Pirateship Down: Stories from the World of the Sentinels of New Orleans
Suzanne Johnson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Suzanne Johnson
Date of Publication: November 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-0996822008
ASIN: B0169K0YW8
Number of pages: 278
Word Count: 55,000
Cover Artist: Robin Ludwig Designs
Book Description:
French pirate Jean Lafitte is tall, cobalt-eyed, broad-shouldered, and immortal. What’s not to love? But New Orleans’ most esteemed member of the historical undead is headed for trouble. He’s determined to reclaim Le Diligent, his gold-laden schooner lost at sea in 1814 and recently found at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico near Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office might beg to differ.
New Orleans wizard sentinel DJ Jaco and her merman friend Rene Delachaise can either lock up their friend Lafitte or join him on a road trip to Cajun country in order to save him from himself. Terrebonne Parish—not to mention its jail—might never be the same after the events of the all-new novella Pirateship Down, presented here along with a collection of urban fantasy stories and essays.
Wizards and Cajun merfolk, sexy shapeshifters and undead French pirates. Welcome to the world of the Sentinels of New Orleans in this collection, along with a little Louisiana lagniappe. No previous knowledge of the series required!
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
About five minutes passed before I heard Jean Lafitte in the hallway of the prison, having a spirited, if one-sided, argument about Spanish fruit. I definitely heard the words orange and Spaniard. And the pirate never had anything nice to say about Spaniards since he’d spent most of his human life plundering their ships.
The door opened, and he strode into the room, sending my empathic senses into overload with the force of his outrage. I closed my eyes and tried to squelch the urge to bray like a donkey, because the source of his anger was obvious.
They’d taken away the cord he used to tie back his shoulder-length, wavy black hair, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was his fluorescent orange jumpsuit with Terrebonne Parish Prison stamped on the back. The suit was tight across his shoulders and baggy across his hips, obviously not tailored for the pirate’s athletic build, and the pants were three inches too short and flashing bare calf. He wore short white athletic socks someone had scrounged up for him. Obviously, his pirate boots had been confiscated. It wasn’t an outfit designed to please a man as arrogant and aware of his good looks as my undead pirate.
Jean shifted his commentary from his guard to me. “Drusilla, a grievance must be made against these ruffians and thieves. They have stolen my clothing and given me only this…this….” He ran out of words.
“Ugly-ass orange jumpsuit?” I offered, always ready to help Jean with his command of modern English.
“Oui, exactement. I demand that you obtain my release, tout de suite. And you must know, a woman who allows her husband to remain in such conditions for an entire evening must face reprimand.”
I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms. “And you must know that, in this day and age, should a man reprimand his wife too much, said wife might leave her husband to enjoy a longer time in his prison cell wearing his ugly-ass orange jumpsuit.”
The guard who’d accompanied Jean into the room listened to this exchange with no expression. Now that Jean and I were both in silent mode, he leaned over to fasten the handcuffs to a ring on the center of the table, which forced the irate pirate to sit down.
“You got half an hour,” the guard said. “I’ll be right outside. If I hear or see anything through that door that I should not hear or see, visitation will be ended. That includes shouting, moving of furniture, excessive use of profanity, or sexual activity. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Not a problem.” I had a confusion potion with Jean’s name on it in my shoe, and I wasn’t afraid to use it.
My Review
So, there's a whole lot of goodness in this book. In between each short story, Ms Johnson gives some more insight into the world she's created. How the magical community came to be, where they are from, how they work. She even included each species and an explanation. AND she put all the deets on Jean Lafitte. I was impressed with the history she's found, and I'm quite familiar with him, being from where I am. Anyways, I will give a little review for each story in here and what not, but sorry, no spoilers. :)
Pirateship Down
Well now, this one is something special. You get to see the not so nice side of Jean, and how much Rene and DJ are willing to go to keep him out of trouble. When things are setting from that last big hoo-rah from Elysian Fields, Jean finds out that one of his former Pirate Ships has been found. Like literally, it's come up from the deeps and he must have it. MUST! And it doesn't matter that his choices could render DJ and Rene in a really bad position. I loved DJ and Rene's spotlight on their friendship in this one. And good LAWD, Jean is something like hell on wheels. I mean, he forgets that he's immortal and Rene and DJ are not. And they come through with miraculous deeds. And a lot of snags on the way. And something special is also happening with DJ and Jean, because though she has Alex, she also realizes how much Jean means to her as well. It's excellent on the story, but it's not helping her get rid of her confusion of feelings. LOL This one is the main story of the whole book and it has everything you could need, a crazy sexy pirate, an awesome wizard, a diehard best friend, and some crazy scuba gear LOL Oh man, oh man, I also realized how much I truly love Rene. I know everyone has it bad for the pirate, but I want Rene- for me! He's not just a playboy merfolk. He's got heart, he's courageous, he's loyal, and he's a beautiful soul who's also a little nutty. LOL And I am so glad he's healing from his own loss. :)
Of course this whole book gets 5 PAWS, and it's so worth it. I bow down to Ms Johnson for giving us a little lagniappe of goodness while we wait for the next book of the series.
