I admit to a certain fascination with female pirate captains who were just awesome levels of badass. So much so, I might write a book about it. If I do, I call dibs on Ladies Who Launch as the title. Seriously, I might write the book just because I have fallen deeply in love with the title. Puns within a title are my secret weakness and neither of my first two books have lent themselves to such shenanigans.
Hmmm … which pirates would I go with?
Ching Shih is a given, in that she commanded a huge pirate force and is one of the few pirates to live happily ever after and die at a ripe old age.
I’m thinking maybe Sayyida al Hurra, since it would give me a chance to talk about the “coversos” who were a likely part of my Melungeon heritage.
Grainne Ni Mhaille (Grace O’Malley) of course; I am a Celtophile and she’s from the Tudor era so she’d be in there too.
The Lioness of Brittany, Jeanne de Clisson, also sparks my interest because I am 1) captivated by the idea of women out to avenge their murdered husbands and 2) think the centuries of Brittany/France tension doesn’t get enough airplay in America.
Jacquotte Delahaye is a subject of great interest to me because she was one of the founders and defenders of a freebooter republic, and the whole concept of the buccaneer is tied up with slave rebellions in the Caribbean, much to my delight.
Ah, now all I need is clones to write all my brainstorming ideas out in full!