A Tale of the Atlantic

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

WHEN NIGHT FALLS AND THE HORRORS RISE -- WILL NANCY STAND A GHOST OF A CHANCE?

What strange dark secrets can a college professor reveal -- after she has risen from the grave?

Do dogs howl at the moon . . .do their eyes glow in the night -- one hundred years after their death?

What evil power lurks in the fortune-teller's den -- embodied in the sinister form of a terrifying froglike creature?

Prepare to lock your doors and dim your lights. The sound you hear is the beating of your own heart. Nancy Drew is about to face some of her most challenging cases ever -- six frightening and unforgettable encounters with the unknown. . . .

His head is missing? Michele asked. Whose head? When the answer turns out to be Blackbeard, Fierest Pirate of them All, four real kids set off on a real adventure in North Carolina's real pirate haunt port town of Bath. While struggling to recover a special prop and save an outdoor drama, the kids learn about the Golden Age of Piracy up and down the American coast from Maine to Florida. They also learn a lot of history, solve a mystery, meet a legend, and much more! They have a lot of Jolly Roger laughs! But do they find the treasure? Hmm, would they really tell?! Avast! This mystery's a treasure trove of fun!

"A thorough, exciting examination of 18th-century pirate life,with wonderful details."
--Publishers Weekly

"Interesting and exciting . . . a thoroughly enjoyable chronicle of an interesting life and interesting era."
--Booklist

The definitive biography of history'smost fearsome and famous pirate

Of all the colorful cutthroats who scoured the seas in search of plunder during the Golden Age of Piracy in the early eighteenth century, none was more ferocious or notorious than Blackbeard. As unforgettable as his savage career was, much of Blackbeard's life has been shrouded in mystery--until now.

Drawing on vivid descriptions of Blackbeard's attacks from his rare surviving victims, pirate expert Angus Konstam traces Blackbeard's career from its beginnings to his final defeat in a tremendous sea battle near his base at Ocracoke Island. Presenting dramatic accounts of the pirate's very effective tactics and his reputation for cruelty, Konstam offers a fascinating examination of the life and business of piracy and the lure of this brutal and bloody trade.

Blackbeard’s extraordinary life of excess during the Golden Age of Piracy ignited a reputation that struck terror into men’s hearts from Virginia to Barbados. Leading a flotilla of ships through the clear waters of the Indies, he left in his wake the image of a "ranting, roaring, swaggering, swearing" sea captain that is still remembered today. Blackbeard’s life on the high seas, chasing wealth, freedom, and power, ended in a bloody battle that ultimately marked a turning point in history.

This book accompanies a multimillion-dollar BBC-National Geographic drama that explores the reality of the man behind the beard. Far from the caricature of films and novels, Blackbeard was a complex character who was as charming as he was ruthless. The atrocities he indulged in, and how they eventually proved to be his undoing, are here explored through a fresh appraisal of surviving contemporary documents. Today, we might associate pirates with peg-legs, parrots and dreamy tropical islands, but the disturbing truth is the stuff of nightmares.

Clara Dare Ivankova, an independent and strong-willed attorney, has always been the black sheep in her old Southern family. But when she returns home to North Carolina’s beautiful Crystal Coast to attend her Uncle Jack’s funeral, she begins to realize that while she has always managed to avoid most of the family drama, she may have unintentionally sacrificed too much.

When Clara Dare is summoned back home a month later, she finds her Aunt Eloise in a fierce legal battle over Uncle Jack’s estate. New details about Uncle Jack’s secret life arise that, combined with Clara Dare’s cousins’ strange behavior and the discovery of a series of cryptic journal entries made by the infamous pirate, Blackbeard, just months before his capture in 1718, soon draw Clara Dare into a race against time with a ruthless killer.

With the help of her childhood friend, Detective Tara Thompson, her brother-in-law, Vasek, and a contingent of her mother’s friends who are privy to all of the local gossip, Clara Dare must get to the bottom of the nearly 300-year-old mystery of Blackbeard’s treasure before another body is found and priceless artifacts are lost forever.

****
Chessen Parker is an avid mystery reader and writer, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Raised in North Carolina, where she attended Meredith College and Duke University School of Law, she chose to set her first amateur sleuth series on North Carolina’s beautiful Crystal Coast and Outer Banks.

The author's goal in developing the series was to recreate the elegance and wit of Christie, in a modern, coastal village setting. The series features strong, independent, witty and intelligent women; promotes volunteerism; and allows readers to experience the often humorous, aristocratic flavor of a small Southern town (steeped in tradition) from the inside.

