Born on a 18th century sugar plantation, Isabella never thought the slave rebellion that set her free would lead her to command a pirate ship. She soon finds her trusted quartermaster and his motley band of pirate brethren are more than ready to prey on the colonial merchant ships plying the waves of the Caribbean.
In 1781, Isabella and her pirates are the scourge of the Caribbean Sea. In the first book of the Pirate of Panther Bay trilogy, Isabella's plans are thrown into disarray when she captures a young Spanish army captain. She soon finds that he is a special envoy to the Spanish viceroy. But what should she do with him? His loyalty to Spain's King Charles III is unwavering... at first.
But Isabella has more to worry about than a loyal soldier. Little does she know that pirates among her covet more booty and power. Will she sacrifice her quest to destroy Spain for the plunder that will stave off mutiny? And what of the prophecy her mother had told her as a child? What is her destiny?
Isabella grapples with her own ambitions as she weighs the consequences of each decision and the first installment of her high seas adventures takes her to Puerto Rico and St. John (now U.S. Virgin Islands).
All the while, she contends with pirate hunters, rogue pirates, and the wrath of a viceroy whose relentless pursuit gives her barely enough room to breath.
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Why the award-winning Pirate of Panther Bay series should be on your young adult reading list. (Tallahassee Democrat)
"The hero of SR Staley's Calusa Spirits gains depth and stature in the third installment of the Pirate of Panther Bay series." Southern Literary Review
Calusa Spirits brings home silver medals in historical fiction and young adult fiction in the 2019 President's Awards.
Local author launches third installment of series featuring his "tough as nails" heroine and former slave.
"I can't lift up the author high enough for the remarkable work he has done. The reader's attention is grabbed from the first page." Goodreads
Tortuga Bay is a rousing and complex pirate adventure mixed with a Romeo-and-Juliet love affair. Staley brings life into Haiti and its history...." Cindy Vallar, review in Pirates and Privateers
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On the run, Viceroy Rodriguez is determined to vanquish Isabella and her pirates from the Caribbean. It's his only hope to get back to Spain and out of the treacherous and deadly backwater of Puerto Rico and its colonies.
Isabella and Jean-Michel, her wily quartermaster, must face down relentless and clever traps set to capture her and her crew. When Rodriguez finally sets a squadron of gunboats after her, she is forced to take refuge in Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) to hopefully wait out her adversaries.
But, as a voodoo priestess reveals truths behind Isabella's prophecy, she must come to grips with her destiny revealed. Will she escape in time? Or will Rodriguez finally get the retribution he desires?
Tortuga Bay is the genre-bending award-winning sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay, taking home the top prize in historical fiction (Royal Palm Literary Awards), Young Adult Fiction (Florida Authors and Publishers Association), and Coming of Age/Romance/New Adult (Florida Authors and Publishers Association. In Addition, Tortuga Bay, earned 2nd place awards in Published Mainstream/Literary Fiction (RPLA), Young Adult Fiction (RPLA), was a finalist in Women's Fiction (RPLA), and a category finalist the Eric Hoffer Book Awards.
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In this thrilling third installment in the Pirate of Panther Bay series, Isabella and Juan Carlos continue to be hunted by Viceroy Rodriguez and his fleet. After a narrow escape from a trap set off the southern shores of Cuba, they flee up the west coast of Florida.
Desperate for supplies, Isabella leads a search for a trading post near the Caloosahatchee River (near modern-day Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Sanibel Island). As they snake their way through the shoals and shallow rivers of Florida's gulf coast and the Everglades, they make contact with a tribe of Calusa Indians long thought to have been enslaved or banished from Florida.
In this gripping, fast-paced story, Isabella's adventures in Florida may represent the first confrontation between native Americans and pirates in historical fiction. She must navigate linguistic and cultural differences to ensure the survival of herself and her crew. With each challenge and battle, her destiny and the truth behind her mother's prophecy is finally revealed.
Readers get more than an adventure and swashbuckling high-seas adventure with Calusa Spirits. They will also be introduced to the proud and rich cultural history of one of Florida's most historically significant indigenous American tribes.
Another genre-bending award winner, Calusa Spirits earned a silver medal in the category of historical fiction from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.
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Isabella, Jean-Michel, Juan Carlos, and their fugitive pirates decide to make a dash for New Orleans and life as free men and women in A Captain's Reckoning, the fourth installment in the Pirate of Panther Bay series (SYP Publishing).
But their dash out of St. Marks, Florida is foiled when the sails of Captain Munoz's Spanish frigate, their nemesis dispatched Captain-General of the Caribbean, appears on the horizon. Outnumbered and outgunned, Isabella and her crew devise a plan as bold as it is risky.
In an epic high-seas battle, Isabella and her pirates come face-to-face with heart-breaking loss, unconscionable betrayal, mutiny, while probing the depths of their tenuous faith in a better future.
A Captain's Reckoning adds yet another fast-paced, high stakes adventure to the ongoing saga of the Pirate of Panther Bay.
Calusa Spirits, book 3 in the Pirate of Panther Bay series, took home a silver medal in 2019.
Six literary awards and counting! Check out why reviewers call the Pirate of Panther Bay series a swashbuckling tale of action, adventure, and romance.
Click here for access to Discussion Questions, a classroom guide, and virtual tours of sailing ships!
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