I am delighted today to be joining the Coffee Pot Book Club to share a “series book blast” for HELEN HOLLICK and her wonderful series of nautical (and supernatural) adventures, The Sea Witch Voyages, set in the Golden Age of piracy, the early 1700s, and starring her handsome, swashbuckling, lovable rogue of a pirate captain, Jeremiah Acorne.
What are the books about?
Trouble follows Captain Jesamiah Acorne like a ship’s wake…
The early 1700s: from the sun of the Caribbean to the eerie mists of England’s Exmoor in Devon, the Sea Witch Voyages follow the adventures (misadventures?) of Captain Jesamiah Acorne. Orphaned at almost fifteen Jesamiah escaped his home in Virginia and the bullying of his half-brother to join with his father’s old friend, Captain Malachias Taylor – a kindly man, but also a rogue of a pirate.
Jesamiah eventually captains his own ship, but at Cape Town, South Africa, he is to meet the girl who becomes the love of his life – Tiola Oldstagh, a midwife, healer… and a White Witch with the gift of Craft.
Accepting amnesty from Governor Woodes Rogers of Nassau, Jesamiah turns to a legal, married, life, except various governors, ex-lovers, bad-tempered pirates, lingering ghosts and other non-human entities seem to have different ideas.
Jesamiah Acorne: a swashbuckling amalgamation of Hornblower, Jack Aubrey and Jack Sparrow mixed with Indiana Jones, James Bond and Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe.
Voyage with Jesamiah aboard Sea Witch and sail into the ocean realm of fast-paced, exciting nautical adventures…
“Helen Hollick has it all! She tells a great story, gets her history right
and writes consistently readable books!” ~ Bernard Cornwell
“A wonderful swashbuckler of a novel. Fans of Pirates of the Caribbean
will love this to pieces of eight.” ~ Elizabeth Chadwick
“In the sexiest pirate competition Cpt. Jesamiah Acorne gives
Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow a run for his money.” ~ Sharon K. Penman
What have Amazon readers said about Sea Witch?
“WOW! I was mesmerised from the very first words in the very first chapter. I felt I was actually there with Jesamiah and his fellow pirates; such was the reality of the story. I could almost smell the sea, feel the wind blowing and hear the sounds of the creaking ship.”
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“I was very impressed with the attention to historical detail and the alluring descriptions of the sea and its sailing ships. The author confesses that she has taken a few liberties with history to make her story neat and tidy, but I think these are entirely justified for the sake of such a compelling tale.”
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“I thoroughly enjoyed this well-told tale. Helen Hollick has created a terrific, likable rogue in Jesamiah Acorne; a young man with a dark past and very bright future – if he survives to enjoy it. Details about the age of sail, life on board and ashore, and the sense that sea has a special, sinister life of its own added to the pleasure of reading. I shall be following this series from now on. Great stuff!”
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“Helen Hollick’s forté is her ebullient imagination. Everything is original, from her writing, which is vivid and yet as economical as conversational French, where unnecessary words (‘the’, ‘and’) are dropped for fluency. Notable is the lavish use of the color blue, so expensive and cherished at the time, that the cheeky blue of Jesamiah’s ribbons is almost eclipsed by the sheer arrogance of painting his ship — Sea Witch — the same blue that was the prerogative of monarchs and prelates! And there are wonderful jokes, snitched from real history, such as the raid of a merchant ship by a crew of pirates who merely needed a haul of hats. This book is strongly recommended for young adults who want a rousing story, and also for those who are older who want a thought-provoking new approach to the traditional pirate yarn.”
Book details
The Sea Witch Voyages are published by Penmore Press & Taw River Press.
They are nautical adventures with a touch of supernatural fantasy.
Note: Contain adult language and behaviour.
All are available as eBooks and in paperback from various outlets.
When the Mermaid Sings and Gallows Wake are also available to read on Kindle Unlimited.
buy links
Universal Amazon Author Page Link
Universal links for individual books:
Ripples In The Sand – Voyage 4
When The Mermaid Sings – a prequel novella
About the author
Helen Hollick
First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/supernatural series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She has also branched out into the quick read novella, ‘Cosy Mystery’ genre with her Jan Christopher Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant. The fifth in the series, A Memory Of Murder, was published in May 2024.
Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She is currently writing about the ghosts of North Devon for Amberley Publications, and Jamaica Gold for her Sea Witch Voyages.
Recognised by her stylish hats, Helen attends conferences and book-related events when she can as a chance to meet her readers and social-media followers, although her ‘wonky eyesight’ as she describes her condition of Glaucoma, and severe arthritis is becoming a little prohibitive for travel.
She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon with their dogs and cats, while on the farm there are showjumper horses, fat Exmoor ponies, an elderly Welsh pony, geese, ducks and hens. And several resident ghosts.
You can follow Helen on social media:
Website | Twitter/X | Facebook
Amazon Author Page | Goodreads
Blog (supporting authors & their books)
Helen’s Newsletter – Thoughts from a Devonshire Farmhouse
Follow Helen’s “book blast” with The Coffee Pot Book Club HERE!
Follow the Coffee Pot Book Club and find out about other great historical reads on
Twitter and Instagram.
Thank you so much for inviting Captain Jesamiah Acorne, myself and the crew of the Sea Witch to drop anchor here today!
You’re very welcome, Helen!
Thank you for hosting Helen Hollick today, Carolyn. Much appreciated.
Take care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club