Monday, May 26, 2014

Crossbones cometh Friday


"Crossbones", the NBC drama inspired by my non-fiction work, The Republic of Pirates, premiers this Friday, May 30th, and the media is starting to take note.

The Portland Press Herald had a front page story on me and the show today, with exclusive interviews with creator Neil Cross (who some among you will know as the creator of BBC's "Luther") and, of course, myself. We reveal that the show is in fact a "what if" sequel to the historical events told in the book, imagining what Blackbeard might have become if he had secretly not been the person killed and beheaded at Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, in 1718. But read to learn more.

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times (and its sister paper, the Chicago Tribune) carried this preview feature, which devotes some attention to the relationship between the book, the show, and the show's creator. Therein Cross likens my book to "brown rice", which I've decided is a good thing, coming from someone who doesn't write non-fiction. (Such fare is nutritive, real, good with butter.)

"It's a show which undeniably has pirates in it, and it's set during the time of the golden age of piracy," Cross told the L.A. Times. But "it's got elements of speculative fiction in there, little hints of steampunk and it's kind of a spy show, really, more than a big, swashbuckling pirate show."

Also over the weekend, Excelsior and its sister dailies across Mexico carried this feature on the show, though it appears to quote an old NBC press release as being my words. But nice exposure nonetheless, seeing as the book is available in Mexico, in Spanish.


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