If you asked my kids, they’d quote Jimmy Buffet and tell you that I’m a Pirate, 200 years too late. You know how the song goes - an over-forty victim of fate arriving too late. So it’s 2009, and what’s a pirate-at-heart to do when the cannons don’t thunder and there’s nothin’ to plunder? Go where the pirates would go! And that my friends is why I find myself Gulf side in Key West as often as humanly possible. Trust me, I’ve read the complete guide to
Quit Your Job and Move to Key West more times than I can count, but haven’t got there yet.
Key West means more to me than just sun and entertainment and bars - it inspires me. There’s something about the calm Caribbean lifestyle of the Conch Republic that serves as inspiration for writers. Most famously, this tiny Gulf Island has inspired Ernest Hemmingway, who aside from his writing spent his days fishing the Dry Tortugas and sipping cheap scotch in
Sloppy Joes. It’s also served as inspiration for Tennessee Williams and Robert Frost. And most recently, it’s served as inspiration for me in helping me ink my first children’s book –
Blackbear the Pirate.
Blackbear and his crew each represent a different type of bear, and are all named after actual pirates from what historians call the Golden Age of Piracy. Blackbear is named after quite possibly the most famous pirate of all, Edward Teach, who’s more commonly referred to as Blackbeard. Izzy Paws is named after Israel Hands, who was the first mate aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge – Blackbeard’s great pirate ship. The character of Le-Kidd is named after Captain William Kidd, one of the first pirates from the Golden Age. Bonnie is named after Anne Bonny, one of the few female pirates known to sail upon the seas, and Calico is named after Calico Jack Rackham, who was known for the colorful calico clothes he wore. And lastly, Barty is named after Bartholomew Roberts, one of the most successful pirates of the Golden Age.
I’ll follow this posting with another detailing the plot of book; I mainly wanted to introduce myself and the blog. I hope you check back to see pictures from different events I’ll be attending to promote Blackbear, read up on any new developments with the book (including the unveiling of Blackbear the stuffed animal!), and follow along with my own pirate adventures!
Gulf of Mexico as seen from the ship I commandeered on a previous Key West trip. Okay I chartered it, but "commandeer" sounds much more pirate-ish.
Blackbear the Pirate was a big hit with all of the young pirates, and even the real pirates who were mingling about (see the photos below!). 
We made some new friends and ran into a few old ones, like Margaret Hoffman. Margaret is the author of a novel about the real Blackbeard the pirate, called "Blackbeard: A Tale of Villainy and Murder in Colonial America." It is a compelling story that mixes fact with fiction as Margaret gives us a glimpse of the man behind the legend in this suprising and superb tale. As it just so happens, Margaret and I will be sharing a booth at the upcoming Sugarloaf Craft Festivals that take place over the next two weekends. This coming weekend we will be at the Timonium Fairgrounds just outside of Baltimore, Maryland and next weekend we will be in Chantilly, Virginia. Come on by and say hello! 
Avast
