The Book
These extracts are from an early draft of Mistress of the Sea which had the working title To the Ends of the World.
Extract 1
If you would like to read a short extract with an emphasis on tension then please click here: Tension.
Extract 2
If you would like to read a short extract with an emphasis on action then please click here: Action.
How the story took shape
From the idea of writing a novel set against the backdrop of Drake's first adventure, came the development of storylines for the leading characters. I had to invent a character for my female protagonist, and I decided early on that I would make my male protagonist fictional also, since this allowed me the greatest creative freedom.
In essence the novel then moved from being about Drake's adventure, to being about two people thrown into the thick of extraordinary circumstances - two quite ordinary people - Ellyn Cooksley and Will Doonan. It evolved into an exploration of personal responses to set-back and hardship, one that draws on universal themes of courage and endurance, hope and love.
With my agent's help the core threads became clearer and a proposal was set out:
- A quest for vengeance becomes a hunt for treasure which becomes the key to securing love - or does it?
- Ellyn Cooksley is caught up in the answer to that question, one that draws her ultimately to the limits of the known world.
- She is a secret player in one of the most spectacular and daring raids in the history of great English escapades, when Francis Drake attacks the supply of treasure flowing from the Americas to Spain.
- Will Doonan is the man who leads her into adventure as he pursues his determination to avenge the loss of his brother - so a personal mission becomes part of an exploit that will be translated by history as a national blow for independence against tyranny and the abuse of power.
- But behind this triumph lies a grim reality of successive defeats, death, frustration and misery.
- Hatred can give enough strength to defy misfortune and endure; but only love has the power to heal.
From this a detailed outline was developed - then the hard graft of writing began…
The Characters
For the story to work, the characters had to live, and for that they needed to be whole personalities with strengths and weaknesses, depth and humour. They had to be presented in a believable way, so Will's character is seen mainly through action, whereas Ellyn's personality becomes apparent largely through her conversations and inner debates.
Their motivations were key, and early on I hit on the idea of a response to a missing brother. There is a symmetry to the tales of both Ellyn and Will that continues throughout, and the theme of the missing brother is a central aspect of that.
Hermit Crab
The baggage that shapes identity
Will's brother, Kit, is a prisoner of the Spanish, and Will does not know whether Kit is alive or dead. The ventures Will embarks upon with Drake are partly undertaken in the wild hope of finding his brother and at the very least avenging his loss.
Conversely, Ellyn's brother, Thom, died as a child, and Ellyn feels the burden of his absence as an expectation placed upon her to achieve as much as he would have done in her father's eyes, though the conventions that constrain her as a woman mean that she is almost inevitably condemned to falling short. When she has an opportunity to escape and quite literally step into her brother's shoes, she takes it, partly in a bid for release from stultifying boredom, but mainly to prove her own worth.
Will Ellyn succeed in showing that she can be as useful as a man? Does Will find Kit, or have his vengeance? Through the story we find out…
Caribbean shore
How does my writing come about?
To find out more about the writing of the book, click the link below to hear part of a live radio interview with Danny Smith of West Herts Drivetime, on Radio Verulam — the community radio station for St Albans and west Hertfordshire.
Audio extract - MP3 - 4.6mb - 5m43sUsed by kind permission of Radio Verulam.
