I’ve
always been fascinated by the idea of female pirates. When looking for tales of
powerful women throughout history, there is a surprising amount of inspiration
to be found among the legends of Anne Bonny, Grace O’Malley, Mary Read and
Ching Shih. Where so many other trades, institutions and dynasties are
distinctly lacking in female presence, these powerful women ruled the sea and
the world. Navies kowtowed to them as swiftly as their enemies and history
remembered their names.
Of
course, these women were cutthroat, make no mistake of that. They killed and
destroyed and stole and pillaged, just like any good pirate should. This is not
to make light of the violence that pirates and seafaring vagabonds created in
the Golden Age of Piracy. They were dangerous.
But,
to a young woman, a young girl, even, who got the watered down version of the
world’s greatest friendship between Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who understood,
in a visceral way, that these women were ahead of their time, female pirates
are important. Because three hundred years after the Golden Age ended, we are
still facing an unequal world. Women may no longer be traded for dowry of sheep
in the Western world, but we face violence and discrimination every single day.
Just look at the last five days of news, if you need any proof.
And
in a world that was worse for women, these dangerous, wild, angry women, they
bucked the system. To twist a modern turn of phrase, make ‘em walk the
plank, if they can’t take a joke. They abandoned their statuses, refused
marriage and inspired the young feminist in me to say that if you don’t like
the way that society is treating you, make your own damn rules.
Such
was my inspiration for Catalina Sol, the pirate-esque heroine of my recent
release, Heart and Dagger. While not as extreme as the like of Ching and
Grace – she is skilled with a sword and knows when not to use it, Catalina has
fled life in England, an undoubtedly abusive marriage, and the rules of society
that demand she behave as a proper lady. Instead, she creates her own rules,
and in doing so opens up respite for women, children and even men that society
has forgotten.
I’ve
always wanted to be a pirate queen. The lore and myth surrounding life at sea
is vast and full of imagination, and the very idea of somehow mastering the
great monster of ocean – or coming to an unlikely peace with it – is appealing.
As is the aesthetic of britches, boots and undone silk shirts. But, of course,
the reality is that being a pirate or a woman of the era would have been much
more than simply difficult. Being both puts you in the history books. (Not to
speak of the stench aboard a pirate ship.)
So
no, I’m unlikely to commandeer a ship, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid,
pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasley black guts out.
But I can
be a pirate queen of today. Catalina helped those who had no place to go in a
time when women had no recourse, no opportunities. At the risk of sounding
maudlin, there are many days when it feels as though our rights and liberties
and opportunities are taken from us. So forget the swords, forget the ships,
forget the fancy white shirts with the fluffy bits on the cuffs. I’ll make my
stand for women all over the world today. I’ll be a pirate queen when I fight
for Planned Parenthood, equal pay for equal work and respect for stay at home
mothers. I’ll be a pirate queen when we march in the streets, demanding rights
to our own bodies, demanding opportunities in the STEM sector, demanding that
we get taken seriously.
Times
have changed. It does not take four months to sail the ocean blue on new
adventures. You cannot lose yourself in the wilds of America and leave your
life behind. No, women are not still sold to the highest bidder, at least, not
where I am from.
But our
fight isn’t over, not by a long shot. And with a crew full of pirate sisters
and brothers on my side, I look forward to entering the fray.
Heart and Dagger,
The Ships in the Night Series
(Book 1)
Historical Romance
Holland Rae
Blurb:
Lady Charlotte
Talbot hasn’t seen Armand Rajaram de Bourbon, her oldest childhood friend and
once betrothed, since his family returned to India when she was fifteen. Since
then, she has left a groom at the altar, changed her name to Catalina Sol,
opened a house for unwed mothers and orphans, and captained a ship, the
Liberté, crewed by the best fighters in the Spanish Main. She’s no longer the
lady he left behind, not that she’d admit to wishing he’d return.
