Drum roll please… a new action/adventure is in the works featuring early 18th-Century pirates, a mid-16th Century poet, centuries-old hidden family secrets, hidden treasure, and a present-day female protagonist who’s a Philologist and (unknowing) heir to a wealthy family of Portuguese descent! 📖🏴☠️⛵️🪙🇵🇹
This is a SUPER exciting project for Kathleen as she has never written an action/adventure nor has she written a trilogy before. It is currently in the research and outlining stage, but it’s already playing out like a blockbuster movie in her head. She is also studying Portuguese to help with some parts of the story.
Comps:
Think Indiana Jones x The Da Vinci Code x Laura Croft x Pirates of the Caribbean with a little bit of the humour of the new Jumangi movies!
Book One Pitch:
When 27yo philologist Caroline is kidnapped and told she is the heir apparent to a Portuguese estate, she doesn’t believe it. But a blood test proves she’s the only one who can save the family fortune—and their hidden secrets—from falling into the wrong hands. Many centuries ago, her biological ancestor and ancient poet (Luís de Camões) created a manuscript, and the key to unearthing the family’s secrets is hidden in it. Many have tried to crack it or steal it, but none have succeeded. The de Camões’ greatest enemy, the Bellamys’, have tried for generations to get their hands on it, which will lead to disaster. But the secrets are unknown even to Caroline, and she must race through puzzles, cryptograms and other obstacles to find it before the enemies do. And inside her a question burns hot: how did she not know about this family, and why was she separated from them? In a strange new land, Caroline must believe that she has it within her to claim her place as head of the family and protect the ancient knowledge they’ve been guarding for generations. Dodging bullets and leaping out of helicopters is the least of her worries when a mole is discovered—but not unmasked. Just when she thinks everything is under control, a surprise visitor storms into her estate, and he’s after the same thing she is—but is he friend, or foe?
Book Two Pitch:
Not so long ago, 300-year-old pirate bones were found off the Eastern coast of the USA. In order to determine who they belonged to—and it was thought that they belonged to a certain known pirate of English descent—a DNA test was performed with a direct descendant. The theory was proved wrong, and the whereabouts of said pirate remain unknown. Captain Sam Bellamy was once the richest pirate ever to sail to seas while he had his day in the sun. He planned to go south from Massachusetts to find treasure and return rich to run away with his mistress, Maria (Goody) Hallett—the witch of Wellfleet. But when he left, he didn’t know he was leaving behind an unborn child. Maria endured extreme hardship while he was away, being jailed for witchcraft and banished from her home and town for having a child out of wedlock. She longed for her pirate lover to return, but grew tired of waiting, thinking he’d abandoned her. Months later, just as he was about to reach land and come back to his beloved, a great Nor’easter swept his ships away, scattering them on the ocean floor along with his loot and the lives of all but nine of his men. Rumour had it that Bellamy went down with his ship, too. But under cover of darkness, in the swirling waves of the Atlantic, he was secretly recovered by his second in command who was leading another ship. In order to avoid being hanged for piracy and treason, he escaped back to England where he’d left behind a wife and child. To dodge the King, Bellamy took his family to Portugal, his wife’s home country, where they started anew. He was desperate to recover his riches, but it seemed hopeless—until, that is, Bellamy heard about the secret treasure of his wife’s family, the de Camões, and it was then that he made it his life’s mission to uncover it. A family feud was born—one that would last for centuries.
Book Three Pitch:
Back in present day, the feud still runs deep. Caroline makes some shocking discoveries that change everything. Families collide, lines are crossed, and she’s engulfed in more action and adventure than she’s ever experienced. When she finally unlocks the powerful mystery of the de Camões treasure, she’s more determined than ever to keep descendants from both families away from the truth she holds. When friends become enemies, and enemies close in on her, Caroline can’t trust anyone but herself, and she must fight alone—or die trying. And if she dies, she’ll take the secrets to her grave, since she’s the last surviving heir. Isn’t she?
Kathleen Foxx || Author || Editor || Podcast Host 