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| Captain Sinister's Lady |
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| by Darlene Marshall |
Review by Rogue Lurker
When I picked up Darlene Marshall's Captain Sinister's Lady
to review, I hadn't read a historical romance for a number of years and wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised
at how much I enjoyed this book and it reminded me of why I loved reading the genre years ago. This was the perfect book to
sit by the pool and relax and immerse myself in a fun, romantic and enjoyable story.
Amanda Stephenson is a young widow who is determined to make her own way after
her husband's passing. The descendant of a number of strong willed and industrious women, Amanda packs up all she owns and
sets off to America to make her own way, planning to set up her business in the New World where her husband's unseen relatives
have agreed to take her in while she starts her business. As expected, her plans go awry when the ship she is travelling on
falters and Captain's Sinister's crew boards the vessel to claim salvage. One things leads to another and Amanda finds herself
on the Captain's ship as he extends his own travels in order to woo the vivacious young woman. From ship to deserted island
to Savannah to Florida to Key West , their romance blooms and the historical aspect weaves in and out nicely, providing an
interesting backdrop to the character development and lots of action for the plot.
The story starts fast with Amanda and the dread pirate, Captain Sinister,
meeting in the first chapter and I found myself riveted to the story as it galloped from there. There are plenty of exotic
settings, intrigues and plot twists to keep things moving at a steady and satisfying pace, never lagging, but also giving
the characters time to develop and interact. The characters themselves are extremely engaging and they don't fall into romance
stereotypes. Amanda is a determined young woman, stubborn but not stupidly so, and Captain Morgan Roberts is a gruff but endearing
man, who may not always be suave or eloquent but proves to be the poet of Amanda's heart. The romantic element is deftly handled
with a nice build up and some serious heat between Amanda and Morgan.
Captain Sinister's Lady was
a great read : fun, interesting and definitely a romance. I loved it and I'm rather intrigued enough by the teaser for Pirate's
Price that I'll be downloading it as well.
Questions for the author:
This was a great story and it reminded me how much I loved Historical
Romance novels. I noticed a marked difference between the romances that I had read all those years ago and your book. I found
there to be less of the stereotypical character and plot devices and a great sense of humour that underlay the whole story.
Did you grow up reading these types of books and if so, how much influence have they had on your writing?
I've been a fan of historical romance ever since I read Eloise Jarvis McGraw's
Mara, Daughter of the Nile when I was 12 years old. This young adult novel (and it's still in print--I recommend
it) had everything--a plucky heroine, a mysterious and dangerous hero, an exotic location. From there it was a
short jump to The Scarlet Pimpernel and then Georgette Heyer. What sets these novels apart from so many
historical romances is the author's skill at combining historical accuracy with character development, two things I demand
in my historical romances--whether I'm reading them or writing them. I like to include humor as part of the equation
when I'm writing, because, let's face it, life is funny. Sometimes. And there are occasions when I have a hard
time taking too much swashbuckling seriously.
As far as stereotypical characters and plots, I don't like to be bored
any more than the next reader. I want a book that surprises me in a pleasant fashion. Morgan Roberts, the hero
of Captain Sinister's Lady, is not your typical romance hero. He's older, he's big and hairy, he's clueless about
women, and he robs people for a living--not because he's some duke's long lost heir seeking revenge, but because robbing people
is a good way to get rich. It was more of a challenge to work with "Captain Sinister" than that duke's heir, but I liked
the challenge. I wanted readers to find Morgan engaging, and to be sympathetic towards him as he stumbles through his courtship
of Amanda.
You have a wonderful narrative voice and the impression I got
while reading this is that you had as much fun writing the story as I did reading it. Are there other genres that you have
or would like to branch out into?Contemporary romance, fantasy (romantic, paranormal, urban, etc)?
I've been a science fiction fan for decades, and I hope that someday I'll have a sf novel in my head. At this point,
all my characters want romance rather than rockets, but you never know. I've toyed with a contemporary novel, but it keeps
getting pushed to the back of my mind because my historicals are clamoring to get out.
