Caribbean Chronicles

If you drowned and the sea spit you out, thrusting you back into the golden age of piracy, buried treasure and beauty beyond belief... would you stay? RICKY BRADSHAW has never sailed the Spanish Main, searched for buried treasure or battled pirates on the deck of a Spanish Galleon. He's never fallen through the floor of Davy Jones' locker, skippered a pirate vessel, or saved the life of a governor's daughter. But, all that changes on a snowy Christmas Eve when Ricky falls into the chilly waters of a creek across from his apartment while trying to rescue BARNACLE, a mangy mutt with shrimp breath. Now Ricky finds himself on a raft in the middle of the Caribbean Sea where there is surprising beauty on every island, danger around every corner and great honor and glory for all who can survive the curse of the Black Avenger.

Dead Calm, Bone Dry is a Directors' Choice Finalist What if you were forced to sail with pirates? Captured and tried for piracy. Then sentenced to hang. Would you trade your body to the crew of the Flying Dutchman to save your soul? Ricky did. Some dead men DO tell tales. And there is stolen treasure in this pirate story. Last winter Ricky Bradshaw was another gangly freshman hoping to fit in - or at least not get picked on - and maybe catch the attention of Becky Nance, a girl in his biology class. Except sometimes Ricky "zones out" in class because he has absence seizures. If you've never heard of absence seizures, that's okay. A lot of people haven't. Ricky's teachers are a lot of those people. And that's what happened to Ricky last Christmas Eve: he had an episode and ended up in pirate land. When Dead Calm, Bone Dry begins, Ricky is on his way to be tried for piracy. In the ship's brig he is about to learn that some things are worse than being unpopular in high school. MUCH worse. Like sailing to... Well, we best let Ricky tell the account. It is his story, after all.

While searching for rumored treasure in a cave on Coffin Cay, a small island off the southwestern tip of Haiti (Hispaniola), Ricky suffers an absence seizure. During his last trance-like episode, Ricky uncovered a treasure from the Nuestra Señora de Riqueza, a vessel in an armada of ships sailing the Spanish Main. Now back on Coffin Cay with his parents, Ricky hunts for the treasure he found in the cave over three hundred years earlier during his trip back to pirate land. The End of Calico Jack is a fictional retelling of the pirate escapades of Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read. The story is based on historical research of the life of "Calico Jack" John Rackham. Some liberties have been taken in the telling of the story, but many of the events reflect what historians believed happened to Jack, Mary, and Anne. Also, in real life those who suffer absence seizures may appear to be in a trance but cannot recall what happens during their episode. The book includes a PIRATE MAP of Calico Jack's sailing routes and the ports he visited. Parents can trust the Caribbean Chronicles Series. There is no sexual dialogue or situations, violence, or strong language, only positive moral values.

Would you risk your life to go back in time to the golden age of piracy? ★ 2021 Selah Award Winner Finalist for YA Literature ★ At the conclusion of a seminar on, "Trances and Visions: Exploring the Out-of-Body Experience," the wealthy daughter of a prominent physician approaches Ricky with an offer. "If my father could fix things so your mother would receive the best cancer treatment for free, would you go back in time to clear my ancestor's good name?" Ricky explains that he can't simply will himself to have an episode and take a time-travel trip. "Absence seizures don't work that way. Even if I could go back, I can't control when and where I end up." But Ricky also knows there have been instances where someone claimed they slipped into a trance and saw past and future events. "They saw things," Ricky says to the rich girl, "but didn't change what happened in the past." Then, for the third time since last Christmas, Ricky experiences a short "staring spell" -- of fixed gazing into space and sailing through time. Moments later Ricky finds himself in pirate land with Stede Bonnet, a rich sugar plantation owner who thought becoming a pirate might be a fun way to live out the rest of his life. And for Bonnet it was a Yabba Dabba Doo good time right up until the moment Ricky stepped aboard the Revenge. Will Ricky swing by the neck or die on the deck? Set sail from Barbados with Bonnet's crew as they slant west towards the North American coast, and run afoul of the British Royal Navy, the good citizens of Charleston, and the pirate Blackbeard. Would you risk your life to go back in time in order to save your mother? Parents can trust the Caribbean Chronicles Series. There is no sexual dialogue or situations, violence, or strong language, only positive moral values.

Once more, our reluctant hero Ricky Bradshaw faces a life-threatening event. His mom is sick. Like, really sick. Desperate to try anything to get a miracle, and having watched the movie Jesus Revolution with his Mom, Ricky agrees to be baptized in a creek by the Pirate Preacher. But things go from bad to worse to apocalyptic when Ricky doesn't come up for air. In the next moment, he's on a ship with Jonah the prophet, in the middle of a raging storm. Sensing that the gods want someone to be sacrificed, the crew of barbaric men—none of whom are fond of bathing—casts lots to see who's gonna be the unlucky chump that goes into the sea. Ricky's all like, "Don't pick me, don't pick me!" but before he can show his stick, Jonah steps up like the whale of a guy that he is. Except, surprise surprise, fate has other plans. Because out of nowhere, this giant octopus grabs Ricky and drags him down, down, down into the abyss. For a few harrowing moments Ricky and Jonah share a really tiny space in the gut of the Kraken. Then the Kraken gets sick of Ricky and... When Ricky finally washes ashore, he realizes he's in the underworld, where the crew of the Flying Dutchman sails around collecting souls of the dead. And wouldn't you know it, they want Ricky's soul most of all. Talk about a bad day. But even a bad day in the underworld can be a fun, adventurous sail, when there's love and sacrifice, demon-pirates and scores to settle, hope for a miracle and the chance to meet the one who made the wind and sea.