Guest Post | Nicole Castroman: 8 Reasons Why I Wrote BLACKHEARTS

I am so very excited to have Nicole Castroman, author of the debut novel BLACKHEARTS (February 9), on the blog today! Nicole is telling us the 8 reasons why she decided to write BLACKHEARTS, which is all about Edward “Teach” Drummond, the man who would eventually become the pirate Blackbeard. Check out Nicole’s reasons then learn more about BLACKHEARTS and Nicole and add the book to your Goodreads TBR or pre-order it!

ABOUT THE BOOK
Publisher: Simon Pulse // February 9, 2016

Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.

Edward “Teach” Drummond, son of one of Bristol’s richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There’s just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents’ deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she’s stuck in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

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8 Reasons Why I Wrote BLACKHEARTS

• Only the last two years of Blackbeard’s life are documented (1716-1718), although I just now came across a new bit of information that said in 1706 or 1707, he was the Governor of a league of pirates in the Bahamas. How cool is that? Otherwise, his young life is a mystery. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and so I decided to write an origin story.

• When I wrote BLACKHEARTS, I didn’t want to simply write a story with a teenage boy on a ship and have him “act like a pirate.” There wouldn’t have been much character development if I’d done that. I hope people don’t go into this expecting Pirates of the Caribbean. I wanted to delve deeper into Blackbeard’s past and write about what might have led him to leave his home behind and become one of the most notorious swashbucklers to sail the seas.
• It was believed Blackbeard was educated, because he could read and write. Only wealthy people were educated in those days, so Edward Teach had to come from a prosperous family.
• It’s believed that Edward Teach wasn’t Blackbeard’s true name, but that he’d changed it to protect his relatives at home. Most pirates did this.

• There are lots of rumors about Blackbeard’s cruelty, but there are also reports of him being quite amiable and almost forgiving and generous to those that cooperated with him. I’m not implying that he was a good guy, but he wasn’t as barbaric and demented as other pirates who tortured their victims for fun.

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ABOUT NICOLE
Nicole was lucky enough to come with her very own best friend…she has a twin sister who can read her mind and finish her sentences for her.

At the age of 13, she went to Europe for the first time and it changed her life. She loves learning about different people, languages and cultures and speaks fluent German. She knows enough Spanish to get herself into trouble and can still read the Cyrillic alphabet from when she studied Russian.

She received her B.A. from Brigham Young University and has lived in Germany, Austria and two different places called Georgia. One is located on the Black Sea. The other is the state of Georgia where she now lives with her handsome husband and two beautiful children who continue to amaze her.

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