The idea for the tales was conceived somewhere around Point Nemo, where our closest humans are astronauts in the International Space Station. As I experienced the lonely waters of the Southern Ocean, I wondered how sailors in the past endured long sea voyages and in particular how women, like female pirates Ann Bonny and Mary Read, fared.  

The early 1700s, the period in which the trilogy is set, was the Golden Age of Piracy, and the sea robbers that abounded have a truly fascinating history. However, it is also the time of the nefarious slave trades, with Barbary corsairs plaguing the coasts of Europe while millions of Africans were enslaved and forced to work on Caribbean plantations.

In the first novel, Tomasina is charged with protecting her young cousin William, so when he inadvertently boards a slave ship heading to the Caribbean, she determines to rescue him. Her plans are thwarted by the sinister Choake. With the help of former slaves, Amos and Kobi, can she survive mutiny, hurricanes, fever and pirates to bring William safely home?

“The early 1700s, the period in which the trilogy is set, was the Golden Age of Piracy, and the sea robbers that abounded have a truly fascinating history.”

In the second novel, Tomasina’s restlessness drives her to go in search of Choake and avenge herself of all the damage he has caused her and her companions. It seems however that her adversary has the upper hand.  

In the third novel, Tomasina’s task is straightforward, to chaperone an heiress from the Caribbean back to England. However, when her friend, Amos, is captured by slave-hunters she is unable to leave him to his fate. And surely the slave-hunter cannot be the man she earlier killed?