Blackbeard the Pirate Part 1 - Charleston Held Hostage

by Elva Cobb Martin

November 22, 1718, is the anniversary of Blackbeard's death at the hands of Lt. Robert Maynard. So I decided we'd take another look at this most famous pirate of all.

Pirates had their greatest days in our Atlantic waters in the 1600-1700’s. The success of piracy and its particular form of terrorism in the colonial period were due in part to the laissez-faire attitude of heads of state and some colonial governors. Unpardoned acts of piracy were often condoned by officials as long as the acts were perpetuated against one’s enemies or the loot was shared. England and other nations issued “letters of marque” which gave their own “privateers” as they called these type captains, permission to attack and plunder ships of their enemies.

But piracy became so prevalent at times that honest sea trade almost ground to a halt. Then governments withdrew letters of marque, tracked down the pirates, and hanged them in public.

The history of Charleston, South Carolina, records such a story involving Blackbeard, one the most notorious pirates of all who roamed the Eastern seaboard and the Caribbean.

Blackbeard was more than an adroit leader of men, swashbuckling and fearsome; he was also a skillful navigator and a competent naval tactician. According to Rod Gragg, a University of South Carolina professor of history, Blackbeard once fought and won a naval battle with a 30-gun British man-of-war, becoming perhaps the only pirate in the western hemisphere to defeat the British Royal Navy.

His method of attack was similar to that of terrorists today. He struck quickly, raided, then ran. His favorite place to run was Ocracoke Island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. His attacks, of course, were always at sea.

In May of 1718, Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard, sailed into Charleston with his fleet of pirate ships. He blockaded the harbor, captured and plundered nine ships and took several hostages including Samuel Wragg, a member of the South Carolina legislature. After interrogating the hostages about the remaining ships in the harbor—their cargoes and destinations—the victims were then thrown half-naked into the dark hold.

In exchange for the prisoners, Blackbeard demanded of Governor Johnson something the pirate did not find on the plundered ships, mainly a large supply of meds used to relieve a pirate’s recurring nightmare—syphilis. Blackbeard warned that if his demands were not met, he would execute all the hostages and raid and sack Charleston. And Charlestonians knew he could do just that.

The Charles Town legislature complied. It seemed that shame, indignation, and revenge were outranked by fear. Actually, it was wisdom that outranked the lot, with revenge simply being reserved.

Thanks for stopping by. Don't miss the Revenge of Charles Town next week! Please leave a comment and share on your social media by clicking on the small icons below.

Blessings,
Elva 

Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers (2014-2017). She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com, on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin

Link to her romance novels, Summer of Deception and In a Pirate's Debt, and a Bible study, Power Over Satan on Amazon http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI

Planning Your Novel - Part 8 Outlining

by Elva Cobb Martin

Some kind of outline helps keep me on target and is also a great help in writing up the summary or synopsis of a novel. It's kind of like having OnStar or a GPS when traveling.

I am sure there are many ways to outline a novel, but here is what I do.

1) Write the pitch and premise out first. These are the "skeleton's" on which I will plan my scenes and chapters.

2) I keep reminding myself that my outline is very fluid and can be adjusted easily as I write the first draft.

Note: I am saying "outline" but what I'm really doing is listing scenes for each chapter, not doing a formal outline.

As a reminder from my earlier blogs, here is my pitch and premise for Spanish Rose, my historical romance wip.

Premise: 

Love, forgiveness, and determination can overcome the most horrifying experiences and poor choices when God is invited into the equation.

 Draft of my pitch:

Marisol Valentin must flee the murder of a Spanish nobleman who molested her by sailing to the New World only to realize no one but God can turn good out of the evil when her exposed past threatens to destroy all her dreams.

Here is the first chapter "outline" which is really a list of actual scenes I now have in my first draft of Spanish Rose.

