Preconceptions

Preconceptions 

by Maureen O. Betita

We all have them. I don’t care how much you deny it, you do. You know you do! I sometimes think preconceptions are wired into human DNA.

If a corner is dark, we tend to raise our awareness of danger…or…I suppose if you were a criminal, you assess the darkness as a suitable place to practice your craft.

Ah! There is a preconception! I mean, honestly…I think most modern crime takes place in broad daylight, across a boardroom.

Another preconception!

Yup, I’m full of them!

The same can be said of the hero in my new book, The Pirate Circus, available on February 3^rd. Benjamin Silvestri is new resident in Tortuga, come from staid old England with his young son. He has definite presumptions of what being a pirate is all about and though he accepted help from his Uncle Silvestri, a well-known pirate, Ben has standards.

Of course, so does Janey, the bosun of The Cursed Quill. They’re just pirate standards!

Now, when these two meet and begin to debate his biases…amidst an attraction that neither expected…things get interesting!

Throw in a little boy longing for adventure and a young woman uncertain of her sexual identity and then the pirate circus arrives in town with a new admiral bent on evil… and BAMM! Things get dangerous!

Check out the blurb…

Bosun Janey knows who and what she is. A pirate.And a damned good one at that. Living a life of excitement, adventure, and sailing the seas of the Kraken’s Caribbean is enough for her. But when the Quill is stuck in dry dock, Janey is left to search for distraction along Tortuga’s waterfront. How does a pirate occupy herself? Certainly not by making friends with a six-year-old boy or mooning after the boy’s father. That’s not how a pirate behaves!

Widower Benjamin Silvestri arrived in Tortuga seeking a fresh start. At first, the pirate haven doesn’t seem like a safe sanctuary for second chances, but life is full of surprises. The sun breathes life into his little boy, and new freedoms help his errant niece embrace her true nature. And then there's Janey. A pirate and most unconventional woman, she stirs feelings in Benjamin that are far from proper.

But who’s to say what is proper in Tortuga? Before he and Janey can explore the possibilities, Benjamin's son and niece disappear onto the high seas. Together, the couple set out to rescue them—because only a loving father and a cut-throat pirate stand a chance against the dangers of The Pirate Circus. 

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The Kraken’s Caribbean is the sort of place to challenge preconceptions and take delight in proving them wrong. It’s something I enjoy toying with as an author! Turning the world inside out and upside down is my specialty…

Now, what preconceptions can we dicker with today? To prepare for the release of The Pirate Circus, one lucky commenter will win a copy of the first book of the Kraken’s Caribbean series, The Kraken’s Mirror. (Though, if you already have it, I can make it one ya don’t have, because I’m like that!)

Lucky Guys! Or Not…

by Maureen O. Betita

I’ve always liked writing characters who are lucky. Though what’s really fun about writing these characters is when they react to the idea that they are lucky…especially the men.

(Okay, some of the guys consider luck their right, when it’s with the ladies…but most of mine resent the idea that any of their success is about luck. We all know what they want it to be about!)

These men want to be known for being clever, sneaky, intelligent. And occasionally treacherous. I mean, they are pirates!

Take Captain Alan Silvestri, the hero of The Kraken’s Mirror. If anyone should know luck, it’s Silvestri. He’s spent 50 years the victim of a good luck curse!

Being the eldest of the lot, he is more likely to accept the concept of luck once his curse has run its course. He’s been around a while and figures that reputation, in the long run, is worth just as much if he’s considered lucky than if he’s considered sneaky. Plus he’d rather not be known as sneaky. (That way it isn’t expected from him and he can get away with it now and then.)

I think this is the sort of viewpoint that comes with age and experience and I find myself supporting this perspective more and more. I mean, I know I’m lucky, but I don’t count on it. I do figure if I leave room for luck it is more likely to visit but if I fluff the pillows and dust the furniture, it might visit more often. (How do I know I’m lucky? Well, when my heart stopped in 2007, my husband was in bed with me instead of still in the shower…and I’d be dead. Luck? You bet!)

Now, Captain Michael March?He’s the swashbuckler from The Chameleon Goggles. Well, he’s younger and he’s cocky. And he’s a bit lazy for the most part. Luck is fine by him. It takes less work. Not that Mick can’t work or be clever, sneaky…etc. (Oddly enough, part of his reputation is for escaping a bad luck curse.) This is a man who uses what comes his way, luck, shipping routes…extra aces…loaded dice…

Hey, Mick is pretty typical of men. And probably the most realistic of every pirate I’ve created.

