Mad Kestrel

Joseph Beth Books in Charlotte NC will host a fantasy panel on Wednesday, May 28, beginning at 7 pm, to kick off ConCarolinas. The panel features Faith Hunter (the Rogue Mage series), Gail Z Martin (Chronicles of the Necromancer) and Misty Massey (Mad Kestrel), who will be discussing fantasy and answering questions from readers, and signing their books. There will be a costume contest with fabulous prizes, so put on your fantasy best and come on out for the fun!

For information and directions, go to www.josephbeth.com

I posted here because my book, Mad Kestrel, is a pirate fantasy, and because pirates who come to my signings dressed for the occasion receive a special prize!

If anyone's in the area, we'd love to see you!

Well, it happened. Too much factual reading stunts my brain. I started re-reading one of my favorite books, Jurassic Park by Crichton for the umpteenth time. (You would think that would also stunt my brain. Yet I enjoy it every time.)

I loved that book! It was the first Crichton I ever read, and I fell for him hard.

I finished Jack Absolute (it was merely okay) and started a young-adult fantasy, Magic Lessons.

I'm not a young adult anymore, just reading like one.

I waste a law degree....

Hey, that sounds familiar! I'm currently wasting a degree in Modern Languages by running the circulation desk of a middle school library and writing novels. Not a whole lot of French or German being spoken in either of my professions...

That makes it your turn to offer us a quote to guess.

Oops. I missed my chance. Serves me right for not looking at the forum yesterday.

Just wonderin' what instruments are played by those here and how'd you get started?

Well, I'm not very good yet, but I'm learning to play the bowed psaltery (in the same family as the dulcimer.)

I started Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter. This is a huge freaking book...

I tried to read that, a number of years ago, but it defeated me. Maybe one of these days I'll make it all the way to the end.

In the meantime, I've just started Jack Absolute, which is the rollicking tale of an American spy, rogue and lover in the late 18th century. I'm only a chapter in, though, so the rollicking hasn't begun yet.

Oh look, someone dropped a thread... (picks it up, dusts it off)... ahem... shall we start anew?

My story starts at sea... a perilous voyage to an unknown land... a shipwreck... the wild waters roar and heave... the brave vessel is dashed all to pieces, and all the helpless souls within her drowned... all save one... a lady... whose soul is greater than the ocean... and her spirit stronger than the sea's embrace... not for her a watery end, but a new life beginning on a stranger shore. It will be a love story... for she will be my heroine for all time. And her name will be Viola.

Oh, I know this one...Shakespeare In Love!

Where have you wound up while on your way to a reenactment, festival, fair, party, whatnot.... dressed in all yer spledour?

Well, I suppose I can't really call it "winding up" since we went on purpose that way, but my crew and I donned our best for the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and invaded the AMC 22 in Pineville, NC. Afterward, we had lunch and ale at Sir Edmund Halley's Pub, the local ex-pat hangout. We were such a hit, the restaurant manager asked us to join a birthday party in another room.

Naturally, when Dead Man's Chest was released, we did it again. The theater let us stand around in the lobby for a while prior, for folks to snap pictures.

Welcome back dear Lady!

What is the title of your book?

Thank you - I've missed being here!

The book's working title is Mad Kestrel, but that will probably change before publication. Publishers tend to do that.

And yes, that's my pirate name, too. But the adventures contained therein are not mine. Would that they were...

Are congratulations in order on the book?

I sold it to Tor last summer, but I just turned in the final edit today. It hits the real world in Winter 2008. *happy pirate dance*

Greetings, all,

For an assortment of reasons, I haven't been around much. Largest of which was the achievement of a publishing contract, which dragged all my attention to the book instead of other diversions.

But I'd back amongst you know, so if someone might pass me a mug of the finest, I'd be honored to join in again.

I live in Upstate, South Carolina and am interesting in finding a group interested in piratical reenactments.

We're not terribly formal, and we generally only get together during the North Carolina Renaissance Faire in the spring and the Carolina Renaissance Faire in the fall, but if you'd like to join my crew, we're always hiring.

My ship is the Thanos - just click on it to see what positions are already filled:

http://www.ifrp.org/

And if you decide to sign on:

http://www.lundegaard.com/catalog/internat...ateers-p39.html

Indeed it's a fine CD. It was the first one I ever bought, and I still listen to it on the way to faire (or work, or while writing...oh hell, I listen to it all the time!)

I'm especially fond of their version of "All For Me Grog" and "A Drop o' Nelson's Blood". But that's me...

I was hoping to find some pirates interested in doing some special events in and around the Lowcountry.

Avast, me darlin' - I've got a fair crew of 15 here in the SC upstate. And oddly enough, I'm plannin' a move back to Beaufort (that little town about 45 minutes up the coast from ye) within a year or so. Just me, not the rest of me scurvy bunch, but they won't be hard to assemble if the mood strikes them.