So, there's a whole lot of goodness in this book. In between each short story, Ms Johnson gives some more insight into the world she's created. How the magical community came to be, where they are from, how they work. She even included each species and an explanation. AND she put all the deets on Jean Lafitte. I was impressed with the history she's found, and I'm quite familiar with him, being from where I am. Anyways, I will give a little review for each story in here and what not, but sorry, no spoilers. :)
- Talk Like A Pirate
- Alex the Pig
- Cat on Dieu
- Rivalry
- Swamp Rats
- Danger: Curves Ahead
- Intervention
Pirateship Down
Well now, this one is something special. You get to see the not so nice side of Jean, and how much Rene and DJ are willing to go to keep him out of trouble. When things are setting from that last big hoo-rah from Elysian Fields, Jean finds out that one of his former Pirate Ships has been found. Like literally, it's come up from the deeps and he must have it. MUST! And it doesn't matter that his choices could render DJ and Rene in a really bad position. I loved DJ and Rene's spotlight on their friendship in this one. And good LAWD, Jean is something like hell on wheels. I mean, he forgets that he's immortal and Rene and DJ are not. And they come through with miraculous deeds. And a lot of snags on the way. And something special is also happening with DJ and Jean, because though she has Alex, she also realizes how much Jean means to her as well. It's excellent on the story, but it's not helping her get rid of her confusion of feelings. LOL This one is the main story of the whole book and it has everything you could need, a crazy sexy pirate, an awesome wizard, a diehard best friend, and some crazy scuba gear LOL Oh man, oh man, I also realized how much I truly love Rene. I know everyone has it bad for the pirate, but I want Rene- for me! He's not just a playboy merfolk. He's got heart, he's courageous, he's loyal, and he's a beautiful soul who's also a little nutty. LOL And I am so glad he's healing from his own loss. :)
Of course this whole book gets 5 PAWS, and it's so worth it. I bow down to Ms Johnson for giving us a little lagniappe of goodness while we wait for the next book of the series.
Character Interview- Meet Rene the "Auqua Shifter" LOL
(nervous and excited) WELCOME Rene!! First, tell me a little bit about yourself and your life…Hey, babe. Well, ain’t that much to tell. I’m just a Cajun boy who happens to be an aquatic shifter—that’s a merman to most folks. I can partially or fully shift into a saltwater or freshwater dolphin. I’m thirty-two, and starting to think it might be time to settle down, only my friend DJ—she’s a wizard, but don’t hold that against her—says I’m an adrenaline junkie. Plus, it would be a shame to have to limit myself to one woman, right? I mainstream in the human world as a commercial shrimper and live in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, just east of New Orleans.
I want you to know that you're one of my favorite guys in this series! Now, tell me how you feel about DJ and the parts you play in her life... Aw sweet, hey…are you single? Wanna hang out sometime, babe? I’ll show you my ink. I’ll show you my diving bottlenose dolphin. It’s…well, you’ll just have to wait and see where it is. DJ. Well, I don’t like wizards as a rule, you know? They’re grumpy and stuck on themselves and think they’re God’s gift to the world. But DJ’s different—she’s okay. She’s probably my best friend other than the pirate (Jean Lafitte). DJ’s never dull—the woman can get herself into some more trouble. I-yi-yi. I guess I’m the sidekick cause my job is not to keep her outta trouble, but to make sure we both make it out alive. So far, so good.
Tell me a little something about your job, other than the just the basics. And don't just say fishing LOL.Hey, I fish! I have a shrimp trawler called Dieu de la Mer and…oh, you mean my side business with the pirate? Well, I can’t reveal too much because you never know, there might be Feds watching your blog. But let’s just say there are lots of things in the otherworld, in the Beyond, that bring a lot of money in the human world. And a lot of things in the human world that bring a lot of gold in the Beyond. As my friend Jean says, “One never has too much gold.” Ain’t that the truth?
I don't know if it's allowed, but can you tell me how you met Jean Lafitte? There's a pretty interesting friendship between you two and I'm curious.
Well, we met through my father, actually. His name’s Toussaint Delachaise and he still lives on our family lands up in St. Bernard Parish. Jean, he’s always liked to pop in and out of the modern world when he’d get a chance and it helped to have a safe spot to hide out. He and my pop worked out a deal. We don’t use that area to transport into and out of anymore since the borders between worlds fell down, but my dad is on the Interspecies Council with Jean.
