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Book 1 in the Blackbeard series
Set on Ocracoke Island
on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the approaching
Halloween festivities find Billy, Daniel, Stefanie, and
Mark exhausted from their trip to sea to give their
eccentric friend Mrs. McNemmish the pirate burial on
which she insisted. But now they are trapped in a
tunnel, locked in by Zeek, the local scoundrel and
direct descendent of Israel Hands (Blackbeard’s first
mate), who is racing against them to find the hidden
treasure.
This rollicking tale magically combines this unruly
group of youngsters, Blackbeard’s ghost, secret tunnels,
skeletons, hidden treasure, a very mysterious
inheritance, the Bermuda Triangle, the Underground
Railroad, and a hurricane hitting the Outer Banks in a
page-turning delight, full of mystery, laughs, suspense
and adventure.
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This story is the culmination of a twenty-year project.
Ms. Penn spent that time getting to
know the pirate descendents who still reside on Ocracoke
Island, NC, and researching the letters, journals, and
diaries passed down through family and friends.
To make the story more real, she also spent time with
the island’s children, who helped her bring to life the
many adventures facing the story’s characters. The
result is a book that captures much of the essence of
this fascinating location, which enriches this fun tale
with real characters, locations, lore, and legends
passed down through the generations of residents from
the days when Blackbeard had his hideout there. This
book is a history lesson of the greatest kind – with the
past and the present wonderfully and entertainingly
intertwined.
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About The
Illustrators
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Joshua Miller
graduated from Ohio University with a BFA degree in
Graphic Design and Illustration. At the time of
publication, he had worked for 9 years as a computer
animator and lives in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan
area.
Philip Howard is the
great-great-great-great-great-grandson of William
Howard, Blackbeard’s quartermaster. He lives on Ocracoke
Island, where Blackbeard was killed on November 22,
1718. Luckily for Philip, the young William Howard was
not serving with Blackbeard at the time of the famous
pirate’s final battle. Philip owns and operates a
quality craft shop on Ocracoke(www.villagecraftsmen.com). In his spare time, he
collects island stories and tales, and leads regular
ghost walks on the island.
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