Hi S.B.,
Why pirates?
Have you ever found treasure?
Where can we find you online?
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.
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
It's time for an apparition! Yes, we can now summon forth the table of contents for The Black Beacon Book of Ghost Stories, due out in time for Halloween 2024. This is going to be a big book with things that go bump on every page! The original cover art is on its way...
Our timbers are thoroughly shivered here at Black Beacon Books! We're thrilled to announce the table of contents and the publication date for our next anthology, The Black Beacon Book of Pirate Tales!
A huge thank you to all the authors who submitted their work for consideration. For such a niche theme, the response was fantastic, and we're honoured to have brought together so much talent for yet another gripping anthology. Congratulations to the authors who made the grade and a big thank you again to Daniele Serra for the spectacular cover art.
Are you ready to walk the plank?
When: Friday the 21st of June
Who: Check it out!