Pirates and Ghosts

Nicely in time for Christmas shopping, here is the exciting new Flame Tree anthology Pirates & Ghosts.

This features my story Heavy Weather, a tale of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), in which an impecunious lieutenant gets more than he bargains for when appointed salvage master of an unmanned vessel.

As usual from this publisher it's a beautiful hardback book that anyone would be delighted to own.

I don’t know whether it’s some kind of genetic inheritance from my sailor father, who died while I was still a toddler, but I've always been fascinated by the sea, and particularly by the age of sail. 

With all our technological advantages today, the sea can still catch us out if we don’t treat it with respect. The daring of the men who challenged the sea in ships made of wood, at the mercy of wind and weather, finding their way by measuring the angle of the sun and the stars, deserves our admiration. And if the way to hear a tall tale in a dockyard tavern is to stand an ancient mariner a glass or two of rum, by my reckoning it’s cheap at the price.

Pirates & Ghosts: More Author Comment

Not long to go till publication now! In the meantime, here’s a link to the latest Q&A.

The final instalment of this year’s Author Q&As sees the Pirates & Ghosts authors sharing the tales they like best from the genre, and shedding some light on how their own stories come together in the writing process.

As ever, this latest anthology in the Gothic Fantasy collection features a selection of classic tales from the genre – from the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, W.W. Jacobs and Joseph Conrad – complementing the work of the contemporary authors in their exploration of treacherous waters and the horrors that lurk beneath…

Heavy Weather - Pirates and Ghosts Anthology

From Gilian Whitaker's blog on the Flame Tree Publishing website:

"The eerie depths of the sea form the theme of our latest short story anthology: Pirates & Ghosts.

With the publication date sailing into view, we turned to the authors to hear what inspired their stories in the collection, in the same way that the Agents & Spies discussed their story inspirations here.

Completing this year’s set of short story anthologies, Pirates & Ghosts promises a haunting mix of adventure, monsters and mystery – and the responses below help give a glimpse of what’s in store!"

Among the stories included in the anthology due out next week is my updated version of an ancient nautical legend. It goes under the title 'Heavy Weather'. I hope you'll enjoy it.

As usual with Flame Tree, the beautifully produced hardback volumes make great Christmas gifts Pirates and Ghosts is available to pre-order on their website here. 

Heavy Weather

I'm delighted to announce that my short story 'Heavy Weather' has been accepted for the forthcoming Flame Tree Publishing anthology 'Pirates and Ghosts'.

Some of my readers will know of my enthusiasm for sailing ships, and of course I'm not long back from a cruise aboard the lovely barquentine Star Flyer.

Having been, since my youth a voracious reader of nautical tales, it seems I might be able to write them too. You may remember the first podcast of my work a year or so ago when Gallery of Curiosities put out 'Last of the Spice Schooners'.

Flame Tree do produce the most beautiful hardbacks and their lovely volumes intersperse classic authors with newer names. This volume includes work by Joseph Conrad, James Fenimore Cooper, Stephen Crane, F. Marion Crawford, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Hope Hodgson, Homer, W.W. Jacobs, Rudyard Kipling, Vernon Lee, H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Middleton, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and  H.G. Wells.