Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, touched me as a kid. I turned next to his follow-on novel: Kidnapped. But my love for pirates then lay dormant for several years—until it was reignited by the birth of my grandson. His parents named him Drake. I thought about writing a little history of Sir Francis Drake, as a means of inspiring my grandson.

 

Although arguably a pirate, SFD was an exceptional leader, a world-class adventurer, and an accomplished Admiral. But writing Drake’s history has been done many times over. So why not write a novel and breathe a little life into him? That led me to read countless books on pirates, including the seminal work—A General History of the Pyrates, written by Captain Charles Johnson in 1724.

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I try to write novels that are action oriented, fast-paced and reader-friendly. What does ‘reader-friendly’ mean? Think Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code. He has page-turner quality, short sections, plenty of action, and realistic dialogue. 

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Reidr Daniels is my pen name. “Reidr” was what some of my friends called me growing up. They had other names, of course, but this one works best. “Daniels” is an homage to my paternal grandfather, a WWI veteran who lived to be 101.

Pyrate on!