Wow, that sounded sexist…I’m sure there are women like this! From what I’ve read of Anne Bonny, she knew how to take advantage of what came her way!

Wink, wink! Nudge, nudge!

The last of my heroes from The Kraken’s Caribbean Series isn’t a pirate. In The Pirate Circus,Ben falls in love with a pirate. His difficulty is in believing success isever about luck for pirates. Benjamin Silvestri is a master brewer and he’s very pragmatic. And can be quite judgmental. He’s willing to accept help from his uncle, a pirate, but when it comes to how he views pirates…he’s not so accepting. If only he just believed that it was about luck! But he believes it’s about treachery and being sneaky.

The pirate he falls in love with knows it’s more than luck, but luck plays into it! Janey finally convinces Benjamin that it doesn’t matter what you call it. She is one of the good guys…er…gals.

I know today is considered an unlucky day, but I don’t believe in that sort of omen. Now…horoscopes? Whole different thing! ;-)

How about you? How do you view luck?

Three Ways a Kraken Can Be Your Best Defense

by Maureen O. Betita

Number One – It eats your critics. Okay, not your literally living and breathing ones. At least not yet. (Maybe if I can get enough people to unite in belief we can actually manifest a physical kraken… Hmmmm!) Until then, the kraken can eat your inner critics. All those self-doubts and nagging thoughts…just toss them to the kraken. He loves them. They might come back, but keep throwing them to him…after a few dozen passages down his gullet, they do tend to quiet down a lot. And it’s fun to hear them scream and plead as they slide down into the darkness…bwah ha ha!

Number Two – The kraken can take it. You do something a bit on the dim side? Blame the kraken. “I was following the kraken’s advice.” He’ll back you up, totally. Stand behind you, a tentacle on your shoulder, staring at those who are pissed at you. They’ll back off, trust me.

Number Three – Slime, well it can actually dissolve evidence.

Now, understand that the kraken….he cradles the world. Or he strangles the world… So much depends on your perspective!  

This ornament, well, it illustrates that point… You can win this ornament, lots of ways, including commenting here. Also on my blog, at other blogs I’m at…and assorted ways all listed in my contest blog… Check it out!

http://maureenobetita.com/blogslinks

The Kraken Chronicles

with Maureen O. Betita and Penelope Leon

Hello! This is Penelope Leon, the editor of the Kraken’s Chronicles. The Chronicles is a newsletter I’m putting together full of the news and gossip from the Kraken’s Caribbean. I’ll be working hand-in-hand with the real world author, Maureen O. Betita.

Ms. Betita is the bard of Tortuga and writes up the wonderful life stories of many of the citizens of this topsy-turvy pirate world. Her book, The Kraken’s Mirror, told of the romance of our famed cursed pirate, Captain Alan Silvestri and his pursuit of the woman from the future, Emily Pawes. Our legendary cephalopod, the Great Albino Kraken, plays a large role in that tale.

Next month, the second novel will be released. The Chameleon Goggles relates a frightening part of our history, when we faced invasion from a capitalistic steampunk world, the former home of Captain Jezebel, who holds the wheel of the Cursed Quill. Will her beloved Michael March and the crew of the Quill keep us safe? Come October 20, you can find out!

Meanwhile, the Great Kraken has given his blessing to my journalistic ambitions and Tortuga is excited at the premier edition. For the first edition I’ve interviewed Emily regarding what she misses from her former life. And teased a few lines from Ms. Betita regarding what the term piratepunk means to her.

Interested in finding out what is happening ashore the wild island of Tortuga? Leave me an e-mail address and I’ll add you to the newsletter mailing list!

Kraken Talk!

with Maureen O. Betita 

I held a contest last month! Looking for my missing kraken and here’s the facts of the matter… The winner, picked by a random number generator, was Fran Colley! I’ve been in touch with Fran and she is freaking thrilled with winning that Sony Pocket Reader.

I received 119 entries. Some really great entries, they were really hilarious! Fran won with the speculation that the Kraken was busy helping the monster living in the lake outside Hogwarts get over a bad love affair. It involved rum.

Of those entries several were from the same person. That’s okay, I picked up a few people who went from blog to blog, from Facebook to Facebook and entered. Kept it fun. And I enjoyed watching them stretch their creative muscles.