Chapter 1

1) Rape/murder scene at Cadiz, Spain, stud farm: Marisol Valentin kills                                nobleman Diego Vargas

2) Marisol’s bedchamber, preparing to flee with maid Carmelo

3) On the road/path fleeing to Cadiz Harbor

4) Kidnapped by King’s men (indentured servant kidnappers) for King’s West                      Indies colonies, put on ship

5) Six weeks aboard and Marisol is throwing up in the chamber pot each                              morning on the Magdalena. 

6) English pirates attack the ship. Marisol given sword to defend herself and the                               other women.  (ENDING HOOK)

             (Carmelo dies of fever on pirate ship but told later as brief back story.)

One thing I always plan is an Ending Hook to all my chapters that will hopefully motivate the reader to keep reading to see what happens next.

I actually wrote 3 different openings scenes for this novel and tried them out on my critique partners at our S.C. Chapter of American Christian Writers. Next time, I may share the first paragraph of each of the three openings and see which you like the most.

Thanks for stopping by. How do you plan your scenes and chapters? Please leave a comment and share on your social media.

Blessings,

Elva Cobb Martin

Planning Your Novel - Part 1

by Elva Cobb Martin

Are you planning your first novel or trying to get started with your next one? I give God the glory for two novels recently released by Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas, Summer of Deception and In a Pirate's Debt. You can check them out on Amazon at this link: http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI. 

This summer I am researching and planning my next novel which will become a series, I hope. Here are the steps that have helped me in the past and, I believe, will assist me again.

1) Read, Read in Your Genre --and Time Period if Historical.
I find it very important to immerse myself in the genre I'm hoping to write. In your genre, find the best, most successful authors you can and read and study what makes their novel interesting to read. I often take notes and write in the margins!

If writing an historical, find books in your time period. Since I'm planning an historical series set in the 1700's like my pirate novel above, I am reading novels of established authors set in this century. It's amazing how many great ideas come to me as I soak up stories set in my chosen time period and place. Reading a contemporary novel,or one set in the Regency Period, or during World War II won't help keep me on target, so I save those novels for another time. I also look for movies set in my time period and save them in my TV groups. I take notes on setting, dialog, dress, conflict, historical tidbits, etc. 

4) Jot Down Your Initial Storyline
My basic story idea is of a heroine, an indentured servant, who has a bad past she's carrying like baggage, even after she becomes a Christian. (See the "lie" she believes and the spiritual plot possibility of her overcoming?) After a terrible incident in Spain she fled for her life to the New World as an indentured servant. She falls in love with her master after he becomes widowed, but she feels like soiled goods he will never be interested in. She desires to find respect, security and love and will go to some lengths to find them. (See the motivation and goals unfolding?) And, of course, I will give the widowed hero problems, conflicts, and goals to complicate the romance possibility we will pursue from Charles Town to the Spanish Main. Of course, some of these details will likely change as I write the story! (More on characterization, lies, motivation, and goals in Part 2.)

3) Research and Research Some More
Having the Internet has made research so much easier. Seldom do I have to make a trip to the library for research. This novel will have a heroine who is an indentured servant. Yesterday I googled "Indentured Servants in America" and came up with great information. I printed some articles and saved some to my computer. I already know this story will be set mainly on the Spanish Main in Cartagena so I googled that and came up with some great articles and maps.

How do you plan a new novel? I would love to hear your comments. Next time I will share Part 2 that works for me.

Blessings,
Elva Martin

New Cover Reveal -In a Pirate's Debt (Historical Romance)

by Elva Cobb Martin

DRUM ROLL-L-L!

In a Pirate's Debt, is slated for release May 25. How do you like this draft of the cover Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas sent to me?

Below is the full cover, including the back cover copy (BCC) the publishing team and I revised and revised to get every word just right! I've reproduced it below since I cannot enlarge the photo.

Back Cover Copy for In a Pirate's Debt

 When confronted with a forced marriage, Travay Allston flees her stepfather’s Jamaica plantation and dives into the sea. Death would be preferable to life with Sir Roger Poole, a drinking, gambling, scoundrel whose advances make her skin crawl.

