Books
The Pirate Lord Scoop
- I got the idea for the book while researching my Deborah Martin release, Windswept. The book Welsh Convict Women mentioned real-life American privateers capturing a convict ship full of women, which sparked my imagination. In real life, the privateers kept the ship and dumped the women on one of the Cape Verde islands, but I changed it. What can I say—I was inspired by Seven Brides for Seven Brothers to get wives for all those pirates!
- Because I needed proximity to England, I wanted to use an island in the Atlantic that hadn't been colonized, unlikely as that seemed for the 1800s. So I was thrilled to discover that Ascension Island wasn't colonized until 1815. Atlantis's flora and fauna (seemingly contradictory—temperate trees and banana trees growing together) are based on actual accounts of flora and fauna on St. Helena, not far from Ascension Island.
- Elizabeth Fry was a real English reformer (a Quaker), and she did form the Ladies' Committee that fought so hard to improve conditions on the convict ships. Read more about her here.
Inside Scoop from Characters
A Tale of Two Sisters
"Queenie was nothin’ but trouble around here. And if’n I know my sister, she don’t mind bein’ kidnapped too much if the pirates is handsome."
So says Mrs. Jack Taylor, sister to Queenie Bridges, a convict woman aboard the ill-fated Chastity. Mrs. Taylor denied reports that her sister was a "lady of the evening," though she admitted that Miss Bridges "has a liking for the gentlemen."
"Far as I’m concerned," says Mrs. Taylor, "them pirates is welcome to her." When told that the Earl of Blackmore’s stepsister may also have been taken captive, she added, "Them pirates’ll be in a fix if they got Queenie and her, too. That Miss Willis is a fire-breather, and she ain’t gonna stand by and let them do as they please."
How to Survive but Remain a Lady on a Pirate-Infested Island
by Miss Sara Willis
- Either learn to enjoy tough roast pig or offer to prepare more savory pork.
- Make your wishes known as forcefully as need be to ensure that you keep your honor, and do not be put off by sweet-talking males with ulterior motives.
- Hold on to your hair pins, if possible. Should you lose them, however, do not flaunt your unbound hair. It can draw unwanted attention from certain quarters.
- Refuse to engage in any unladylike pursuits, no matter how attractive the asker. I cannot stress this enough, as pirates can be extremely persuasive and devious in courting eligible young women.
- Do not stare when confronted with scandalous sights, such as that of a virile man at his bath in a stream.
- Avoid black mamba snakes.