Little Treasures: Research!

Tags

Historical romance, musicality, nuggets, pirates, regency, research, rhyme, song, treasure, trove

Starting a new series is a rollicking adventure, a roller coaster ride complete with spins and turns, dips and climbs. Awash in a sea of ideas, the trouble with a new series is clasping the right ideas, motivations, and inspirations for this new bunch of characters, without getting lost or becalmed, and figuring out what characters stand to lose, as well as win. Of course, as a romance author, I know that will be LOVE. (Pirate!)

* Note this is not the only shelf devoted to pirates. (Heehee!)*

As spring loosens the soil, preparing gardens for a beautiful show, so are the seeds of ideas that sprout within an author’s thoughts. At this point, research plays key in my stories. I’m hitting my trove of pirate research books, knowing that once I find that intriguing nugget of historical information, my series will be off to a rousing good start.

 

Today is no different. While researching a new pirate novella series I’m plotting, I discovered this wonderful song “Gosport girls” sang in 1780, in one of my favorite books, She Captains, Heroines and Hellions of the Sea, by Joan Druett, author of Hen Frigates.

 

“Don’t you see the ships a-coming?

Don’t you see them in full sail?

Don’t you see the ships a-coming?

With the prizes at their tail?

Oh! My little rolling sailor

Oh! My little rolling he;

I do love a jolly sailor,

Blithe and merry might he be.

Sailors, they get all the money,

Soldiers, they get none but brass;

I do love a jolly sailor,

Soldiers they may kiss my arse.

Oh! My little rolling sailor,

Oh! My little rolling he;

I do love a jolly sailor,

Soldiers may be damned for me.”

The way this diddy is written, the musicality and rhyme come to life. As I delve deeper into plot and character, I hope you enjoy this little research treasure and wish you a hearty and adventurous weekend!

Blessings,

Katherine