I had nine photos posted of possible kraken sightings. I know Silvestri shared a great many of these a few Saturdays ago. Dear man, he was so concerned that I was growing fixated…

I also had two links sent to me of videos. One of a white kraken with wings dancing to classical music, many fathoms below the surface. Another was of a kraken mother, giving birth and setting her little ones free to drift with the current. Sigh.

I gave away four minor prizes, one for each week by awarding a kraken of t…I mean comment of the week award. 

 

It was a lot of fun, folks! I figure when The Chameleon Goggles comes out I’ll run another contest, but likely not as long or demanding… Maybe once a year I’ll run a biggie and give away an impressive prize. I figure for The Chameleon Goggles…I’ve already ordered the kraken pendent from the multi-talented Rae Bradbury-Enslin as the incentive. It’s a lot like my blue one, but will be sepia toned.

Come the release of The Pirate Circus, I’ll have to come up with something interesting…I’m thinking a baby kraken, since I do have a youngster in the book.

Now, to come up with something wondrously crooked to ask people!

LAST CHANCE! Kraken Wrap Up!

by Maureen O. Betita
 

Okay, this is it! The last day of the great “Where Did the Kraken Go?” contest! Last chance to tell me where you’ve seen my missing monster and be entered to win one of three fabulous prizes!

It’s been a wicked month! I’ve been searching high and low, running down all the leads to where my missing kraken might be and they have been interesting! He showed up just long enough to pose for Dara England for the e-cover of The Chameleon Goggles, then disappeared again. I could sure use his help on the promotion circuit!

He was working for a while with a friend who works at a tattoo shop and evidently showing great talent with the needle! Think of it, eight needles working at once! Sure, it hurts, but he’s fast!

I heard the same praise when he was sighted behind the counter at a Starbucks, churning out the cappuccinos and frappuccino. (He lost that job due to the slime he left of the cups.)

But the sushi bar owner fired him after he devoured a month’s worth of seafood during the employees-eat-free event on his first day’s work.

He’s also been doing humanitarian deeds – cephalopodian deeds? Yup, he helped out with sandbag filling along the Mississippi and traffic control outside of schools. And the tourists touring Alcatraz enjoyed his narration…

He did some mercenary work also, terrorizing the executives of BP regarding the clean efforts on the Gulf of Mexico being inadequate.

He was sighted twice in space! Snuck aboard the shuttle mission and proved a Godsend with button pushing. Aliens took him on a short hop to their homeworld but he came back, deciding that being worshipped as a God might sound good, but he missed the Caribbean.

 

He was even admiring his own reflection in the kraken’s mirror and disappeared for a brief time into an alternate dimension, luckily the Doctor found him and brought him back.

It’s been interesting!

What about you? Where do you think he spent the month? I’d love to hear! I’m really getting tired of all the running around, following these leads. At the price of gas, I’ve been broke all month! I need him! Help a writer out!

You might win something! ;-)

Thinking, Thinking, Thinking!

by Maureen O. Betita

 

What am I thoughtful about?

Ah…nearly the end of May…and my thoughts flit to so many things. Finishing The Pirate Circus, which is the third book in the Kraken’s Caribbean trilogy…finishing my Where Did the Kraken Go? Contest… and BayCon. Yes, the most immediate thoughts are of BayCon. A scifi/fantasy convention just over the hill from me in San Jose. I’m going. I’m taking a bunch of my book buttons and… I’m taking three copies of The Kraken’s Mirror with me. I’m gonna be brave and … look for folks who take the buttons and wear them. (I’ll set the buttons out on one of the freebie tables and then keep an eye out for them as I wander the convention.) And when I see one? They get a book. I’m thinking this will be a good way to generate interest. Thinking, always thinking!

I may put together some flyers for the contest, just half page or quarter page things and set them on the promotional tables. ;-)

What am I thankful for?

That May is almost over. And the wonderful cover Dara England has created for the next book in the Kraken’s Caribbean trilogy… The Chameleon Goggles. I am immeasurably grateful to be with a publisher that lets me have so much input into the cover! Yeah, Decadent!

What am I thirsty for?

Fame, fortune…water. Yup, water. I have been woefully neglecting myself on the hydrating stuff lately. And I’m thirsty for May to be over. ;-) And more entries to the contest! 6 days left! Where have you seen my Missing Kraken!

Show & Tell the Maureen Betita way

Silvestri Attempts an Intervention 

“Forgive me for intruding on this…promotional spot. But I fear the imaginative Ms. Betita has gone a bit…over the top in her search for the elusive Great Albino Kraken.” 

