Category: Middle Grade (Page 7 of 17)

Happy Book Birthday to PIRATE ISLAND!!!

October 17, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s been a very long time since I was able to celebrate a book birthday. ELIXIR BOUND first released over five years ago (see how I celebrated that release here). So I’m very, very, very excited to say that I have a new book out today. Welcome to the world PIRATE ISLAND!!!

This is the book I wrote in the hangover period after writing my first book. I needed to write something that felt very different, so I went with a middle grade story from a boy’s point of view. It was an exercise in voice. It was a nod to the legends and stories I had heard about the little island off the coast of my own hometown that may or may not have pirate treasure buried on it (see the Charles Island wiki page for more on the real island…though I’ll be sharing more about it here as well). It was something of an homage to the complicated life of Captain William Kidd (see the blog series on #CaptainKiddHistory for more about him). When I decided to self-publish the book, it became a whole lesson on that process.

I had a lot of fun researching both the island and Kidd’s life while I wrote PIRATE ISLAND. I had a really hard time figuring out the best way to start the book, and a sort of hard time discovering the right voice for it. Even though it’s “finished” (as in it’s out there being read by people and such), I’m not sure I got either of those things right, but I know I at least got them almost right.

So here’s the nitty-gritty on my book baby PIRATE ISLAND. (Much love to anyone who shares the image above to help spread the word about it!)

Buy it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or where ever you like to buy books (if your local bookstore doesn’t have it in stock, they can order it for you). You can also put in a request to your local library to order it so you can borrow it from them. I’m also running a Goodreads giveaway for a signed copy of it. And in case you haven’t read the blurb yet, here it is:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

For centuries, the whereabouts of Captain William Kidd’s lost pirate treasure has remained a mystery. When Billy’s best friend, Andy, proposes they look for it on nearby Pirate Island, Billy thinks it’s just another one of their crazy adventures. It’s usually Billy who ends up in trouble as a result, but he goes along for the ride…like always. The more he delves into the life and death of Kidd, the more he thinks the treasure is real and that it might be buried on the small island in Long Island Sound. Billy—nope, call him William—becomes obsessed with the captain of the same first name. He even believes he’s possessed by Kidd’s restless soul. Now he and the spirit of a long-dead pirate are leading the crazy adventure on Pirate Island. And what they find is far bigger than the treasure they imagined.

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution #CaptainKiddHistory

October 9, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

Here is the final installment of #CaptainKiddHistory. These historical tidbits about Captain William Kidd are told by Billy, the main character of my upcoming middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND. Billy discovered and wrote down these tidbits while doing research to find Kidd’s lost treasure but before he actually looked for it on Pirate Island. Let’s give a big welcome to Billy!

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

by Billy Bonny

Credit: public domain, artist unknown.
Billy’s comment: You know you were curious about what gibbeting looked like!

On July 6, 1699, knowing that he was wanted for piracy, Captain Kidd went to Boston thinking that Lord Bellomont (the one guy who got him into the whole privateering mess) was going to grant him clemency—meaning Kidd would likely be shown mercy for the charges against him. Instead, he was thrown in jail, along with his wife, though she was released because she was completely innocent. After keeping Kidd in terrible prison conditions in Boston for over a year, the coward Bellomont turned on Kidd, sending him to England and saving his own butt in the process.

Kidd was then imprisoned in Newgate Prison until his trial. It was only at his trial that he learned he was being tried for murdering William Moore (see my entry “September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident”) in addition to piracy. Key evidence to support Kidd, including the French papers that showed the Quedagh Merchant was legal for him to seize (see my entry “1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy”). As I see it—as do other historians—Kidd’s trial was a sham from the start, and he was to be the fallout guy for all pirates so the English government could say they were doing something against piracy.

May 23, 1701 is the sad, sad date when Captain Kidd was executed in England. The rope broke after the first attempt at hanging him, which was usually taken as a sign from God that the guilty party was meant to live. Kidd’s former business partners, the ones who hired and backed him as a privateer, obviously had something to hide. They wanted Kidd dead so badly that he was strung back up and successfully executed on the second try.

His body was gibbeted on the Thames River for three years as a way to discourage others from becoming pirates. Many years later, missing evidence turned up that put into question Kidd’s guilt of piracy. I am among those who maintain he wasn’t a true pirate.

