I was inspired
to write Stolen by trips to both
Morocco and Devon, England. I was born in England, and Devon is one of my
favourite areas. I love the moors, the wild ponies, the whole atmosphere. I now
live in Canada, but went back to Devon recently to visit a friend. While there,
she took me on a tour of the pirate caves and coves. I also visited the
wonderful old library in Newton Abbot, and buried my nose in many of the publications
in their local history collection.
When in Morocco,
I saw the underground dungeons where the Christian slaves were kept in the 17th
century. When I asked our guide who it was they imprisoned there, he looked at
me pointedly and said, “You.” He meant,
of course, ‘white people like you’. This was very intriguing.
When I got home
to Canada, I began researching white slavery and was excited to discover a
connection between the Barbary Corsairs and the coast of England I had so
recently visited. I began to think about what it might have been like to have
your friends or relatives abducted and sold into slavery.
Stolen is about more than
white slavery, though. The seventeenth century saw the rise of black slavery in
the New World, and was also considered The Golden Age of Piracy. The era was
extremely complex and interesting. Researching it was a pleasure.
I absolutely
love reading historical fiction, and was nervous about trying my hand at it. Stolen isn’t my first book, but is my
first historical novel. I eventually plunged in, because I couldn’t resist.
Lizbet Warren, my main character, became more and more real to me, and her
story unfolded in my imagination without much prompting.
Lizbet is
nineteen when her parents are captured by Barbary Corsairs and carried off to
the slave markets in Morocco. Desperate to help them, she sets out for London
with the only other survivor of the raid, the red-haired orphan, Elinor, from
the Workhouse for Abandoned and Unwanted Children. The unlikely pair are soon
separated, and Lizbet is arrested for vagrancy. Rescued from a public whipping
by a mysterious French privateer, Jean Vallée, she is taken to his Manor House
in Dorchester, where he keeps her under lock and key. Later, Lizbet is captured
at sea by the pirate Gentleman Jake, and forced to join his crew. She forms
complex bonds with both her captors, but never forgets her parents and uses all
her skills to enlist the aid of these men to find them. Her quest leads her to
the fabled courts and harems of Morocco and the tropical paradise of Barbados.
Stolen is the story of a
brave but endearingly human young woman who perseveres in the face of
incredible odds to establish her place in a new world. It is also the story of
friendship, the mother-daughter bond, the complexities of consent and love --
and a daring rescue.
Available from Amazon Kindle
You can purchase your copy here if you are in the UK
For more information about Sheila and her books visit her webpage: http://www.sheila-anne-dalton.com
Thank you so much for this, Judith. I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI've read Stolen and loved it. Sheila is such a great writer. Very impressed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeanne. Writing this book was a labour of love. Took me two years. Qutie a struggle, but also very absorbing.
ReplyDelete