When the discovery of an ancient rhyme written on 18th century paper was discovered behind the walls of a house in California, it created much debate about who wrote it and what it meant. The writing seemed to foretell a time of global upheaval and threats of war where ordinary people would turn on each other, blaming those different to themselves for all their problems. The prophecy declared that at such a time, “all good pirates shall rise again.” No one could decipher when such a time would be, but it seemed irrelevant as the rhyme seemed nonsensical.  Little did they realise that the time was now and something fantastical was about to happen.

During a violent storm late at night off the Northwest coast of Scotland an 18th century pirate ship emerges from the mist. On board are the remains of 4 long dead pirates, but with the sound of a long-forgotten sea shanty and the roar of the storm, the pirates, Anne Bonny, John Rackham, Mary Read and Angus McTavish come back to life. The question is why? With no memories of their past, they struggle to discover who they are and why are they in this strange new world.

(Out Now on Amazon)

"There was no mistaking the fact that this ghostly vessel was a pirate ship! The lightning exploded once more across the heavens and this time the brief illumination gave witness to four creatures, if they could be called creatures, clambering up the sides of the strange vessel. As the creatures climbed onto the deck and into the soft orange haze of the oil lamps, their true horrific appearance became apparent. They resembled corpses that had not been in the ground for that long. They were dressed in robes, apparently made from seaweed and other debris from the floor of the ocean. Their pungent rotting robes consisted of a hood, beneath which, long dead faces stared out with dead eyes. The faces were skull like but with putrid bits of flesh still weakly clinging to the discoloured bones of the skull. The creatures, or ghouls would be a better description, lurched backwards and forwards with seawater cascading from their decaying attire and leaving pools of water on the deck as they moved about. They heaved themselves around as if searching for something. They seemed inquisitive as they explored the furniture on board as if trying to recall distant memories of their past."

Six months after their miraculous rebirth, The Buccaneers find themselves in a confusing world that is so different from their own. Having discovered their purpose, they are overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding and the uncertainty that lays ahead. But when a fighter jet screams across the sky above them, they are convinced they are in hell and head straight for the one place they believe they would be safe, the artic circle.

While moored at the north pole they meet a Russian biologist who helps them understand the modern world and he describes the injustices and hardships so many people now face. This motivates them to do something to help the oppressed and to fight for the freedoms of so many that don’t have a voice. The Russian joins the crew to help them navigate this strange new world.  During a voyage to South America, they encounter Andres Khumalo, a doctor struggling to assist the ill and dying in Peru. He agrees to travel with them and the Russian to seek out lost souls who need their help. What they discover on their journey shocks them, as they witness just how terrible things are and realise that life is much worse than anything they had to endure 300 years ago.

(Out in Summer 2024)

"Sergei was a scientist, and he was passionate about the world he lived in. He was concerned about global warming and the melting of the ice caps. Why couldn't people understand that if the ice melted by just a fraction, it would raise the level of the oceans across the globe causing a catastrophe? That was why he was here now, in the North Pole with his instruments, checking the ambient temperature of the ice sheets. It was a lonely job, but someone had to do it. He was peering closely at one of the dials on the machine when he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He knew it was probably just an optical illusion as nothing ever ventured this far out on to the ice. He looked up anyway not expecting to see anything, but he was wrong. Walking towards him was a great hulking furry beast. He of course knew of the fabled abominable snowman or Yeti, but he knew it to be a myth, yet here it was, coming towards him on the ice. Strange thing was though, he thought, the Yeti seemed to be wearing a kilt!"

Several years have passed and unbeknown to them, stories and tales of strange pirates unfold among communities that speak of “The Buccaneers” who came to their assistance in time of need. Unscrupulous individuals and certain disreputable organisations and political movements complain of unknown interferences causing strategies to go awry. But no one can show any distinctive proof that these so-called Buccaneers exist. No one can claim to have ever seen them, nor have been able to produce any photographic evidence of their actual existence. With time these tales fall into the realm of myth and legend and parents tell their children to be good or the pirates will get you. Everyday expressions arise such as “Oh, never mind, the pirates will look after me” when people bemoaned their fortune.

For The Buccaneers themselves there are many unanswered questions and they are desperate to find the answers, especially when they realise they are aging so quickly. In their quest for answers, they find themselves back at sea, off the coast of Scotland and that is where they discover not only the answers they seek, but also their fate.

(Out in Spring 2025)

“- Who the hell are these Buccaneers? he shouted down the phone. Brian Gullis was a successful property developer who did not let anything get in his way.

Another of these so called eco warriors’ groups, I suppose. He moaned to the unknown recipient of his anger at the other end of the phone line. He had come up against these protesters on many occasions when he had acquired land ripe for development. It was easy with these “drop outs” as they invariably committed criminal activities and it was an easy matter to use the full force of the law to move them out of his way. Normally these fanatics would chain and padlock themselves to trees or even take to living in them, but although they caused a lot of disruption the only real harm they did was to delay operations for a few days. This new group, however, were different. They were never seen, so, no one to physically arrest. Machinery got broken during the night and workers refused to turn up for work ridiculously complaining of ghosts haunting the site.

As he felt his blood pressure rising with what he was hearing, he toyed with a small piece of paper on his desk and as he turned it over he gazed at the symbol of a grinning skull with two crossed swords below it."