***he sighs and strolls to the railing of his ship. Turning, the wind blows his silver hair to one side 

“In all truth, the old monster undoubtedly finds all this notoriety a bit overwhelming and it’s likely he simply felt the loss of his privacy quite keenly. He is magical and mystery is part of what being a monster is all about.” 

***his deep sapphire eyes gaze out at the water 

“Not to mention the…silliness that some of this speculation has raised.”

Did you see this photograph?  

***Silvestri shakes his head

“Or this one?” 

“Or this?”

 

“He has been sighted at the royal wedding? Sought beauty treatments at the Boom Boom Beauty Bar? Is courting the Loch Ness Monster? Is hiding in this gentleman’s beard?

***he sets one foot upon a rum barrel, striking a pose from a familiar rum label 

“Can you blame him for staying in the deeper waters? I, for one, will be glad to see this contest come to an end. Ten more days…just ten more days and the Caribbean will return to its normal state of affairs. And no longer will these hoards of treasure seekers be wandering about, taking notes and flinging these guesses about willy-nilly.” 

***he draws his pistol and polishes the brass fitting with a cloth 

“I’m ready to see a winner drawn and the prizes sent away. But I do understand the author’s desire to share the story of my winning the widow Emily.” 

***a smile and wicked gleam lights his eyes … without really directly pointing his pistol at you, dear reader…the strength of his suggestion to get thee to the entry page and read the contest details is impossible to resist. 

It’s the blue eyes.

Brits to the Rescue!

by Maureen O. Betita

A funny thing happened as I started to write the third book in my Kraken’s Caribbean series, The Pirate Circus. I began it without any particular music working to get me into the groove. I tried my Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks but with that playing, I couldn’t find my present H/H voices. I slogged on, doing what I could with no special music selected.

I’d write to whatever Starbucks was broadcasting. But it wasn’t working terribly well. (Let’s face it, on any given day the Starbucks soundtrack can be schizophrenic at the best. I once heard Frank Sinatra then Nina Simone, followed by Bootsy Collin which segued to Toad the Wet Sprocket and move on with Bob Marley.)

What is a writer supposed to do with that?

A friend suggested the soundtrack to Cutthroat Island and I was pretty excited! And it did the trick to get me back on track. Just enough pirate vibe to shift me away from fixating on “Sinnerman” and flirting with putting a character into dreadlocks. (Though the soundtrack from the 1999 Thomas Crowne Affair is a fabulous thing to write by! Especially “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone.)

But it wasn’t really inspiring me. And the words were proving elusive. Then the book sold and I knew I better get my ass in gear. I now had a deadline. I couldn’t afford to let the story drift but needed to strap on the outboard and get going!

I thought, “Well, I need something without words.” I plugged my ear buds into my iPodnano and scrolled through my music.

“Hmmm, the Best of Acoustic JethroTull…well, that might work.” I selected it and sat down, hands to keyboard. The music started and then Ian’s voice wove through my head. Ooops. Acoustic didn’t mean no vocals. Where was my brain?

But wait…this was working… “Life’s a Love Song” filled my head.

I let it play and my story began to unwind. I wasn’t really hearing the words, but the playful, rough voice of Ian Anderson while the changing time signatures that is characteristic of JethroTull managed to break the anchor chain.

So, I’m not up to 25k in four days and moving along nicely, thank you! I expect by the time this blog posts to be more than twice that word count and near the finish. (Then I get to dive into revision, and who knows what might work for that! I have a feeling JT will still do the trick. Maybe the classical version ofTull the London Philharmonic recorded...)

As with all things, I recommend that you be open to what music might work for what you’re writing. I certainly didn’t expect my JethroTull collection to fill my sails with great gusts of inspiration. And it isn’t any particular album that is working. I have the iPod on shuffle and from the acoustic, to Ian’s solo works, to Aqualung and Locomotive Breath…they are all working!

Ah, but when he sings about the sea…or that flute rises… My heart soars and it totally rocks!

Huzzah!

Just found out they’ll be playing next month not far from me… *happy dance!*

Note to everyone! I am holding a very exciting contest on my personal blog and on FB… Help me find the missing kraken at www.maureenobetita.com/blogslinks. Yes, I am accepting entries here and any site I blog on during the entire month and on my author FB page, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Maureen-O-Betita-Author/155907664465540

I’ve got great prizes, check them out!