Today's Chat with Sarah features Dan E. Hendrickson author of Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess. You won't want to miss this one, as it's an upcoming book of the month.
To view the official review, click here.
To view the book on Amazon, click here.
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1. Tell us about the first time you thought, “I should write a book.”
I was always telling story jokes in class and my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Newcomer, told me I should write a book.
2. What does success in your writing look like for you?
Walking into a public place like a bookstore or restaurant and hearing random people who I have never met talk about a story I wrote.
3. How do you deal with criticism?
Mechanical criticism I take seriously. Meaning things people find wrong with my spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. I will do my best to investigate their claims to authenticate their findings and, if they prove to be accurate, accept them with gratitude. But if they are false, then I will point it out to the one who submitted the critique. Criticisms of style, point of view, and flow, I look at and endeavor to learn from but remind myself that it is a matter of opinion and not a hard fact.
4. Let’s talk about your book Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess. Why pirates?
As a boy, I dearly loved books like Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and The Horatio Hornblower Series, by C. S. Forester. Also, I loved the movies made about these books and Errol Flynn’s Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, and Against All Flags. So, writing about that sort of thing has always been a goal of mine. But later on, as I saw exactly what pirates really were i.e. Marauders, Slavers, Cutthroats, and Vagabonds, I waited until I had an idea for a story that would not glorify them but still showed the bustling romantic side of high seas action in the Caribbean.
5. How did you do your research to make the story authentic, and how much time did you spend researching?
I bought a couple of books about the history of the Caribbean, looked up a lot of specific details about the era like Britain’s Monarch British naval structure and the overall political climate of the British Empire. Also, I investigated the abolitionist movement in the United States at the time and the political socio-economic relationship of Great Britain, The United States, and the Caribbean. Brandy, Ballad of a Pirate Princess took considerably more research to put together than my other books but was quite enjoyable to do and very educating.
6. Who’s your favorite character? Who’s your least favorite?
Of course, Brandy is my favorite character. My least favorite was probably Governor Bennets.
7. Are there any scenes you can tell us about that didn’t make it in the final copy of the book?
There were no scenes cut in this endeavor. My editor, Tom Hyman, was great about keeping all the scenes in and told me he felt they were all very essential to the story.
8. What’s next for you? More pirates? Something else?
I am working on two books right now. The first is the backstory of one of the principal characters of my The Last Enemy Series, Captain Tommy Williams. In the series and prequels he is referred to as “The Living Legend”, but it is never explained why his associates call him that and why he hates it when they do. In the book, which is titled with that name, I show from his past how he inherited that title. The next book is going to be a Historical Fiction about the Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus after his birth. That book will be called Magi Apprentice.
I like to end on some fun questions.
9. If you were a pirate, what would be your pirate's name?
Danji
10. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what book would you choose?
The Bible
11. What’s on your car radio right now?
Shrek 2 Soundtrack “I Need A Hero”
12. If you could be any animal, what would you choose and why?
A Baldheaded Eagle, soaring so high I can see everything and when I want it, just swoop down and get it.
