Brine
Series, #1
by B. Longino Smith
Publication
date: May 1st 2016
Genres: Adventure, Romance, Young Adult
BLURB
In 1700
century England, a women’s purpose is only served in a home. But Kitrina Harvey
has no home and the only place she feels will keep the memory of her father
alive, is at sea. However, when she inexplicably finds herself on the ship of
the infamous female pirate captain, Charlotte de Berry, she may have counted
her good fortune too soon.
While Kit may have found a family
among the motley crew of outlaws, and perhaps even a special interest in a
particular pirate named Gage, is she ready to be a pirate herself?
Kit must ask herself what she is
willing to do to please the pirate captain, made even more complicated when she
finds out that her life is much more entangled in Charlotte’s than she
originally believed.
Can she kill even when she discovers
that she and Charlotte share a common enemy?
Set atop the planks of the great
Athena, Of Brine & Blood is a fictionalized retailing of one of history’s
infamous female pirates, through the eyes of a girl coming of age among the
contrasting themes of love, revenge and power. Liberally sensationalized, Of
Blood and Brine, follows the twisting trail of Kitrina Harvey’s life, as she
recounts Captain Charlotte de Berry’s own story of love, loss and murder.
“Are you proposing irony, Kitrina?” he
asked after a time. “Because I shall tell
you now that life is nothing but cruelly ironic.”
I didn’t know how to respond to him and let
his words hang in the air between us.
“The act of piracy has left us both
orphaned, yes?” he asked. “And yet, pirates we became.” Gage did not display a tone of shame, nor defeat. He simply stated his
words as fact; as if, due to our circumstances, it was the only logical end.
“What?” I shook my head at his
misinterpretation of my words. “No, my father’s ship was not taken by pirates.
‘Twas a storm that took my father, but I doubt my grief would be anymore if it were
raided.”
“Kit, can you do this?” Gage asked
suddenly, “Can you turn pirate just because of the ship you are upon?”
“I …” I stumbled to respond.
“Because you don’t have to,” he said,
returning to his previous relaxed state. “You don’t have to follow Charlie’s desires; you do know that, don’t you?”
I suppose I knew that if I wished to leave
the Athena at any time Charlotte would allow me to do so. However, now that I
was faced directly with the decision, I had to admit that I had not even toyed
with the idea of disbanding. The Athena
was my home now.
I chewed on Gage’s words for the remainder
of our watch, and he let me. We sat in silence, our backs both supported by the
mast. At the bells, Gage pulled me to a standing position before throwing his
leg over the nest to start his descent. I was aware that it was he who avoided my gaze for once.
“I can,” I told him before his head lowered
out of sight. He paused at my simple statement
but did not raise his eyes to look at me, then silently continued down to the
decking.
Gage gave no indication of what he thought
of my response though I knew he knew exactly what I was referring to and the
significance of my choice.
And it was true. I knew I could, and would,
be a pirate. Though I doubt Gage had any idea how big of a factor he played in
my resolve.
Author InfoBrittany lives with her husband and daughter just two miles away from the beach on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. The backdrop serves as a constant reminder, and motivator, in her nautical historical fiction projects.Her current series in progress, the Brine Series, has been a story that she has 'picked at' for over five years. In the beginning, Brittany only had the undeniable compulsion to bring the vivid characters in her mind, to life, by recording their story on paper. However, only more recently have her characters become increasingly disgruntled by not having their story shared with others. Brittany's husband sided with her characters.In the winter of 2015, after the first installment of the Brine Series, Of Brine and Blood, was complete; the second book, Of Bitter and Brine, was written and being revised; and the third installment, Brine: The Beginning, was outlined, Brittany's husband had had enough of talking about characters that were only real in the Smith household. As a Christmas present, Steven sent Of Brine and Blood off to a (fabulous) editor, unbeknownst to Brittany until Christmas morning.With the overwhelming encouragement from Victoria (fabulous editor extraordinare), and the unwavering support from her husband, Brittany began her publishing journey. She is indescribably excited to be sharing her characters and their adventure with others.Brittany also feels as though this brief bio does not adequately include the recognition of her daughter, mother, father, sister and all others who have been invaluable sources of motivation, inspiration, and support.
To get updates on new releases in the Brine Series please visit: www.blsbooks.comAuthor Links:
What were your goals or
intentions of writing this book? How well to do you think you achieved them?
My
goals of writing Of Brine & Blood
were fairly simple.
I want
to entertain. I wanted to write a story that sweeps the reader away to another
place and time, and make them feel what the characters are feeling. And then, I
want the story to linger in their minds after they finish, wondering what Kit
and Gage are up to right now. At this
moment.
That
is what all the best stories do for me. The characters are no longer fiction,
but people I care about.
Every
reader knows the value of a story that just grips
them. I want my story to be like that to others.
Of Brine and Blood does this for me. But I want
to hear what you think! Let me know if I achieved my goal! ;)
What did you find most useful
in learning to write? What was least useful or most destructive?
I have
always been a writer. I know; the cliché of all novelists. But it’s true!
My
love of writing, on the other hand, has peaked and waned and then peaked again,
over the course of my life.
My
undergraduate degree is in Journalism. Which I promptly discovered was not the
type of writing I enjoy only after
graduating and working as a tech writer for less than a year. I then went on to
receive a graduate degree in Sociology (which I love). But as with tech
writing, writing academic articles is not how I enjoy the craft either.
In the
end, I wouldn’t change any of my experiences, though. My experiences have been
invaluable in teaching me the mechanics of writing.
And, I
am learning how to break any destructive aspects of being too ‘technical’ when
I sit down to write fiction. I love being able to let my imagination flow!
*Note to any of my current or former colleagues: I promise that I did not let
my imagination color any of my academic research findings*
Just for fun, what’s something
unique about you?
I
don’t know if this is something unique about me as a person (or maybe it speaks
volumes about my organization skills. I don’t know), but the sequence of events
probably hasn’t happened to too many people.
I have
had two weddings, both to the same person, and in less than a year.
Lemme
esplain:
My
first wedding, which we refer to as ‘the expensive one,’ was a wedding proper
with long guest lists, flashy venues, a white dress and cake.
After
the ceremony we signed the marriage certificate and were told to mail it in to
the state. Of course! No problem. Except the next day, my husband and I left
for our honeymoon. Several weeks after we returned, Steven (the husband) looked
at me and asked if I ever mailed in
the marriage certificate. Um, no? Doesn’t that fall under ‘the husband
responsibilities’? We tore the house APART, but still couldn’t find it.
No
problem, we can just request a new one. Right? Nope. Apparently marriage
certificates are time sensitive when being filed.
So,
off to Vegas we went. With a group of friends as witnesses (they did NOT buy us
a second wedding gift), a musician whom we found at a restaurant and wanted to
accompany us after hearing our story (he played ‘Suspicious Minds’ as I walked
down the aisle), and a new marriage certificate (chained to my body), we got
married for the second time.
I should
probably end the story here, but I feel it pertinent to include that while we
did successfully file the second marriage certificate, that does not mean that
we didn’t lose that one too, at one point.
Thankfully,
I was blissfully unaware of the second MIA marriage license snafu, until after
it was found by husband and friend retracing every single step we took that
day.
*Fun
Fact!*
Several
years later, we did find the original marriage certificate tucked safely away
in one of our suitcases. It was in an obscure pocket inside of another pocket.
You know, for safe keeping.
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