Wreck of the Lanternfish by C.S. Boyack #newrelease #pirateadventure #fantasy #seastories @Virgilante

Posted on by

Hi, everyone! I’m super excited to welcome long-time friend and Story Empire colleague, Craig Boyack to my blog today. Craig’s here to share news of his latest release Wreck of the Lanternfish, the conclusion of his pirate adventure Lanternfish series. 

I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first two novels and am looking forward to seeing how Craig wraps everything up in book three. Lanternfish is set in a highly imaginative world, populated with intriguing creatures and characters, but as Craig explains in his post below, even when writing fantasy, you have to dive deep in research. Take it away, Craig!

Thanks for the invite to talk about ‘Wreck of the Lanternfish.’ I try to keep each post unique, and research is always a popular topic. The series is a trilogy, so there’s been a lot of research over the years. Add in the supporting story, ‘Serang,’ and it stacks up.

I started with basic data about tall ships. Rigging, number of guns, just the basics of what to call certain parts of the ship. I had to learn the difference between iron cannon and bronze, port vs starboard, and more.

There was a lot of research into Asian culture and beliefs. One story of how a Koi fish evolved into a dragon led me to create the Child of the Dragon in Serang. I spent time figuring out how to forge weapons and how various cultures included meteors in their steel.

Another one involved a Japanese belief in how old and revered objects can develop their own soul. This led me deep into various haunted items, and caused me to create Mule’s haunted knife which the pirates call the black spot.

In the new story, I needed some land based military tactics along with some river based movements. I researched singing stones and trench warfare. I relied on previous research to include data about travelling via beast of burden. Animals need time to eat and drink. They aren’t the same as automobiles, and aren’t as fast.

Quite a bit of research went into the Lanternfish books. As the final volume crosses your e-reader, it might be fun to spot some of these things. I hope readers will enjoy it.

Wreck of the Lanternfish purchase link

Trilogy link

Cover Blurb:
James Cuttler created a peaceful spot for he and his wife to settle down. Far from the war that ravages their homeland, far from the reputation he earned as the notorious pirate Captain Bloodwater, and far from responsibility.

A royal Prelonian houseguest is a constant reminder of what’s at stake half a world away, of the friends he put ashore to fight the war. He lives in a dream world that’s temporary, at best. It’s only a matter of time before his guest is identified and the black assassins come for her.

He mortgages his precious vineyard to pay for repairs to his ship. If nothing else, Lanternfish will be one of the most powerful ships in the war, if he’s not already too late.

James will have to merge the skills of commander and con man into something new to make this work. He’ll need to avoid those on his own side who would hang him for piracy.

Serang is half a world away, leading her army of mercenary swordsmen toward the Fulminites. Mistrusted by both sides of the war, she appears as a third combatant on the battlefield. She may eliminate the mysterious order, only to succumb to the demons of her own tragic past.

Strap on your swords and hoist the colors one more time as the thrilling Lanternfish Trilogy comes to an end.

bio box for author, C.S. Boyack

Connect with Craig at the following haunts:
Blog | My Novel | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | BookBub

As an author, I always enjoy doing research, and if it involves delving into something unusual, so much the better. I appreciated learning how some of the oddities in Lanternfish developed. If you like high seas adventure, imaginative worlds, intriguing characters and colorful creatures, hop onboard and set sail with Lanterfish! I know I’m looking forward to the journey!

72 thoughts on “Wreck of the Lanternfish by C.S. Boyack #newrelease #pirateadventure #fantasy #seastories @Virgilante”

  5. Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
    I’m visiting with Mae Clair today. The topic is some of the research that went into the Lanternfish trilogy. There was a lot of it, and I called out some in this post.

    While you’re there, check out Mae’s work. She’s written two of the best series I’ve ever read, and was key to getting me to take the plunge. You can follow her on her blog as well as Story Empire.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  7. I mentioned previously that we’re a boat-loving family, so I love that you took the time to do the research. That’s probably one of my favorite sides of writing. I love researching and digging deeper into the specifics. Well done to you, Craig! Mae, thank you so much for hosting our friend! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  8. Your research shined through, Craig. I felt like I was traveling along with them and understood the use of canons and nautical terms. Those details really make a story come to life.
    Thanks for hosting, Mae 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • I always thought Craig did exceptionally well with the sea battles, cannon, and nautical terms. Those things really immersed me in the scenes.
      I’ll miss sailing with Lanternfish but glad he’s giving his characters (crew) such a great send-off.
      Thanks for visiting today, Denise!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  12. The haunted knife was downright scary, glad it loves Mule. I can see how you’d have to research ships, pirates, and sea battles. But my favorite–still–is everything that goes with Serang. Her journey fascinated me.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

I love comments, so please scribble a thought or two!

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.