Selah Award Winner
In the year 1717, young Ricky finds himself aboard a ship commanded by one Stede Bonnet — a man who, by all accounts, had everything: a sugar plantation, a fortune, and a perfectly good life, complete with a porch-swing-hammock. Instead, he decided to become a pirate. (Historians have noted that this was, objectively, a terrible idea.)
As Bonnet's crew point the ship in the general direction of North America — which, to be fair, is hard to miss — they get their first real test when they stumble across a heavily armed British warship. Things quickly go sideways — then on the nose — and before long, stealing, killing, and plundering become part of the daily routine, right alongside "arguing about whose turn it is to swab the deck."
But it isn't until the crew falls under the mentorship of the legendary Blackbeard that they discover what real pirating looks like. Spoiler alert: it involves significantly more pillaging and significantly less comfort. Blackbeard, who makes every other pirate look like a mildly grumpy accountant, proceeds to educate the crew in the fine arts of seafaring terror.
Our merry band of nautical misfits then spend considerable time navigating the Caribbean and North Atlantic, dodging adversaries, surviving mutinies, and eventually — as tends to happen when Blackbeard is involved — getting themselves thoroughly marooned near "Top Sail" Inlet, just off Beaufort, North Carolina. (Beaufort has come a long way since then. They have a Dollar Or More Store now.)
Blackbeard the Pirate and Stede Bonnet's Fateful Clash delivers a rousing historical adventure that is accurate, exciting, and — despite stringent editing — actually funny. It is a pirate yarn for the ages, assuming the ages enjoy pirates.
And don't worry, parents — the Caribbean Chronicles Series contains zero sexual content, violence so mild it would barely offend a sea biscuit, and language so clean the worst thing you'll hear is "ARRR, shiver me timbers!" — which may have once been a pirate curse word, but is now generally considered a nonsensical expression used enthusiastically by people on International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th — mark your calendars, ye landlubbers). Many of these people wouldn't know their "ARRRs" from their "PPs."
Ricky admits he had to learn. "I'll tell you, it's much harder than people think."
Stay tuned. The saga continues. The pirates, unfortunately, do not.
Eddie is an award-winning author of YA fiction with a knack for crafting suspenseful mysteries and humorous adventures that captivate young readers. Known for his witty storytelling and creative world-building, Eddie is the author of The Caribbean Chronicles, a time-travel pirate fantasy adventure series, and The Caden Chronicles, a supernatural mystery series praised for their wholesome, faith-based, and humorous approach. A seasoned writer, Eddie's work has earned multiple Selah Awards for tween/teen YA fiction, the INSPY Award, and the Moonbeam Children's Book Award.Outside of writing, Eddie is a devoted father of two boys, an avid sailor, and a pirate at heart who loves to surf. Married to a girl he met at a stoplight in West Palm Beach during spring break-"a long time ago in a Ford Galaxy far, far away"-Eddie infuses a great sense of humor and imagination into everything he writes.