As a Historical Romance, there are obviously historical places, events
that you write about (whether directly or things that are alluded to in the story) how much research do you have to do to
create the necessary authenticity and do you ever find yourself forced to take some artistic licence with facts in order to
keep the story moving and interesting.
I love history, and research for me is
a pleasure. The risk I run is boring everyone around me while I'm researching. When I was writing Smuggler's
Bride I had to do research on the early US Treasury and Revenue Marine, and it reached the point where my teenage sons
begged me not to tell them any more about Alexander Hamilton. My dachshund, however, listens faithfully to me.
She knows who's in charge of the kibble around here.
I especially like sharing Florida history. It's skipped
over in most US history books, and people don't realize that Florida was as much a frontier as the states out west.
We had cowboys, Indians, soldiers, settlers, and for additional excitement, pirates, hurricanes, alligators and Yellow Fever.
It was never a dull moment down here.
If I take any liberties with history I try to make them small liberties,
and I include the information in the author's notes. But much of what happens in Captain Sinister is based on real
events, including the use of the steamship Seagull and of course, Commodore Porter's Anti-Piracy campaign.
Sometimes
it's the delightful little historical details that get the story rolling. When I was writing Pirate's Price I
ran across a reference to Porter's "Mosquito Fleet" and the innovative tactics he used to fight pirates. That information
lingered in my mind and developed into a "What if?" scenario: What if a pirate wanted to retire? But the US Navy
was looking for him so they could hang him. How would he get out of that with any kind of future? And it turned
into Captain Sinister's Lady.
The characters you
developed are quite engaging ; both the main characters and the supporting ones. Do you find yourself bringing your characters
from one book to another?
I usually don't plan on that, by my characters have minds of their own. For
example, Richard Cooper and Robin the cook show up in three of my books. Like I say, I hadn't planned on that, but they
were there when I needed them, so in they went. I didn't write Pirate's Price intending to have a sequel set a generation
later, but the idea of the daughter of the H&H of Pirate's Price being an intrepid young woman stuck with me, and
it wouldn't let go, so that led to Smuggler's Bride.
I think part of it is I hate to let go of my characters.
I'm a little in love with all of my heroes, and it's hard to say goodbye.
I notice that your book is and "e-book". How do you find the experience
of e-publishing and do you have a wider audience (and perhaps more instantaneous feedback on your work) with this more accessible
medium?
The e-book experience has been an interesting
one. By being published in ebook and print, my books are available to a much broader audience than if they were in print
alone. For example, anyone in the world who can read English can purchase and download one of my books off the Internet.
And they do. I now have print editions of my books in German, and soon, Estonian, because publishers outside of the
US read reviews of my ebooks.
The downside of ebooks is that there's still a huge percentage of the romance reading
public that wants a print book to hold, or believes ebooks are of inferior writing quality. But I believe the support
for ebooks is growing, and the sales figures reflect that. We have not yet reached the "tipping point" where an inexpensive,
durable ebook reader will become the standard technology, but I think that day is coming. Textbooks are ideally suited
to the ebook format because they need to be updated periodically, and because it would relieve students of storage, weight
and lost or damaged book concerns. If that revolution occurs in schools, I think we'll be at the point where ebooks
are no longer a novelty but a norm.
In the meantime, I'll keep listening to these people inside my head telling me
their stories, and writing down their adventures.
To
talk more with Darlene Marshall stop by the Author Review Chat on Shelfari.com. If you aren't a member, then
stop by the group and join.
As an added bonus, a copy of Captain Sinister's Lady is to be
raffled off to a reader. Enter by signing the guestbook below. To view other comments you just need to click on the
View Guestbook tab.
The drawing will be held on the 22nd of November and winner announced here
under Raffle Winners, and on the discussion group.
If you run into technical trouble, or have additional questions, please don't hesitate
to contact me at T. Gleichner at uponfurtherreview@gmail.com
 
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