Monday 29 April 2024

New and Mysterious Covers by Malgorzata Mika

We're proud to present the new covers by Malgorzata Mika for the first three volumes of "The Black Beacon Books of Mystery". The covers have been updated for the Kindle versions and will be updated for the print versions in the next few days. The first two volumes are available now and the submissions window is currently open for the third volume.



Tuesday 23 April 2024

Pirate Anthology: S.B. Watson

The Black Beacon Book of Pirates is sure to shiver your timbers when it's published on Friday the 21st of June. The Kindle version is already available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads "want to read" list today. In the meantime, to get you in the mood for a spot of swashbuckling, we’re interviewing the contributing authors.

Hi S.B.,

Why pirates?

Why pirates? Because they’re basically the coolest thing ever. Seriously, though… I’ve always loved pirate stories, pirate legends, and especially pirate history. When I was a kid, I bought a dirt-cheap paperback of Treasure Island from a grubby lady selling books out of a camper van in a Wal-Mart parking lot… no joke. That copy was so beat up and filthy it could kill by second-hand smoke. I read it every year, until it fell apart. I still have the pieces in my library. Something about the romance of that story has never quite been topped, in my humble opinion. Having the opportunity to write my own pirate story, well… Just the process felt like a guilty pleasure, let alone seeing it in a whole book of pirate tales.

Are there any pirate legends set where you live?

I live an hour away from the Oregon coast, so, the West Coast of America. The Goonies was filmed and set just a few hours north of where I live. Lost Spanish galleons, mysterious wax cuneiform tablets that wash ashore every so often, Sir Francis Drake, searchers for the fabled Northwest Passage… Oregon has a handful of spooky coastal legends.

If you were a pirate, what’s the first thing you’d do?

I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’m tempted to say I’d crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and hear the lamentation of their women… But, considering most historical pirates tended to enter the state of piracy under less-than-ideal circumstances, my first concern would be getting a serviceable ship. Having attained that, and, I’m assuming, a workable crew that wouldn’t kill me the moment my back was turned, I’d evaluate what sort of shipping I could reasonably pester. Of course, you can’t be a good pirate if you don’t have a place to store your prizes and loot, or a way of fencing it into actual wealth—a hideout or friendly port or two would need to be found. I remember reading a theory somewhere that the old Caribbean pirates were really just shrewd businessmen, who operated outside the accepted legal structure. So, set up shop, then drive my enemies before me.

Have you ever found treasure?

Not really, unless you count my wife! Thankfully she wasn’t buried when I found her, or our relationship would have been much shorter lived. I worked with a guy once who found an old doubloon while fishing out at Lincoln City. It was just sitting there, in the waves. He took it to a numismatologist, and the guy quickly authenticated it, then told him it was worthless! Apparently, period counterfeits were extremely common, so common they’re often found by beachcombers and are worth next to nothing.

What do you do when you’re not dreaming up tall tales?

Too much. I play acoustic bluegrass guitar; in the past I’ve performed at a semi-pro level. My wife and I play hardcore boardgames. Brass Birmingham, Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, and Wingspan are some of our current favorites… We also love Jamaica (keeping up the pirate theme, there). I collect books, and tend an ever-cluttered personal library (where I write). And, of course, we have five children, so I try to spend as much time with them as I can!

Where can we find you online?

I’m on X née Twitter at @SBWatsonMystery—that’s where I’m most active. I’m also on Facebook, and my website is SBWatson.com. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out and say hi!

Sunday 21 April 2024

Cover Reveal: The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts

Time to reveal the spooky cover for The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts! The cover for this anthology is provided by Meg Wright of Red Wallflower. We're thrilled to have this original and eye-catching cover for what will be a ghost story anthology unlike any other. 

This title will be released in the lead-up to Halloween, and as always, the Kindle pre-order deal will be available beforehand. 



Sally's in the Well - Sam Dawson
Effigy in Flagrante - Matthew R. Davis
The Spreading Rot - Leanbh Pearson
The Widow of Wood Forge - C. M. Saunders
The Ice Tigs - Rose Biggin
The Gospel of Abbott Wulfbald - Lawrence Harding
Red Dirt - Em Starr
The Yūrei of Old Stonybrook Lane - Michael Picco
Through a Looking Glass Darkly - Karen Keeley
Dead Angel Trail - Robert Allen Lupton
Where the Heart Is - Mike Adamson
Fiachra Conneally's Bargain - L. P. Ring
The Creeper - David Turnbull
Open Book - Cameron Trost
A Passage in Time - E. Michael Lewis

Wednesday 17 April 2024

Pirate Anthology: Michael Fountain

The Black Beacon Book of Pirates is sure to shiver your timbers when it's published on Friday the 21st of June. The Kindle version is already available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads "want to read" list today. In the meantime, to get you in the mood for a spot of swashbuckling, we’re interviewing the contributing authors.

Hi Michael,

Why pirates? 

Pirates formed a counter-culture to the aristocracy of Europe and early corporations like the British East India Company. The letter-of-marque allowed sponsors to profit from piracy when it was convenient, and disavow their actions as needed. The War of Spanish Succession stranded thousands of privateers on the beach and it’s no surprise when they took to piracy. There are personalities who lived by constitutional articles of agreement, like Black Bartholomew Roberts or Ben Hornigold, as well as murderous psychopaths like Ned Low or Henry Every. Toss in Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, Edward Teach, or Henry Morgan blowing up his own ship while deep in drink, and you’ve got yourself a story.

Are there any pirate legends set where you live? 