"I hope my readers finish my book relaxed; as though they have just spent the weekend with old friends at the coast. I hope my readers take a look around their own community and appreciate the little things that set their community apart and the things that are universal to all communities. If they are not already involved in volunteering for local charities, I hope they are inspired to take the initiative to get out and do something for a cause that they feel strongly about. And finally, as a straight ally of the Pride Community, I hope that my portrayal of a lesbian main character bridges relationships and understanding of how equality can work in all of our lives. At the request of friends and colleagues in the equality movement, Tara Thompson’s sexual orientation is accepted and respected, just like the majority of real LBGTQ family, friends, and colleagues in our real lives (i.e. there is no coming out struggle, no crazy relationship drama to accentuate her orientation, etc)."

- Chessen Parker (Read more at TheIndieSpotlight.)

Blackbeard's Curse is available in Kindle Edition and paperback. It is the first book in the Crystal Coast Mysteries.

Join Clara Dare Ivankova and her friends as they comb the North Carolina coast for clues to uncover the who, why and how of the clever, and often desperate, murders that hit close to home. Experience beautiful beaches, remote island villages, cozy harbors, and coastal living at its finest with the sleuths in the Crystal Coast Mysteries.

Clara Dare Ivankova, an independent and strong-willed attorney, has always been the black sheep in her old Southern family. But when she returns home to North Carolina’s beautiful Crystal Coast to attend her Uncle Jack’s funeral, she begins to realize that while she has always managed to avoid most of the family drama, she may have unintentionally sacrificed too much.

When Clara Dare is summoned back home a month later, she finds her Aunt Eloise in a fierce legal battle over Uncle Jack’s estate. New details about Uncle Jack’s secret life arise that, combined with Clara Dare’s cousins’ strange behavior and the discovery of a series of cryptic journal entries made by the infamous pirate, Blackbeard, just months before his capture in 1718, soon draw Clara Dare into a race against time with a ruthless killer.

With the help of her childhood friend, Detective Tara Thompson, her brother-in-law, Vasek, and a contingent of her mother’s friends who are privy to all of the local gossip, Clara Dare must get to the bottom of the nearly 300-year-old mystery of Blackbeard’s treasure before another body is found and priceless artifacts are lost forever.

****
Chessen Parker is an avid mystery reader and writer, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Raised in North Carolina, where she attended Meredith College and Duke University School of Law, she chose to set her first amateur sleuth series on North Carolina’s beautiful Crystal Coast and Outer Banks.

The author's goal in developing the series was to recreate the elegance and wit of Christie, in a modern, coastal village setting. The series features strong, independent, witty and intelligent women; promotes volunteerism; and allows readers to experience the often humorous, aristocratic flavor of a small Southern town (steeped in tradition) from the inside.

"I hope my readers finish my book relaxed; as though they have just spent the weekend with old friends at the coast. I hope my readers take a look around their own community and appreciate the little things that set their community apart and the things that are universal to all communities. If they are not already involved in volunteering for local charities, I hope they are inspired to take the initiative to get out and do something for a cause that they feel strongly about. And finally, as a straight ally of the Pride Community, I hope that my portrayal of a lesbian main character bridges relationships and understanding of how equality can work in all of our lives. At the request of friends and colleagues in the equality movement, Tara Thompson’s sexual orientation is accepted and respected, just like the majority of real LBGTQ family, friends, and colleagues in our real lives (i.e. there is no coming out struggle, no crazy relationship drama to accentuate her orientation, etc)."

- Chessen Parker (Read more at TheIndieSpotlight.)

Blackbeard's Curse is available in Kindle Edition and paperback. It is the first book in the Crystal Coast Mysteries.

Join Clara Dare Ivankova and her friends as they comb the North Carolina coast for clues to uncover the who, why and how of the clever, and often desperate, murders that hit close to home. Experience beautiful beaches, remote island villages, cozy harbors, and coastal living at its finest with the sleuths in the Crystal Coast Mysteries.

Now, the real-life adventures and the myths of the 18th century Pirate King Edward Teach have inspired a thrilling collection of biographical poems by J. Patrick Lewis—collected in a picture-book format that will quicken the pulses and fire the imaginations of young adventurers everywhere.

This dramatically illustrated book combines history, adventure, geography, and poetry in a treasure trove of rhymes about Blackbeard and his bloodthirsty seadogs. While Lewis's swashbuckling verse celebrates Blackbeard's mystique, the author's extensive historical note recovers the facts of Edward Teach's life from time-encrusted layers of legend.

The spine-tingling poetry also explores many lesser-examined realities amid the mass of mythology inspired by Blackbeard. Each of these 14 poems is written in a distinctive style as Lewis explores different aspects of the pirate's life.

Blackbeard's seaborne reign of terror also roars to life in carefully selected historical prints, dating back to the earliest known images of the Pirate King.

Blackbeard: The Pirate King is a rich chronicle of the most notorious pirate to ever scour the oceans. It's a book to be plundered and treasured by young dreamers with imagination in their blood, poetry in their bones, and a thirst for adventure on the high seas.