Lucas Barrett sails the high seas as the dreaded Captain Bloodstone. He is on a quest to find his mother, a woman last seen clapped in irons by the Spanish. As his ship slips past Jamaica, he spies a young woman plunge into the sea. A prize of such beauty must be saved and Lucas dives in to rescue her. The last thing Lucas needs is to get involved with Travay, a childhood friend who caused him nothing but trouble. Especially now that she’s become a stubborn, alluring young woman. 

Lucas delivers Travay to her aunt in Charles Town and washes his hands of the affair. Or so he thinks. But when Sir Roger shows up demanding that Travay marry him or face the wrath of Charles Town’s newest council member,  Lucas feels that familiar boyhood tug on his heart. Will this wanted pirate of the crown, risk his life to save Travay a second time? Betrothed to a man she hates, will Travay repay her debt to a pirate by marrying Sir Roger in exchange for his promise to pardon Lucas? And if she does, will such a rascal keep his word? Falling in love with the pirate was never part of her plan. 

Does this BCC stir your interest to read the book? Please do share your comments. I'd love to hear from you. If you would be interested in receiving a free ebook file of this book to read and post a review on Amazon on May 25, please let me know in the comments.

http://ctt.ec/VsbUk  Click to share on Twitter

Blessings,

Elva Martin

Elva Cobb Martin is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. Several magazines have published her articles. She has completed two romance novels, Summer of Deception and In a Pirate’s Debt.  Elva is represented by Jim Hart of Hartline Literary. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives with her husband Dwayne and a mini-dachshund writing helper, Lucy, in Anderson, South Carolina.  She would love for  you to connect with her on her web site www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com on Twitter www.twitter.com/Elvacobbmartin, Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin, and Pinteresthttps://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin/

A New Blog Series: America's Prayer History - Part 1

by Elva Cobb Martin 

America’s Prayer History - Our  Most Precious National Treasure

As we head into the inauguration of a new U.S. President in January, I am going to share some amazing answered prayers that are part of our spiritual national treasure. 

These prayers were by American leaders and by prayer warriors just like you and me, and they impacted our nation’s destiny. Unfortunately, we don’t find these in most of our school textbooks, so we must share them with our children and grandchildren. 

At the end of this series, I hope you’ll decide to join the long line of praying Christians before us, take up the torch, and continue the prayer march down the halls of America’s history. YOUR prayers can impact our nation in the coming years and birth the next Great Awakening.

In this series I hope to share sample stories of how simple but fervent prayer led to the discovery of the Americas, helped the colonies become established and preserved and strengthened our ragtag Continental army to break the back of the formidable British war machine, inspired the documents that have guided our country through two centuries, inspired four Great Awakenings, and forged a broken nation back together after the Civil War. 

Truly, through all our national conflicts, from the Revolutionary War to the current Middle East Wars, America has been preserved through the incredible power of praying Americans.

For this series I give upfront thanks to researchers David Balsiger, Joette Whims, and Melody Hunskor and their work, The Incredible Power of Prayer, published by Tyndale House in 1998. The Incredible Power of Prayer traces the power of prayer in our nation's history through nearly 100 miraculous instances where prayer changed the course of our destiny. 

Here's a bit about Christopher Columbus:

Columbus Sailed to the Americas in 1492, praying the earth was round, not flat!

 Educators teach that Christopher Columbus’s main purpose for sailing west to the Americas was secular. But his personal diary reflects a different  motivation: “It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) that it would be possible to sail from here (Europe) to the Indies...The fact that the gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time, this is what convinces me.”

A priest friend shared a verse of scripture with Columbus  that convinced him the earth must be round. “To whom then will you liken God...It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth...” (Isaiah 41:18,22).

Hope you are having a blessed Christmas Season!

Elva Cobb Martin, President ACFW-SC Chapter
www.elvamartin.com