I'm a bit behind on announcing this, but life sometimes gets in the way.
On November 4th, the 8th Jezebel Johnston book, subtitled REVELATION, was released by Airship 27. Here is the press release for that.
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTION
Presents
JEZEBEL JOHNSTON Vol 8 - Revelation
Airship 27 is proud to announce the release of the 8th chapter of writer Nancy Hansen’s pirate queen saga; “Jezebel Johnston – Revelation.” In India, employed by the Maratha Warlord Shivaji, Jezebel Johnston directs the captured ship Mastiff in its battle against a superior British warship and wins the contest. To show his gratitude, Shivaji frees the mulatto pirate and her two friends, dancer Zuri and African warrior Amaka, while granting them whatever they desire. Though her companions only wish for their freedom, Jez request the ship and its captured crew.
Using her learned manipulative skills, she quickly gains the trust of the sailors representing mixed nationality and soon is sailing westward back to the Caribbean and her home in Tortuga. Little does she realize what she will find there and the challenges it pose to her new career as a Pirate Captain. Once again writer Nancy Hansen delivers a taut wonderfully realized story of high adventure with a cast of truly remarkable characters you won’t soon forget.
Award winning Airship 27 Production Art Director Rob Davis provides both the interior illustrations and the dazzling cover of Jezebel in action.
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/1953589138/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Jezebel+Johnston+Revelation&qid=1636029078&s=books&sr=1-1)
And take a gander at that gorgeous cover by house artist, Rob Davis. Rob also did all 9 interior illustrations in the book, and believe me, they are top-notch.
This book has all of the action, adventure, drama, and twists that the rest of the series has, and for now it's the concluding tale of Jez's adventures in the East Indies. She has moved through the other three novels in this part of the series (DANSEUSE paperback & Kindle, SISTERS OF VENGEANCE, and MASTIFF) from coming into the area as a spy and being abandoned ashore in India and taken prisoner as a slave, to fighting her way to freedom by agreeing to help a local Maratha warlord (Shivaji Bhonsale, a historical figure) capture a treasure barge. Again it is Jez's unique skills as a pirate and her natural charisma, as well as being young woman of color who is always up to a challenge that make her able to pull off the things she does. And she is no Mary Sue, for she often has to fumble her way through a situation, learning as she goes. She's one of the best characters I've ever written, and one that seems to resonate with a lot of people. These books are pure adventure as well, and I don't pull any punches with the gritty, gory details of the pirate life as well as the social, political, and economic backdrop. Even when you're not out on the account, life in these times can be hard and short. Yet the sea offers Jez the freedom to be whomever she wants to be, though she often gets herself into trouble and continually butts heads with convention. These books will not disappoint you if you're looking for a rollicking sea adventure with characters you will learn to admire or despise. One of the things that I have not done with the series is use the archaic Early Modern English language of the era. So you're not going to read through a ton of 'thees' and 'thous', which I would find tedious even as a reader. I do pepper in some foreign words and phrases to give the feeling of the multi-lingual melting pot these early colonial places were. But it's not overdone. Just enough for a bit of flavor.
You know after writing eight of these books, I've settled into historical fiction pretty well for someone who was at one time primarily a fantasy author. It's not that I've left the fantasy behind, I still write plenty of that. I just decided from the beginning that if I was going to write about pirates, I wanted a factual slant without all the bizarre creatures and magical happenings. I'll leave that to the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which I do enjoy watching. I also haven't included a lot of the better know pirates, because they tend to overshadow your own cast. That is why I chose the Age of Buccaneers (roughly the early-mid 1600s) rather than the more commonly known Golden Age (about 1690ish onward into the 1700s). The pirates of this earlier era were less well known but they set the stage for the more ostentatious and over-the-top tales that came later. It's sort of similar to the difference between Mountain Men and Cowboys in the old American West. Everybody knows a cowboy tale, but the mountain men remain sort of a elusive entity, mostly because of their reclusive nature. There is some crossover with the two types of western adventurers, and as I get later into this pirate series, you will see that with the pirates as well. An older and more established Jez will still be active out there as the Golden Age pirates begin to gain notoriety. Her reaction to their rather too-obvious flamboyant lifestyles will be interesting. I don't do a lot of advance plotting, but I know where I want this series to go, and so I have some vague but pervasive ideas about scenarios for the future.
Starting right after the holidays I will be picking away at Jezebel Johnston Book #9, which will pick up where this one leaves off, back in the Caribbean. I've been ruminating on how to get Jez through the problems she faced at the end of REVELATION, and I'm pretty sure I know what I want to do. The next four books will also have a story arc of their own, it's something I've been setting up all along. I had originally promised Airship 27 head honcho Ron Fortier at least 12 books, but I think I can probably find enough incentive to do 16. That's a healthy size for a series, but Jez and her world have grown on me, and I'd like to see her through to a comfortable ending. While it was rare for pirates to live long enough to retire with the dangers of the lifestyle and the ruggedness of the times they lived in, there have been a few documented to have made it to a reasonable old age. A handful were even reported to retire. We shall see where the muse takes me on this one.
So stay tuned folks, there will be more to come where this story leaves off. I'm far from done with pirating tales. Who knows, even later on, Jez might pop up in the occasional short story. Sometimes it's hard to let go of a good character, they tend to become like family.
Writing onward,
~NANCY
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