On the Great Lakes it’s mostly timber pirates and rum runners, wool caps and mackinaws, so any attempt at swashbuckling or bodice ripping is best committed indoors. Roaring Dan Seavey is the only man formally charged with piracy on the Great Lakes, by which I mean he’s the only one who got caught. Liked to set up false lights to lure ships into shallow waters, and if that didn’t work he had a cannon on board. Debauched the crew of the Nellie Johnson, threw them overboard, and sailed to Chicago. Stole loads of venison and booze, thus the primordial Yooper. King Strang of Beaver Island led a religious cult, stole from the locals, set fire to sawmills, and got himself elected to the Michigan legislature before someone shot him in the back. It’s telling that no one thought to warn him. Our most successful pirate was John Jacob Astor, who made his wealth with a monopoly on Great Lakes fur and drug running into China. Made a large enough fortune to be promoted from opium pirate to entrepreneur in the history books.

If you were a pirate, what’s the first thing you’d do?

Run up the black flag and draw up a list of targets. 

Have you ever found treasure? 

Anyone who would answer that question is not a professional.

What do you do when you’re not dreaming up tall tales?

Don’t know what they told you but it’s a damned lie.

Where can we find you online? 

Get the scoop on Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Greek democracies at teacherspayteachers.com; Trojan War Confidential from Brooklyn Publishers; short pieces in anthologies like Uncommon Minds, with a couple of novels on the way.

Friday 12 April 2024

Pirate Anthology: Paulene Turner

The Black Beacon Book of Pirates is sure to shiver your timbers when it's published on Friday the 21st of June. The Kindle version is already available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads "want to read" list today. In the meantime, to get you in the mood for a spot of swashbuckling, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. 

Hi Paulene,

Why pirates?

A good question, me hearty. What is the lure of pirates? Be it the peg legs and eye patches? No. Be it the long boots and gold earrings? Maybe. Be it the freedom of a life on the sea, sailing wherever the wind takes you. Aye, aye, Captain, that be it!

Are there any pirate legends set where you live?

I came across a legend recently (in my book, Black Tides, book 4 of The Time Travel Chronicles, set in the pirate era). Of Captain Morales, a Spanish pirate, who intercepted a ship belonging to a Mughal emperor. In its hold was the wealth of India, including a pink diamond, the size of a fist. As soon as he saw the shimmering pink stone, Morales fell under its spell. He wanted to possess it and not share it with his crew. So, one night, he called for the ship’s rum casks to be opened to celebrate and when all the men had passed out drunk, he rowed to a nearby beach and buried the stone, hastily making a map so he could return one day and reclaim it. At the first port, he gave the map to an illiterate man to keep until he passed by again. But his fear he’d never hold it again put him in a dark mood. He got into a fight with a man at a tavern was killed. The map and the illiterate man were never found. So the treasure is still out there, on a beach in the Caribbean, awaiting an adventurous child with a spade and a touch of pirate spirit to dig it up.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you were a pirate?

I’d put on one of those fantastic tricorn hats and say "Arrrrgh!"

Have you ever found a treasure?

I have found some beautiful shells on Sydney’s beaches, and a few deadly blue-ringed octopus. But no treasure…except my husband, who is a treasure to me! (Editors note: This calls for an "Awww!" rather than an "Arrrrgh!")

What do you do when you’re not dreaming up tales?

At the moment, I’m mid-way through releasing my six-book series The Time Travel Chronicles, about two Aussie teens who travel through history in a time machine. It took me over a decade to write, the characters visited five different historical settings (including one pirate setting) and telling the tale took over 500,000 words. I released three books in 2023 and the final three will come out in the second half of 2024! So I’m a very busy woman and spend my days editing, editing, editing. And making book promos on my favourite digital tool—Canva!

You can find Paulene Turner wreaking havoc in these waters:

https://pauleneturnerwrites.com/

https://twitter.com/PauleneTurner

https://www.instagram.com/pauleneturnertimetraveller/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100028127063681

Saturday 6 April 2024

Pirate Anthology: Lawrence Dagstine

The Black Beacon Book of Pirates is sure to shiver your timbers when it's published on Friday the 21st of June. The Kindle version is already available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads "want to read" list today. In the meantime, to get you in the mood for a spot of swashbuckling, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. 

Hi Lawrence,

Why pirates?

I think pirate tales are some of the most fascinating when it comes to historical fiction. Even the early explorers, like Columbus and Magellan employed some pirates. Their expeditions, the buccaneers who swabbed the decks, handled the masts, sailed for armadas to deliver spices in exchange for raw materials or silks, those who steered for uncharted isles only to find treasure (or find an early demise). It could be said that the pirate is an adventurer unlike any other. So when you follow their voyage you are experiencing firsthand what they saw. You’re living what they lived, only out at sea. You’re going out on their adventure, no matter the genre.

Are there any pirate legends set where you live?

Not that I am aware of. I find the Golden Age of Piracy particularly intriguing. Of course you have legends like Blackbeard. Everybody’s heard of him. The 1600s and 1700s are most interesting, I find.

If you were a pirate, what’s the first thing you’d do?

Sail for some uncharted isle. Have my principal officers or lackeys set up camp there. If I liked the region a lot, maybe live out my life there.

Have you ever found treasure?

No. The closest I’ve come to finding treasure is using one of those metal detectors when I was younger to locate old coins on a Long Island beach.

What do you do when you’re not dreaming up tall tales?

Writing science fiction (with a dash of science fact). Faraway planets and other galaxies are terribly interesting to me. There’s so much out there among the stars, just waiting to be discovered. I like drawing. Occasionally relaxing to a nice fantasy or dark fantasy role-playing game. I even collect comic books. I am a man of many hobbies.

Where can we find you online?

I have a website of close to twenty years, where you can find my fiction work past and present, that’s at: www.lawrencedagstine.com I’m also on Twitter (which is my primary social media): www.twitter.com/ldagstine I’m on LinkTree for art and literature: www.linktree.com/lawrencedagstine