Thank you so much for sharing your space to talk about Sea Hunter with me. This is a romance between Professor Zahra Corbyn, a historical conservator, and an underwater archeologist. Jack Alexander is the captain of Freya, a refitted tender for hire for diving adventures. He also happens to be a treasure hunter and has a piece of the map she needs.
This story was so much fun to write and
especially research. I traveled to Freeport, Maine, and then to Cape Cod and
tried New England Clam Chowder everywhere we could. Yum. Oh, about the book.
Sorry, I lost myself remembering the creamy goodness of the soup.
Sometimes the research was daunting. In so
many ways, WWII was horrid. So much loss of life and people, but it also led science
forward by giant steps. Colleges and universities worked together with the
armed services to develop things like sonar, radar, and radio communications,
which opened up a new and exciting area for divers, equipment, and underwater
archeology.
During our time in New England, we visited
the Bath Iron Works Shipyard and naval museums then a visit to the Whydah
Pirate Museum on Cape Cod immersed me in all things pirate. I learned so much
about their way of life. One of the most exciting things was consulting with
one of the conservators about protecting artifacts. Thankfully, maritime laws
have been established to keep treasure hunters from destroying so much of our
history from ancient to modern times.
One of my favorite passages is:
“But I’ve had dealings with treasure
hunters before. People like you who take what you want without care for
preserving our past.” She yanked her hand from his and turned toward the open
water. “I spend my life locating pieces of history. Trying to understand them.
Things that may help our future.”
The other thing I enjoyed was learning
about people in the post-war years. Their vernacular, way of dressing, and
spunk—especially for women who’d learned to depend on themselves when men were
overseas fighting.