The full list of #CaptainKiddHistory posts by Billy Bonny:

January 1654? – A Legend is Born

1688 to 1689 – Mutineer and Captain

1690 to 1695 – The Archenemy and the Wife

December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

Now available for pre-order! Get it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, IndieBound, and many other of your favorite book sellers.

Event Announcement: Indie Author Day at the Norwalk Public Library

October 2, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

So by now most of you know that I have a book coming out soon (since I’ve been talking about it ad nauseam here!), my middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND. The paperback and e-book are available for pre-order on all the major book selling sites. And while it doesn’t officially release until October 17, I will have copies for sale at Indie Author Day at the Norwalk Public Library!

The event is on Saturday, October 14 and

will feature 40 authors, live readings, SELF-e demos by the librarians, refreshments, and book sales. I’ll be reading a selection from PIRATE ISLAND at 1:00 p.m. and hanging around for the afternoon, though it goes the full day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In addition to paperbacks of PIRATE ISLAND, I’ll be selling ELIXIR BOUND paperbacks as well. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for readers and authors alike!

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure #CaptainKiddHistory

September 25, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

Here is the next installment of #CaptainKiddHistory. These historical tidbits about Captain William Kidd are told by Billy, the main character of my upcoming middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND. Billy discovered and wrote down these tidbits while doing research to find Kidd’s lost treasure but before he actually looked for it on Pirate Island. Let’s give a big welcome to Billy!

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

by Billy Bonny

Credit: Doc Seals via flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/285538232/ Image of Gardiners Island
Billy’s comment: I’ve spent a good deal of time staring at pictures of a different island. Bet you can’t guess its name!

If you think I’m crazy for believing that Captain Kidd could have buried treasure (not pirate treasure because Kidd wasn’t a pirate—see my entry “December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate”) on a tiny island in Long Island Sound, I wouldn’t blame you…knowing you probably haven’t done the research. The proof of me not being crazy was found on Gardiners Island, a small island off the coast of East Hampton, NY, where Kidd really did bury some of his loot.

The stash included gold dust, silver bars, Spanish coins, rubies, diamonds, candlesticks, and porringers (shallows bowls with small, decorative handles). He also gave Mrs. Gardiner a gold cloth and a sack of sugar. Apparently, sugar was really valuable at the time, which is crazy when you think about how much sugar is in one can of mine and Andy’s favorite energy drink. And we buy those pretty cheap at the grocery store.

When Mr. Gardiner was ordered by the government to turn over the treasure as evidence against Kidd, one diamond somehow remained in Gardiner’s possession, which he ended up giving to his daughter. Sketchy stuff if you ask me, but nobody ever charged Mr. Gardiner with a crime.

In this time period, Kidd spent 20 days roaming the waters of Long Island Sound. If he had treasure in addition to what he buried on Gardiners Island, this would have been a great time to unload it. Just saying!

The full list of #CaptainKiddHistory posts by Billy Bonny:

January 1654? – A Legend is Born

1688 to 1689 – Mutineer and Captain

1690 to 1695 – The Archenemy and the Wife

December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

Now available for pre-order! Get it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, IndieBound, and many other of your favorite book sellers.

Celebrating International Talk Like A Pirate Day

September 19, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (see the origins of this auspicious occasion here)! With a book called PIRATE ISLAND coming out in less than a month (Eeeek! Less than a month!) was there any doubt that I’d be celebrating?

Billy, the main character in PIRATE ISLAND, and his best friend, Andy, naturally enjoy talking like pirates. Andy even has a book that tells you how to talk like a pirate (and, I might also have a book like that as well–it’s called The Pirate Primer 😉 ).

For your entertainment, here are some of Billy’s and Andy’s favorite pirate talk and insults:

Get yeeself to the poop deck and fetch me some grog.

I’ll squeeze yer squeezy cheese-head off yer body.

There is more of life in me little finger than in all yee carcass.

Yee be a bilge-sucking, cutthroat tarrmagant.

Why don’t ya use yarr swivel-tongued mouth ter scrape thee barnacles off thee poop deck.

Yarr a hen-hearted curmudgeon.

And finally here’s a lovely toast from Billy himself:

To success on arr ventures. To fortunate preeceedin’s an’ gooder friendship. Let us drain a garrblet, clink cannerkin an’ toss a pot ter thar great makees of Chinese grub. Drink arrp, me hearties, yo ho!

Happy International Talk Like Pirate Day! Arrrgghh!