Monday, August 15, 2011

Lesbian Pirate Fiction

An overview of lesbian pirate fiction, from good to bad.
Branded AnnPeculiar Passions: or The Treasure of Mermaid Island (Red Hot Diva)The Sea HawkThe Princess's Bride
For high seas adventures, sea battles, scurvy, romance, outlawry and treasure, there's nothing quite like a pirate story. Sadly, lesbian pirate fiction is rare. Happily, most of it is very good.
  • A Pirate's Heart by Catherine Friend
    • A Pirate's Heart
      A Pirate's Heart
      by Catherine Friend
    • 300 years apart, Thomasina Farris is raiding and sailing and loving, while modern day librarian Emma Boyd is searching for the pirate's treasure map and trying to track down a rare books thief.
      • Romance finalist, 21st Lambda Literary Awards
      • Lesbian Fiction Readers Choice Award Winner 2008 
      • Popular Fiction Winner, Benjamin Franklin Awards 2008
      • Historical Romance Winner, Golden Crown Literary Award 2009

  • Branded Ann by Merry Shannon - read the review!
    • The tale of the terrifying pirate, Branded Ann, her search for treasure and the widow she takes prisoner who ends up capturing her heart. Her first book, the fantasy Sword of the Guardian, is extremely good and Branded Ann is even better - for people who want romance and adventure that grows out of realism, grittiness and cruelty (personally, I think it's one of the best books on this list).
      • Favorite Adventure Book Winner, Lesbian Fiction Reader’s Choice Award 2008 
      • Historical Fiction Finalist, Foreword Magazine Book of the Year 2008 
      • Nominated for the Lesbian Romance category, 21st Lambda Literary Awards

  • The Blade to Your Hand by MCA Hogarth
    • A too-short (and cheap!) story of a pirate and a princess, that has received good reviews. The characters are animals, the story is a tale of piracy, loyalty and redemption. 
    • Only available as an eBook.


The Princess's Bride


  • The Sea Captain and the Lady by Vada Foster
    • Caribeean in the late 17th century sees two women meet - one the daughter of an English privateer, the other of the newly appointed governor of the Bahamas. When Abby is kidnapped by the notorious Rackham, can the privateer's daughter rescue the woman who has captured her heart? A fun salty swashbuckler, but not one for those who prefer historical believability.

  • The Sea Hawk by Brenda Adcock
    • A time travel romance with mixed reviews (some love, some hate) - Julia is a marine archaeologist studying a shipwreck, who ends up transported back to 1812, and rescued by the same ship and its female captain. And then true love and angst ensues.

  • The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin by Colette Moody
    • In this fun and adventurous romance, a seamstress is captured by pirates in 1702 and taken along into the Caribbean to care for the wounded. Along the way, she falls hard for the captain's daughter. An adventurous wish-fulfillment romance.

    Taming the Wolff
  • Taming the Wolff by Del Robertson
    • An adventurous romance featuring Kris Wolff, a fierce female captain disguised as a man, and the lovely lady she ends up with as hostage. It has received excellent reviews, despite being a first novel!
    • eBook available from Bella Books

  • Water Witch: The Deceiver's Grave by Nene Adams
    • An 18th century Caribbean. a great treasure, the feared pirate Bess O'Bedlam, the woman who stands in her way, and a magical curse!



Anthology
  • Skulls & Crossbones: Tales of Woman Pirates is an anthology, edited by Andi Marquette & K.G. Emmanuelle
    • The editors are both lesbian, the stories are a mixture of lesbian and not. But they are all about women pirates. A consistent, if not mindblowingly amazing, anthology of decent writing
Skulls & Crossbones: Tales of Woman Pirates
Skulls & Crossbones
Kindle eBook


The stories:
“Ladgarda” by Christine Rains
“The Gallows” by Jove Belle
“Valkyry” by Rakelle Valencia 
“Lost Treasure” by R. G. Emanuelle
“The Hangman’s Dance” by Jane Fletcher
“The Furies” by Rajan Khanna
“Devil’s Bargain” by Andi Marquette
“Fifty Octaves Deep” by Alice Godwin
Skulls & Crossbones“HMS Nefarious,” by Rod Santos
“Pirate Wannabe” by Aubrie Dionne
“Road Pirate Wanted” by Victoria Oldham
“The Brahmapur Buccaneer” by Matthew Fryer
“The Kindness of Strangers” Vicki Stevenson

“Resolution 1838” by David Brookes
“The After” by Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin
“Captain, Hook, and Mr. Shrike” by Cat Conley
“A Perfect Life” by Elaine Burnes
“Stardance” by Trace Miller
“The Passenger” by Megan Magill
“Pipettes for the Pirate” by Holly Ellingwood


    Individual Short Stories
    18th & Castro

    Online original stories and fanfiction about lesbian pirates
    NB: Quality varies, may not be finished

    Nonfiction about Women pirates (may or may not include lesbians)
    There are quite a few good books about the history of women pirates. Opinion differs over whether certain famous characters (e.g. Anne Bonney and Mary Read). These are all good ones to start with.



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    5 comments:

    1. Nice collection! Every now and then a girl needs a little pirate love, and you've listed a few that missed my radar. Thanks!

      ReplyDelete
    2. Oh, this is great! XD I didn't even know there was a lesbian pirate book list! At least I know what I'll be reading for the next few months. :)
      Thanks, bro!

      ReplyDelete
    3. Nice list, you put a couple new titles on my radar. (Gotta love those swashbuckling lesbians!) I thought I'd mention that the Kindle ebook for Taming the Wolff (a book I hadn't heard of before) is available at the Bella Books online store. - SeattleRobin (I couldn't get this comments form to take my Wordpress ID. Frustrating!)

      ReplyDelete
    4. ok i Love lesbian pirates, and my favorite so far is A Pirates Heart. just read it.

      ReplyDelete