(A prequel story to The Sea Witch Voyages)
By Helen Hollick
A prequel short read story to the Sea Witch Voyages of Captain Jesamiah Acorne.
When the only choice is to run, where do you run to?
When the only sound is the song of the sea, do you listen?
Or do you drown in the embrace of a mermaid?
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 Virginia 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...
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.
“Ms Hollick has skillfully picked up the threads that she alludes to in the main books and knit-ted them together to create a Jesamiah that we really didn't know.” Richard Tearle senior re-viewer, Discovering Diamonds
“Captain Jesamiah Acorne is as charming a scoundrel as a fictional pirate should be. A re-sourceful competitor to Captain Jack Sparrow!” Antoine Vanner author
“Helen Hollick has given us the answer to that intriguing question that Jesamiah fans have been aching for – how did he start his sea-going career as a pirate?” Alison Morton, author
“I really enjoyed the insight offered into Jesamiah's backstory, and found the depiction of our teenage hero very moving.” Anna Belfrage, author
“I loved this little addendum to the Jesamiah series. I always had a soft spot for the Lorelei stories and enjoyed that the author cleverly brought her over from the Rhine valley to fit into the story.” Amazon Reviewer
A DISPATCH FROM THE AUTHOR
A brief bit about the Sea Witch Voyages:
I wrote the first Voyage (Sea Witch) back in 2005 after thoroughly enjoying the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Like most avid readers, however, I wanted more than just the movie, I wanted to read something that was as entertaining and as exciting. A nautical adventure with a charming rogue of a pirate captain, written for adults (with adult content) but with a dash of supernatural fantasy as well – elements of which had made that first movie such fun to watch. I found many nautical-based novels, but they were all ‘serious stuff’ – Patrick O’Brian, Alexander Kent, C. S. Forrester ... all good reads but without the fantasy fun, and barely a female character in sight. I simply could not find the book I wanted to read. So, I wrote my own.
The first Voyage led to more books in the series, and also generated several emails from fans who wanted to know how Jesamiah had become a pirate in the first place.
When the Mermaid Sings answers that question.
EXCERPT
At Sea - December 1708
Jesamiah wandered round Captain Taylor’s cabin. It was not big, but had a higher ceiling than most ships and was at least three yards more in length than Captain Parker’s poky cabin aboard Anna. But then, Anna was a merchant ship. Every spare inch of space was essential to store cargo.
Mermaid was, a privateer. A fighting ship. To one side of the range of salt-grimed stern windows stood a magnificent wooden figurehead of a seaman. It must have weighed a great deal, for it was elm and filled the space from floor to ceiling – almost six feet, with the decking below reinforced to take the weight. Jesamiah stood admiring it. The top half of the head, from eyebrows up, was missing, but skilfully carved dark locks billowed about the clean-shaven face as if blown by a tempestuous wind. Beneath the chin, a froth of carved lace poked from a scarlet-painted coat with silver buttons. In its right hand, a pistol – a real one, although, judging by the accumulated rust and dirt, it would never fire.
“Handsome, isn’t he?” Taylor said at Jesamiah’s shoulder.
Jesamiah spun round, stifling a gasp. He hated people coming up behind him.
Not noticing, Taylor continued, “Your pa found him floating face down near the coast of Brazil, oh, years back now. I reckon he’s adorned the cabin of every ship your pa commanded.”
“So, why is it here?” Jesamiah asked.
“What? Aboard Mermaid?” Taylor laughed, a deep-throated chuckle. “Lord bless you, son, Mermaid was always your pa’s before he upgraded to that fine ship of his, La Sorenta. I was his quartermaster for…” he paused, scratched at his chin, “well, never mind for how many years. He passed her to me, made me her Captain.”
Jesamiah stared again at the figurehead’s face. “But he decided to leave it here, not move it?”
“There’s been more than one Mermaid. He got fed up with shifting the thing.”
Examining the exquisite carving more closely, Jesamiah asked, “Who is he, then?”
“Who? No idea. Your pa had it painted like this to honour Captain Morgan, but there’s a good bit of himself in that face as well.” Taylor stroked the figurehead’s arm with affection. “It was in a sorry state when we found it floating – thought it were a drowned man at first, till we pulled it from the water. Riddled with worm, rotten and dented, but we had a good carpenter aboard who repaired it well enough. I can’t rightly recall, but I’d hazard the fellow deliberately re-chiselled the face to resemble your pa.” He looked from the figurehead to Jesamiah and back again. “Aye, you’ve got the same features. Eyes are different, though. Them o’ yours are your lady mother’s eyes, God rest her.”
How I met Jesamiah Acorne (the tru-ish) story:
https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/p/how-i-met-jesamiah-acorne.html
When The Mermaid Sings
(A prequel story to The Sea Witch Voyages)
is available to purchase on Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon AU
This novel is available to read with #KindleUnlimited subscription.
Helen Hollick
First published in 1994, 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/fantasy series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She is now branching out into the quick read novella, 'Cosy Mystery' genre with her new venture, the Jan Christopher Murder 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.
Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She lives in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon, runs Discovering Diamonds, a review blog for historical fiction, and occasionally gets time to write...
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Thank you so much for hosting the blog tour for When The Mermaid Sings.
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Mary Anne
The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thank you so much for hosting a Port of Call today!
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