Hmmm, is there anything you’d like to tell me, maybe a little secret, or any cool hints about the upcoming future? ;)We gonna have a war, babe. I don’t see any way around it. Jean’s got a plan, DJ’s got some new family members, and I kinda get sucked into a vampire orgy. Babe, that was intense.
Out of all the characters in this book series, who is your favorite? Do you think you're the coolest? There’s always a fan favorite to read about but sometimes it’s the side characters that are the most fun. We all know most love the sexy pirate :)
Yeah, Jean’s always had a way with the women, but I can outlast him, babe. Ain’t nobody cooler than a Cajun merman. I like the shifter, Alex, but the man’s gotta get his head on straight or I’m gonna have to deal with him. I ain’t gonna let him hurt DJ.
We all love Supernatural, so which Winchester brother would be your BFF?
Huh? Hang on… *clicks computer keyboard* ….er, Dean looks like a smartass and I need a straight man so maybe Sam…oh hell, babe, I ain’t never watched it. That Ruby chick looks hot. I like those dudes with the long beards on “Swamp People.”
Ok we're all also dying to know your opinion- who do you think DJ will end up with?
I dunno, babe. She and Alex might make it, but I don’t think it’s right that a person should have to change who they are in order for somebody to love them, you know? I think she and Jean are good together, but don’t you tell either one of them I said so. Jean would be like a gator after a swamp toad and DJ would freak out about the whole undead thing. Girl’s got some issues.
Are you single? Do you think you'd like a date with a nice southern Cajun lady? Ok, I can't lie, I'm not really nice, I'm a little crazy, but I cook really good :) besides, I live really close, so there's just a little drive or swim or boat ride... LOL
Saturday night. 8 p.m. I’m there, babe. You can cook? Make it 7:30. I’ll take you for a swim, and hold on tight.
This or that...
A. Favorite Holiday? Thankgiving. I like to eat. Oyster dressing? Move outta my way.
B. What’s your favorite alcoholic beverage? Jean keeps trying to sell me on brandy, but I’m an Abita beer guy.
C. Favorite Food? Yes.
D. If you had to chose Coffee or Chocolate? –don’t laugh, I don’t like chocolate so it’s quite easy for me, but a LOT of people NEED both LOL. Mers don’t much like sugary stuff, so it’s coffee for me.
E. Beach or mountains? River. Swamp. Lake…I guess that means mountains. I don’t like the ocean much, even in dolphin form.
F. Winter or summer? Summer. That water gets cold!
G. vampires or werewolves? I freakin’ hate vampires (forget I mentioned that orgy thing), and since I’m a shifter, I’ll go with the wolves
H. Cold or hot? Hot, babe, and don’t you forget it for a second.
I. Favorite color? In human form, I like bright colors like purple and green. In shifted form, I’m color-blind. Ha—you didn’t know that, did you?
J. Night or day? Day. I’d hate having to live in Old Orleans, where it’s always nighttime.
K. Moonlight or sunlight? Sunlight.
L. Boxers or briefs? :-/ Ain’t there another option?
Thanks so much for hanging out with us, Rene! I’m a huge fan and I can’t believe you took time to come visit me! I was serious about that date! And PS Thanks Ms Suzanne for making the interview happen!
(nervous and excited) WELCOME Rene!! First, tell me a little bit about yourself and your life…Hey, babe. Well, ain’t that much to tell. I’m just a Cajun boy who happens to be an aquatic shifter—that’s a merman to most folks. I can partially or fully shift into a saltwater or freshwater dolphin. I’m thirty-two, and starting to think it might be time to settle down, only my friend DJ—she’s a wizard, but don’t hold that against her—says I’m an adrenaline junkie. Plus, it would be a shame to have to limit myself to one woman, right? I mainstream in the human world as a commercial shrimper and live in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, just east of New Orleans.
I want you to know that you're one of my favorite guys in this series! Now, tell me how you feel about DJ and the parts you play in her life... Aw sweet, hey…are you single? Wanna hang out sometime, babe? I’ll show you my ink. I’ll show you my diving bottlenose dolphin. It’s…well, you’ll just have to wait and see where it is. DJ. Well, I don’t like wizards as a rule, you know? They’re grumpy and stuck on themselves and think they’re God’s gift to the world. But DJ’s different—she’s okay. She’s probably my best friend other than the pirate (Jean Lafitte). DJ’s never dull—the woman can get herself into some more trouble. I-yi-yi. I guess I’m the sidekick cause my job is not to keep her outta trouble, but to make sure we both make it out alive. So far, so good.
