agent and was shattered to hear that she hated it. It turned out that, for some reason, she had been expecting a story for teenage boys. She did not understand that the world was full of grown-ups (especially us (ahem) ‘mature’ ladies) who wanted to read exciting, romantic, novels about pirates and lovable rogues.

I did not want to turn Sea Witch into a children’s novel; I had very clearly written it for adults, so my agent and I parted company. Simultaneously she informed me that Random House UK were not going to reprint my back list. Devastated, I sobbed for two weeks, then found a small publisher for all my books, and Sea Witch set sail.

I have hit several rough seas since then, and some good following winds. Sourcebooks Inc in the US picked up my serious historical fiction (The Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy, Forever Queen (entitled A Hollow Crown in the UK) and I am the Chosen King (Harold the King in the UK). I learnt recently that Forever Queen has made it into the US Today bestseller list!

Unfortunately, this February, my small UK mainstream company succumbed to the financial recession. With three Sea Witch Voyages written and my passion for Jesamiah as glowing as ever, I decided, rather than fall out of print, to self publish with SilverWood Books here in the UK – knowing that Jesamiah would then also be available world wide through Amazon.

So here I am telling you how I was swept off my feet by Jesamiah Acorne, an unkempt charmer of a dashing rogue, who is a blend of Jack Sparrow, Sharpe, Hornblower and Indiana Jones all rolled into one, and who is as real to me as any of the best fictional characters.

I hope you grow to like him and enjoy his Voyages aboard the Sea Witch as much as I do!

There are three at present, with a fourth under way. I intend to write at least six – possibly more!

Sea Witch - Voyage One

Pirate Code - Voyage Two

Bring it Close - Voyage Three

Ripples in the Sand - Voyage Four (expected publication Winter 2011/12)

You are welcome to visit my WEBSITE | join me on FACEBOOK |or come aboard the Sea Witch Facebook page

The Sea Witch Trilogy Book Trailer...

About Helen Hollick...

Helen was born in North East London, England, and started writing pony stories as a young teenager. She moved onto science fiction and fantasy and then discovered the delight of writing historical fiction.

Published in the UK and the US with her books about King Arthur and the 1066 Battle of Hastings, Helen also writes a series of historical adventure seafaring books inspired by her love of the Golden Age of Piracy.

Helen still lives on the outskirts of London with her husband, Ron, adult daughter Kathy and a variety of pets, including a dog, a cat, and three horses.

Main Website: http://www.helenhollick.net

Muse and Views Blog: http://www.helenhollick.blogspot.com

Monthly Journal: http://www.helenhollick.net/journal.html

Blog profile: http://www.acorne.blogspot.com

Picture Diary Blog: http://helenhollicksdiarydates.blogspot.com

Guest Page: http://helen-myguests.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick

Twitter: http://twitter.com/HelenHollick

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

Giveaway is for your choice of one of the three Sea Witch books, please make sure to note in your comments which book you would like to win.

- To enter, please leave a comment below and include your email address (only comments with email addresses will be entered in the giveaway).

- Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY!

- For +5 additional entries become a follower of Passages to the Past. If you are already a follower you will automatically receive the bonus entries. 

- For +3 additional entries join the Passages to the Past FB Page.

- For +1 additional entry each, please help spread the word by blogging, posting on sidebar, tweeting or posting this giveaway on Facebook.  You can use the SHARE buttons below.

- Giveaway ends on July 17th.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!