Blending History, Fantasy and a bit of Piracy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite a lot of the writing I do mixes real history with fantasy as I enjoy that type of treatment of both genres. My novel The Last Seal is set in 1666 during the Great Fire of London but involves sorcery, secret societies and the odd demon.

I am delighted therefore to be hosting Helen Hollick today during the Blog Tour she is doing for her Sea Witch novels. I have read the first two and have the third packed ready for my holiday reading. You can read my review of Helen’s books a little later today on this blog so do come back.

I wanted to find out how Helen had set about writing a novel which mixed the age of piracy with fantasy. So then over to Helen. Hi there and welcome to Richard’s Ramblings, Helen.

Hello Richard, and Blog Readers, thank you for inviting me here. I am enjoying an Internet Tour with my Sea Witch Voyages – nautical historical adventure fantasy, starring Captain Jesamiah Acorne.

A few years ago, my agent (now my ex agent) wanted me to write something like Harry Potter. I wasn’t too keen. For one thing, it had already been done, and another, I write for adults. I suggested pirates instead; the first Pirates of the Caribbean Movie had only been out a few months and Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow was causing a distinct stir among a variety of age groups, especially those of us of (ahem) a mature age. I enjoyed the movie and wanted to read something with the same feel about it – as did, I discovered from the many pirate and Jack Sparrow forums and websites, a multitude of other readers – mostly female.

Sea Witch was the result. Unfortunately my agent didn’t share my enthusiasm for an adult market; she insisted I had to write it for teenage boys. I clearly saw in my mind the sort of story I wanted to write, and the audience it was aimed at. Adult fiction has more detail and I wanted some scenes to be of an adult nature. Sex and violence, I think, has no place in children’s fiction. I wanted to write Frenchman’s Creek, not Treasure Island. So my agent and I parted company and I wrote the book I wanted to read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dilemma was how much fantasy, and in what form,  to bring into it. I am well known for my serious historical fiction novels – The Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and my Saxon Novels -  A Hollow Crown and Harold the King (entitled Forever Queen and I am the Chosen King in the US)

The Sea Witch Voyages, however, were meant to be a bit of escapism from reality. I think of them as a blend of Sharpe, James Bond, Hornblower and Indiana Jones. The main plots  of the books are based on historical fact, episodes that happened in history, like the sinking of an entire Spanish Treasure Fleet and the demise of Edward Teach – Blackbeard. Glimpses of history where I can easily locate my characters – and have Jesamiah there, right in the middle of what happened.

I wanted that touch of fantasy as well though, so Jesamiah’s girlfriend (later in the series, his wife) Tiola Oldstagh (pronounced Teo-la Oldstaff) is a healer, midwife and a white witch. Not the wand-waving Harry Potter type, but the subtle use of Energy, as in the Force in Star Wars. Her name is an anagram of “all that is good”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first, on my own without an agent, I was not sure whether to have this element of fantasy – should I write as straight historical? But there are plenty of nautical books like this – Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey series, Alexander Kent, Julian Stockwin, C.S. Forrester, James L. Nelson…. I wanted to capture the essence of the first Pirates of the Caribbean Movie, the Curse of the Black Pearl. It was the unreality that appealed – the typical take with a large dose of salt sailor’s yarn tale. Magic and Mermaids. I haven’t used mermaids yet – but I have used the ethereal entity of the sea – Tethys the Goddess of the sea, and her daughter Rain. While in Voyage Three, Bring It Close Jesamiah is haunted by the ghost of his father. So I suppose you could say these novels are supernatural-based rather than fantasy. Ripples In the Sand, Voyage Four, which is half written, will be a sort of Time Slip novel, while the historical fact will centre on the Jacobean rebellion of 1719, when James III had planned on invading England with an Armada. Ideal for Jesamiah to become involved in – after all, trouble follows him like a ship’s wake.

But how much is fantasy “fantasy” and how much of it is “real” or at least perceived “real”? How many of us believe in ghosts, or that feeling of déjà vu? And every sailor I know will swear that a ship has a living soul.

Just where does the normal blend, almost seamlessly, into the paranormal?

The entire plot of Sea Witch came into my head one afternoon when I was walking on a rainy English beach on the Dorset coast. I had researched the reality of pirates because I was interested in the subject, and then I had that not very encouraging interview with my ex-agent. Despite her negativity, as soon as I had decided to write Sea Witch (yes the title came into my mind straight away) I knew exactly what I was going to write. I even saw Jesamiah on the beach. Was he real, was he a figment of my imagination? But as writers or the teller of tales, what is real anyway? We make the believable from the unbelievable – we create what appears real from the imaginary.

I was driving, thinking about a next chapter and for a split second I saw and felt myself at the helm of a ship. My hands were curled round the spokes, I could see the mast rising ahead if me, hear the wind in the rigging, the crack of the sails; feel the spindrift on my face. I pulled over, shaking. What was that? Imagination? Time slip? Some sort of recalled DNA memory? Maybe. My ancestors came from Bristol – one of the largest Sea Ports in England.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another time, I saw Jesamiah on the deck sorting through a chest of colours (flags) and I often hear his voice. Usually it’s an amused chuckle, occasionally a few words. More often that not: “Where’s the rum”?” !

So can you see now, why I was so determined to write these books how I “felt” they should be written? Is it up to an agent, publisher or editor to insist that a writer writes to order? I would have had no pleasure in writing Sea Witch for children. I have had enormous fun writing these stories for us grown ups who haven’t quite grown up yet though!

Only time, and sales, will prove my decision right or wrong.

Or that I’m nothing more than a demented scribbler!

You are welcome to visit my website www.helenhollick.net

join me on Facebook –

www.facebook.com/helen.hollick

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks Helen. I enjoyed your visit.

Do come back everyone for my review of Helen’s books this afternoon.