When Armand’s
brother is kidnapped, he breaks his rule of never engaging with pirates. But
desperation drives him to the Liberté and a life he thought he’d left far
behind. He’d do anything to save Henri, but Armand never expected to find
Charlotte here, and now that’s he’s found her, he doesn’t have a clue what to
do about it.
Together, they
must face kidnapping, pirate captains, blackmail, and themselves. The Liberté
may sail thousands of miles from the shores of England, but that might not be
far enough to escape the past.
Buy Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Dagger-Ships-Night-Holland-ebook/dp/B0767LFT57/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5361-heart-and-dagger.html?search_query=heart+and+dagger&results=2
Author Bio:
Holland Rae is the author of
several works of erotic and romantic fiction in both the contemporary and
historical genres, and enjoys pushing the limits of freedom, feminism, and fun
in her stories. She has been an avid writer for many years, and recently
moved back to her home state of New Jersey from Boston, after completing her
education in journalism and creative writing.
In her free time, she loves to
travel, and spent a semester abroad living in a 14th century castle in the
Netherlands. When not exploring the world, she likes dreaming up stories,
eating spicy food, driving fast cars, and talking to strangers.
Find her on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HollandRae/
Excerpt
“Like you, Armand?” she asked him. Her voice had reached an
even tone, with no emotion evident, and that was far more terrifying than her
angered yelling. Like him. He could have been her husband these years
now, had he ever written back, had he not turned himself away from everything
London and Paris were to him. He had been a coward and fool.
And yet, the knowledge did not serve to calm his temper in
the slightest. Instead, he nearly ground his teeth to dust, as she continued
her even speech.
“I have never needed a man to care for me,” she said, her
gaze so full of disdain, Armand felt himself growing smaller in the wake of it.
“I have never needed anyone to care for me.” This time, when she spoke, there
was no denying the sadness that filtered through her words, or the expression
in her eyes, and Armand felt his own grief in it, felt his own sadness as it
mirrored hers.
“Why are you trying to change me?” she asked him. He knew
he needed to back down, knew that if he spoke right at this moment, as this
woman stood before him in her britches, then he would regret it forever. He
knew all these things, and yet the anger seemed to consume him, anger, fear,
sadness.
“It’s about time someone tried.”
He watched her finish dressing and leave without another
word, but there was no denying the pain he saw in those beautiful eyes, and he
felt all the hurt he had caused her as acutely as if someone had dug a knife
into his very own body. Of course he didn’t want to change her, not the
glorious laughter that exposed her long stretch of beautiful neck, not the way
she treated the world’s misfits, offering them love and joy, so much more than
just clothing and food. There was not a single thing in the world he would
change about Catalina Sol.
He stopped short, eyes still wide upon the doorway through
which she had only just left. If he didn’t want to change her, then why had he
said so? Why had he said the one thing he knew would hurt her more than all the
rest?
Because she had done the same.
She hadn’t even said no, hadn’t even rejected him in a way
that stood to break him, but as Armand stood in Catalina’s chamber all alone,
he realized he hadn’t proposed out of honor. He hadn’t suddenly developed the
sense of responsibility that had forsaken him all those years ago.
He had proposed because he wanted to marry her. The thought
was like a knife turning in his belly, and it sent a shard of new pain through
his temple.
He had wanted to marry her.
As she had lain in the morning sunshine, her hair spread
around her, that delicious glow upon her skin, Armand had believed it his duty
to marry Catalina, but it hadn’t been his duty. It hadn’t been his
responsibility. It had been his desire.
And then she had laughed, had laughed and thrown his
betrayal of their once future in his face, and Armand hadn’t understood why he
had been so angry. But he understood now, he knew exactly what had driven him
to say the words he knew would bring her to her knees. Because she had brought
him to his knees and Armand Rajaram de Bourbon, earl, comte, somewhere
in line for an Indian princehood, didn’t like the sensation one bit.
