“How to Become a Pirate Hunter” – a new must read book

We were approached by Marty Reeder, author of “How to Become a Pirate Hunter“, who asked us to read the book before it is published and participate in a “blog tour” of it. We gladly accepted the proposal upon hearing that it is maritime based and targeted for teens, such as Nina, as well as adults. Both Nina and Christian read it immediately. I am still in the process.

The blog tour for “How to Become a Pirate Hunter” started Tuesday the 14th. Ours is today, March 17th and we’ve provided two, since both Nina and Christian read it. I’m sure you will find Nina’s take on “How to Become a Pirate Hunter” most exciting! Below is both of our “blog tour” responses. We will be posting Nina’s to her blog as well.

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Our Review:

Most of the books I’ve read lately are really good, but it takes about 100 pages to get fully captivated. “How to be a Pirate Hunter” was captivating from the very first page! A very well written pirate time-travel adventure of a 15 year old boy in the modern world who felt he had no purpose in life until he met a young lady of the same age with a natural-born ability to show him otherwise. Mr. Marty Reeder has written a story that you won’t want to put down until it’s finished.

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Nina’s blog tour for “How to be a Pirate Hunter” by Marty Reeder:

I have just read an amazing book called, “How To Become a Pirate Hunter” by Marty Reeder. He asked me if I could read his book (before it was even published!) and do some sort of review on it, so I did a interview with him. He also did a mash-up with one of my favorite book, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. A mash-up is where you mix characters from one book and a plot from another. I will post the mash-up on my blog on a later date.

After reading this book I wondered if I had a natural-born ability. I asked Mr. Marty Reeder what he thought mine would be and I found my natural-born ability is a badminton umpire, but he is guessing I am really the next meteor jumper, what ever that is! Honestly, we’ll never know because I don’t know of any seers around (seers are characters in his book that can see anyone’s natural-born ability when they look you in the eye).

Here are the questions that I asked Mr. Reeder for the interview;
N–How long have you been writing for?

M-Like many writers, I’ve been writing since I was old enough to spell! I still have the story that I wrote before I was a teenager about two kids surviving in the woods. I’ve gone through plenty of stories since then, some of them better than others, but almost always, I write (or read!).

N-What was the writing process like? How long did it take?

M-Most of my stories tend to germinate for quite some time before they sprout, and How to Become a Pirate Hunter. is no exception. I got the idea about 13 years ago, but I didn’t start writing until a few years after that. Then I started teaching at a school and having a family … that put things on pause. I remember taking some Saturday mornings when I didn’t have grading or other things and squeezing in some writing. In fact, I recall one Saturday morning with my baby girl on my lap while I wrote the climactic scene in the story. After I finished the story, I tinkered with it for years and kept it on a back burner. Finally, last year I decided to take it seriously. After Cedar Fort liked one of the stories that I sent them, they wanted me to do some edits on it and then send them any other stories I had written. I had been saving How to Become a Pirate Hunter for something special and this seemed like the one. I did an extensive edit of Pirate Hunter and sent it in to them.

N-Are there any writers you find inspiring?

M-I’ve always loved Mark Twain. He is someone I could read as a kid and as an adult and just enjoy his humor, fun characters, and clever but sound reasoning. I also remember reading Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game) when I was younger and being blown away with how smart his characters were, but I was still allowed access to their thoughts and actions. As I grew up, I learned to love some of the classics. I have tremendous respect for authors like Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Shakespeare. While those are all good writers, whenever I need to escape the tough things in life, I invariably turn to the silly writings of British novelist P.G. Wodehouse.

N-Which character from How to Become a Pirate Hunter is most like you?

M-This is such a great question! Interestingly, I’d have to say that neither of the main characters are super close to me. I am not as reserved and subdued as Eric, but I’m also too passive to be like the confident and aggressive Charlotte. I personally think that I make for a great, loyal sidekick. So I’m going to have to say that I feel I am most similar to Samuel–though I don’t really feel like much of a natural born charioteer!

N-If you had to go up against a gang of pirates who would you want on your team (other than Eric)? (They can be real or fictional.)

M-Another great question. Okay, I’m going to list off a few here:

–Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island. This 14-year-old kid holds his own against a motley arrangement of the most desperately vile pirates in literature, from Billy Bones to Israel Hands to the master mutineer himself: Long John Silver!

–Horatio Hornblower from C.S. Forester’s excellent Hornblower series. These books are for an older audience and the main character has a funny name, but when it comes to strategic naval maneuvers and modesty, Horatio is the man!

-Sir Francis Drake, the real-life English privateer. Sure, that’s like pitting a pirate against another pirate … but technically he was a “privateer” (someone given permission from their government to plunder ships from other nations), and who better to anticipate a pirate’s moves that a good-hearted pirate himself.

M–What were some of your favorite books as a teen?

M-The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

– Redwall (and Redwall series) by Brian Jacques

-Watership Down by Richard Adams

-Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

-The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I would write more about each one, but then you’d be here all day!

N–And last, what is your natural-born ability (and mine!!)?

M-You know, you’d think I’d be ready for that question, having a lot of time to think about it. In spite of that, I’ve never really settled on something. I need a seer! My copout response is that I was naturally born to write a story on pirate hunters! … but if I were to really venture an opinion, I might say that I was a natural born Scout camp waterfront director (mainly because that is one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever done, and I felt that I was, ahem, reasonably good at it!). And yours, Nina? Well, I’m no seer, but the random natural born ability generator from my website just told me that you were a natural born badminton umpire … but I think that’s an inexact science. So I’m going to say that you are a natural born meteor jumper. What that is, exactly, I don’t know, because it’s one of those abilities for the future … but it does sound cool, I think!

This is the ends of our quick Q & A with Mr. Marty Reeder. When How To Become a Pirate Hunter comes out, be sure to get it for yourself, and find out what crazy adventures Eric and Charlotte go on. I found I was “hooked” by the prologue. Eric, who is 15, thinks that he doesn’t have a natural-born ability, until Charlotte sends them back in time, and they have to help a boat escape pirates. This book is filled with excitement and will keep you at the edge of your seat the entire time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Nina Lauducci

“I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet”
-The Rise and Fall

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I’ve provided the schedule below so that you can read other reviews as well.

3/14/2017 adayinthelifetoo.blogspot.com

3/15/2017 igobyari.com

3/16/2017 http://theyaguy.blogspot.com/

3/17/2017 https://afamilyafloat.com/

3/18/2017 http://readingtribe.blogspot.com/

3/19/2017 http://www.idsoratherbereading.com/

3/20/2017 http://www.sailingtotem.com/blog

3/21/2017 http://roeckerreviews.blogspot.ca/