About the Author:
Kevin Charles Smith is a former global director of marketing for a Fortune 100 company. Driven to precision and motivated by success, he spent more than a decade researching this trilogy which weaves in and out of the edge of the world between fantasy and reality, at times leaving his reader to wonder what side of the meridian they exist. Although this is his first literary work, his career spans over thirty years where he created imagery for product descriptions, packaging and television commercials to entice shoppers to pick up a product. Using that same skill in creating the Bilge Rat series, readers who pick up this product won't be able to put it down.
Review:
Two new YA series set in space, a boy on a pirate ship and female detective stories set in Hollywood and Buffalo are the week's hot deals. This week The Hollywood Reporter inaugurates a regular roundup of recent book deals that will catch the attention of consumers and Hollywood when they are published. Our editor recommends THR's 5 Books of the Week: Stephen King, Formula One, Rock History, and Umberto EcoMarilyn Monroe s Last Nudes Featured in New BookYoung Adult continues to be where the action is in the book market, especially YA science fiction and fantasy novels. Three of the week's most important deals fit into that category, including two novels about space travel and one about pirates. #3. Bilge Rat by Kevin Charles Smith sold to Journey as part of three-book deal by Mark Miller at Mark B. Miller Management and George Brigandi at Brigandi & Associates. The story is cleverly described as "Mutiny on the Bounty meets Pirates of the Caribbean with an Oliver Twist." Smith is a former senior vice president of marketing at Kellogg's Cereals and this is his first book deal. Bilge Rat already has cover art and Smith and his team are fielding inquiries about the film rights. --Hollywood Reporter --Hollywood Reporter
Clinging to the top of a ship s mast with sharks circling below doesn't bode well for William Echo Eden. Faced with such grim prospects for his future, he opts to examine choices made and the consequences that ensued. His journey into the past begins with his first memory, the death of his parents in 1695, which left him and his younger brother totally unprepared for the cruel world that lay beyond their door. Taken in by their great uncle, a retired deacon who works at a basilica, they do the majority of the cleaning, which includes ridding the basilica of its detested rat infestation, because of their uncle s failing eyesight. They also have to answer a daily riddle their uncle s way of educating them. Echo excels in acquiring knowledge and a host of skills, but one particular talent is an innate ability to mimic voices and sounds. Toby, however, fails to master anything, which makes him the perfect target of a bully named Scarf Rockingham. At night, the brothers frequently venture into the streets where Echo acquires additional knowledge that later serves him in good stead. His inventiveness eventually leads the brothers to become so adept as ratters that they gain employment at Slugger O Toole s Sport Emporium. Their search for rats for the fights there eventually takes them farther and farther afield until they find themselves at London s docks where the ships at anchor provide an ample supply of contestants. They also meet a disabled ship s cook who enthralls them with tales of his younger days at sea. One night, Toby disappears, their uncle is killed, and Echo must flee England aboard the Amafata, where his only friend is the ship s cook. As they sail to the Caribbean, Echo s encounters bring him face-to-face with the reality of sea life, the brutality of punishment, spinning yarns, ghosts, sea hazards, ingenious games, Voudou, pirates, slavery, superstitions and witches, first love, and duels. His many talents and knowledge elicit the friendship of some and the enmity of others. Remarkable Rascal, the first entry in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series, is a rollicking tale of adventure, romance, and life in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries for a lad in his teens. Although cited as a book for young adults, the violence and gruesomeness make me question whether all readers of this age group are mature enough to handle some of the covered topics. Throughout the narrative some words are italicized, although the purpose for being so is never given. Some can be found in the glossary, others cannot. Well-researched, this novel deftly captures the essence of this period. The author, a gifted storyteller, uses a first-person perspective to suck readers deeper and deeper into a whirlpool that, at times, is as violent as a maelstrom or as serene as a halcyon day. Rather than recount every detail of Echo s young life, he weaves together a series of vignettes that introduce the main character and provide the framework that allows Echo to accomplish all that transpires both in London and the Caribbean. Along the way readers meet a host of unique and memorable characters some scary, others who bring smiles, all easy to picture. --Pirates and Privateers
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