I love the sea and the ships that sail upon it. I also love a good pirate story. So, when I decided to set Wind Raven, the third book in my Agents of the Crown trilogy, a pirate Regency, on a schooner (well, among other places), it seemed like a grand adventure.

I had no idea.

Since I’m committed to making my stories historically accurate, I dove into all the ship terminology, pouring over my new 4-inch thick Sailor’s Word Book until late at night. But I realized just having the vocabulary was not enough. I wanted to be able to describe a storm at sea as huge waves crashed onto the deck and a battle that had shot bringing the sails down around the characters. And get all the ship parts right while doing it. So, I did gobs of research and studied diagrams of schooners and sail configurations until I was seeing them in my dreams.

But even that was not enough. I had to get the feel of the ship. I decided it was essential to take a ride on an actual schooner. See MORE.

Sometimes when I talk to fellow readers of historical romance, or even authors, and I mention a name from the past, an author who helped shape the genre, like Kathleen Woodiwiss or Rosemary Rogers, I get a blank stare in return. It occurred to me that as lovers of a genre it might be helpful to read some of the classics to see where we’ve come from and to enjoy the greats who have contributed so much to the craft.

I’m not going as far back as Ivanhoe or Jane Eyre. I’m not even reaching back to the seminal novels of Georgette Heyer in the early 20th century. Except for two novels of note in earlier decades, I’m starting in the 1970s when the bedroom door was flung open never to close again. And while I may not have included your favorite author, by reading the romances on this list, you’ll have a good idea of our beginnings and what so many wonderful authors have done for the genre. Think of it as an education in modern historical romance.

So, here’s the list of the historical romances I recommend you read. See more.

A Regency romance that is also a pirate tale? Set on a schooner and in exotic ports of call? Oh yes, that’s just what Wind Raven is.

A year in the making, it tells of an English ship captain who is ordered into the Caribbean by the Prince Regent to spy on a pirate whose been attacking British merchant ships. Captain Jean Nicholas Powell, named after his grandfather Jean Donet, a noble born French pirate, has been a privateer for England and is now sailing for Powell and Sons, the wealthy family shipping business. The last thing he needs is an assignment from Prinny to track down some pirate, especially when he is forced to take as a passenger an American hoyden who thinks she can crew with his men.

How does one go about writing such a tale? Well, wanting to make my story historically accurate, I first I had to get all the ship stuff right. Hundreds of hours of research went into the study of schooners, their sail configurations, how one moved about on them and what happened to them when huge waves crashed onto the deck or a battle had shot bringing the sails down around the crew. It was not enough that I read books, The Sailor’s Word Book, and studied diagrams until I was dreaming about them. Oh, no. I had to experience it for myself. SEE MORE

My latest novel, Wind Raven, is a seafaring pirate Regency, much of which is set on a schooner in 1817. To set my scenes accurately, especially those in a storm, I had to know much about schooners of the period and their crews.

The Ship Though it can vary in size, generally a schooner is a smaller ship with only two or three decks and two or more masts (most often two) rigged with fore-and-aft sails. As their name indicates, schooners have the ability to glide across the water with superior speed. In Wind Raven the ship is a “topsail schooner,” meaning that the schooner has a square topsail on the foremast.

The schooner’s sails run the length of the deck, enabling it to catch the wind at a closer angle and their placement allows greater maneuverability. The ship can thus move closer to the wind, almost directly into the wind, giving it power and speed. The origins of the design are unknown but hulls conforming to the concept were, by the late 18th century, popular both in Britain and America.

Initially built for trade around the coasts, larger ones could take on longer voyages. And such was the ship my hero, Capt. Jean Nicholas Powell captains. See more HERE.
The schooner’s sails run the length of the deck, enabling it to catch the wind at a closer angle and their placement allows greater maneuverability. The ship can thus move closer to the wind, almost directly into the wind, giving it power and speed. The origins of the design are unknown but hulls conforming to the concept were, by the late 18th century, popular both in Britain and America.

Initially built for trade around the coasts, larger ones could take on longer voyages. - See more at: http://www.blueroseromance.com/2014/04/schooners-of-regency-era-by-regan-walker.html#sthash.ESHDx7bm.dpuf