Something Fun and New

Posted by on June 17, 2013 in books, family, Inspiration, life, Shanghaied, writing | 0 comments

Something Fun and New

After much debate and a 20-page sampler that left my publisher wanting to see more, Shanghaied, my first book, is going to become a reality.

Think Tales of Despereaux, and Treasure Island, with a dash of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Shanghaied, a middle grade novel set in 1780 (think grade 2-6), took me 3 years to write, and in order for it to make the bookshelf it needs some serious work.

It was through Shanghaied that I discovered my passion for writing.

It is also where I learned the difference between telling a story and showing one. This is a constant challenge, as you other writers know, and it is for this reason that Shanghaied needs a major rewrite.

The story is loosely based off of stories my dad used to tell my sister and me when we sailed around Vancouver Island in our 38 foot sail boat during the summer.

He would tuck us into sleeping bags and tell us wonderful tales about an orphan named Christopher and his companion, a talking mouse.

Sometimes the plot lines followed the books he was reading and sometimes they were completely organic, but the stories were always exciting, and filled my head with swashbuckling dreams I wanted to write down.

I researched Shanghaied for over a year and took hundreds of pictures on a trip to the Caribbean so that my scenes would sound authentic. I also watched hours of videos to see how my animal characters would move, and read dozens of books about pirates.

There is a valiant Captain of a merchant sailing ship and his daughter Madison, an orphan boy Christopher, a talking mouse, pirates, a monkey named Sugar, Jamaican bats, and of course a cave full of treasure.

 

If all goes well Shanghaied will hit the shelves next summer, six months after Whisper, with Scream book 3 in the Lakeview series not far behind in January of 2015.

An old sail loft – Antigua 1778OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conch shells – Green IslandOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sandy cliffs sailing into English Harbor

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