Tell me a little something about your job, other than the just the basics. And don't just say fishing LOL.Hey, I fish! I have a shrimp trawler called Dieu de la Mer and…oh, you mean my side business with the pirate? Well, I can’t reveal too much because you never know, there might be Feds watching your blog. But let’s just say there are lots of things in the otherworld, in the Beyond, that bring a lot of money in the human world. And a lot of things in the human world that bring a lot of gold in the Beyond. As my friend Jean says, “One never has too much gold.” Ain’t that the truth?
I don't know if it's allowed, but can you tell me how you met Jean Lafitte? There's a pretty interesting friendship between you two and I'm curious.
Well, we met through my father, actually. His name’s Toussaint Delachaise and he still lives on our family lands up in St. Bernard Parish. Jean, he’s always liked to pop in and out of the modern world when he’d get a chance and it helped to have a safe spot to hide out. He and my pop worked out a deal. We don’t use that area to transport into and out of anymore since the borders between worlds fell down, but my dad is on the Interspecies Council with Jean.
Hmmm, is there anything you’d like to tell me, maybe a little secret, or any cool hints about the upcoming future? ;)We gonna have a war, babe. I don’t see any way around it. Jean’s got a plan, DJ’s got some new family members, and I kinda get sucked into a vampire orgy. Babe, that was intense.
Out of all the characters in this book series, who is your favorite? Do you think you're the coolest? There’s always a fan favorite to read about but sometimes it’s the side characters that are the most fun. We all know most love the sexy pirate :)
Yeah, Jean’s always had a way with the women, but I can outlast him, babe. Ain’t nobody cooler than a Cajun merman. I like the shifter, Alex, but the man’s gotta get his head on straight or I’m gonna have to deal with him. I ain’t gonna let him hurt DJ.
We all love Supernatural, so which Winchester brother would be your BFF?
Huh? Hang on… *clicks computer keyboard* ….er, Dean looks like a smartass and I need a straight man so maybe Sam…oh hell, babe, I ain’t never watched it. That Ruby chick looks hot. I like those dudes with the long beards on “Swamp People.”
Ok we're all also dying to know your opinion- who do you think DJ will end up with?
I dunno, babe. She and Alex might make it, but I don’t think it’s right that a person should have to change who they are in order for somebody to love them, you know? I think she and Jean are good together, but don’t you tell either one of them I said so. Jean would be like a gator after a swamp toad and DJ would freak out about the whole undead thing. Girl’s got some issues.
Are you single? Do you think you'd like a date with a nice southern Cajun lady? Ok, I can't lie, I'm not really nice, I'm a little crazy, but I cook really good :) besides, I live really close, so there's just a little drive or swim or boat ride... LOL
Saturday night. 8 p.m. I’m there, babe. You can cook? Make it 7:30. I’ll take you for a swim, and hold on tight.
This or that...
A. Favorite Holiday? Thankgiving. I like to eat. Oyster dressing? Move outta my way.
B. What’s your favorite alcoholic beverage? Jean keeps trying to sell me on brandy, but I’m an Abita beer guy.
C. Favorite Food? Yes.
D. If you had to chose Coffee or Chocolate? –don’t laugh, I don’t like chocolate so it’s quite easy for me, but a LOT of people NEED both LOL. Mers don’t much like sugary stuff, so it’s coffee for me.
E. Beach or mountains? River. Swamp. Lake…I guess that means mountains. I don’t like the ocean much, even in dolphin form.
F. Winter or summer? Summer. That water gets cold!
G. vampires or werewolves? I freakin’ hate vampires (forget I mentioned that orgy thing), and since I’m a shifter, I’ll go with the wolves
H. Cold or hot? Hot, babe, and don’t you forget it for a second.
I. Favorite color? In human form, I like bright colors like purple and green. In shifted form, I’m color-blind. Ha—you didn’t know that, did you?
J. Night or day? Day. I’d hate having to live in Old Orleans, where it’s always nighttime.
K. Moonlight or sunlight? Sunlight.
L. Boxers or briefs? :-/ Ain’t there another option?
Thanks so much for hanging out with us, Rene! I’m a huge fan and I can’t believe you took time to come visit me! I was serious about that date! And PS Thanks Ms Suzanne for making the interview happen!
About the Author:
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series for Tor Books, including the 2014 Gayle Wilson Award-winning Elysian Fields. Writing as Susannah Sandlin, she is author of the Penton Legacy paranormal romance series, including the 2013 Holt Medallion winner for paranormal romance Absolution, as well as The Collectors romantic suspense series, including Lovely, Dark, and Deep, 2015 Holt Medallion winner and 2015 Booksellers Best Award winner for romantic suspense. A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama, and loves SEC football, fried gator on a stick, uptown New Orleans, all things Cajun (including a certain Cajun merman named Rene), and redneck reality TV.
website: http://www.suzannejohnsonauthor.com
goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Suzanne_Johnson
pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sj3523
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