Feel free to get in touch with me by PM. If me crew and I can be of assistance with the plunder of old Hilton Head, why, nothing would please us more.

Dang! Now I have to go buy another pumpkin, since I'm sure my young'un won't want to carve Johnny Depp into his pumpkin...

Anyone remember Zorro, the Gay Blade? Early 80's, I think, and starred George "Eternal Tan" Hamilton in dual starring roles.

So bad. So politically incorrect. So funny!

So am I the only one knee-deep in me piratical fabrics at th' moment? It seems I'll never get t' the bottom of it all, then again, may'aps I don' wanna!

I feel your pain, lass! At the moment, piled on my sewing table (in various stages of completion) are:

one pair of chiffon harem pants

one pair of broadcloth breeches

one muslin short chemise

one velvet vest with gold fringe for belly-dancing

one brocade vest for belly dancing

one pair of man's tights

one cotton striped man's pirate vest

one pair of boy's striped pirate breeches

AND

one circle skirt.

I've told my family to hit me if I even drive in the direction of the fabric store anytime soon.

And just for proof that Kestrel spends entirely too much time in the rum cask...the actual, correct, if-only-I'd-typed-'em-right-the-first-time date of Pyrate Weekend is November 1-2.

October 25 will be our First Annual Day O' Wrong, to which all are cordially invited as well.

Diving back into the rum now. Safer in there.

Tell me about your guild/group/ship.

What are yer numbers?

Whar do ye sail out of?

What activities?

My group and I are all members of the International Fellowship of Royal Privateers Our (fantasy) ship is the Thanos and she's docked at the Carolina Renaissance Faire (Concord, NC)

We've only been in existence about a year and a bit. I have roughly fifteen crewmembers so far. Alas, since it's a fantasy ship, we don't sail very far at all. (Sorta like King Arthur's horse in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, savvy?) As for activities, we've got a Pyrate Weekend planned for the Carolina Faire, and we're in the early stages of a feast to raise money for cancer research (breast and testicular cancer, specifically)

about as interesting to see as a crew of modern day construction laborers hanging around on lunch break.  Sort of sweaty and grungy looking, but not something to keep your attention.

Ahem, well, uh, that's not necessarily true...

I recall a spring, not so long ago... I was working in a preschool, and the building right next to our playground was having a new roof put on. Morning recess was about 10 am, and while the children were playing, we, the teachers, entertained ourselves by taking surreptitious glances at the two very tan, very gorgeous, very shirtless fellows working high above us.

Sweaty? Yep.

Grungy? Indeed.

Attention grabbing? Beyond measure!

If you want a satisfying piratical dining experience, try the Queen Anne's Revenge (www.qarevenge.com) in Charleston SC. It features a nice little museum along with some really terrific food.

Now if I can just convince them to have singing pirates every weekend...

Speaking of trivia...over on the IMDB site (http://www.imdb.com/Trivia?0325980), they claim that :

"The final cannon shot during the Black Pearl's siege of the town, billows into a Mickey Mouse head shape against the night sky"

Did anyone else notice this?

Damn. Now I have to go see it one more time. *g*

What are your fave movies?

I could happily live on a deserted island with my DVD player and DVDs of:

Pirates of the Caribbean

Captain Blood

From Hell

The Matrix

LOTR - all three (I'm sure I'll like Return of the King, and I don't plan on being marooned before it comes out anyway)

Hamlet (the Branagh version)

Last of the Mohicans (the Day-Lewis version)

Dead Again

all the Hornblower movies

Of course, I'll be wanting an endless battery supply and a good-sized cache of rum to go along with my movies. And maybe a wicked, gold-toothed pirate to watch 'em with me...

Another from Tim Powers if ye've a mind fer brew and imbibing. 'Tis called "Drawing of the Dark".

I loved Drawing of the Dark!!

Not at all piratical, nor even sea-going (well, not much) but still an amazing read, is The Anubis Gates, also by Powers. It's the most well-crafted time-travel story I've ever read.

Now I'd best get over to the library to try and locate some of these nifty books you've all recommended...

I plan on taking the Pirate Walking Tour in Charleston next week. Having lived there awhile, I'll find out for certain if it compares to the other tours.

So what was your opinion of the Pirate Walk? We went on the other one, the Pirates of Charleston walk with Charleston Walks LLC. It was okay, but our guide didn't tell me anything I hadn't already read somewhere before. Still fun to walk around and talk about pyracy for an hour and a half! The really entertaining part was when my ten-year-old proudly announced to the 35 or so people walking with us that his mommy was a pirate captain, and he was a powder monkey on her ship! You can imagine the looks we got for the rest of the walk... :)