Guest Post: Lorri Dudley & The Captain’s Quest

I am delighted to welcome author Lorri Dudley back to the blog today to chat about her new historical romance which I’m SUPER EXCITED to read – The Captain’s Quest! I love her Leeward Islands series, and I fully expect this 4th book to be one of my top reads for 2021 like the 1st 3 were in 2020.

THE CAPTAIN’S QUEST
SERIES: The Leeward Islands #4
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Romance
PUBLISHER: Wild Heart Books
RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2021
PAGES: 412

Innocent mistakes can have dire consequences. 

Pricilla Middleton only attended the Lemoore house party to keep her friend out of trouble. Now, her only chance to keep from becoming a gossip column headline is to sneak aboard her brother’s ship and pretend she’d been visiting him instead of taking part in the debacle. Before she can speak to her brother, the ship sets sail, and the man in charge is not at all who she expects.

Captain Tobias Prescott, son of an infamous war hero, has been assigned on a critical mission to deploy warships in St. Kitts for battle in New Orleans. Unfortunately, his orders require him to assume command of a friend’s ship, and he must weigh anchor the instant the former captain is escorted down the gangplank. When they reach open waters, the last thing he expects is to find a woman hiding in the captain’s cabin, yet his mission is too urgent to return her to England.

The Middleton name has always brought Tobias trouble, and Pricilla is no exception. As the waters clear and the temperature warms, the danger escalates too. Yet Tobias discovers the intuitive and strong woman who struggles to hide her anxiety is nothing like her disloyal brother. He may lose the opportunity to help his country, but perhaps he can still save the woman who’s rescued his heart.

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Other Books in This Series

Beware the Brown Coconuts – How to Survive on a Deserted Tropical Island

by Lorri Dudley, author of The Captain’s Quest

Being stranded on a deserted tropical island with a handsome British sea captain makes for a romantic setting. However, as much as I love the Caribbean, I can’t say I’d have the fortitude to survive the same scenario as the heroine of my latest release, The Captain’s Quest. In my research, I discovered some interesting survival tips and figured I’d share in case anyone winds up in a situation like Tom Hanks in Castaway.

1. Find freshwater:

Surrounded by water but not a drop to drink? Locating a freshwater source is crucial, especially since humans can only live a few days without H2O before succumbing to dehydration. If a running spring or standing pond aren’t available, another option is to tie rags to your ankles before sunrise and walk back and forth in tall grass collecting dew. Wring out the rags to obtain the liquid. Or, find some coconuts, preferably the green ones further up the palm tree. They contain milk and water with the bonus of vitamins and minerals. However, try to avoid the brown coconuts, which have oil that acts as a laxative. You’ll end up dehydrated for another reason and one that won’t impress any handsome sea captains. (Especially without toilet paper – Yuck!)

2. Make a shelter:

Overturned boats or caves make ready to use shelters (but make sure the cave’s vacant first). Note that higher elevations have fewer mosquitoes, and the more inland you go, the fewer sand flies. If it’s necessary to make a shelter from scratch, you can build a lean-to by staking two Y-shaped branches into the ground and resting another stick in the Ys. Lean limbs, wood, or bamboo up against the frame. To keep water out, split palm branches up the center longways and tie the half-fronds to the frame with the leaves pointing down. If you can’t make ties out of the palm branches, try to locate some snake grass. Its fibers make for great cording.

3. Find food:

Snails, clams, and conchs in shallow tide pools can be easy prey. Coconut pulp is always a good option, or trap fish by setting out stones during low tide in a V shape with the point facing out to sea. When the tide rises, fish will swim into your V and get trapped in the pooled water when the tide goes out again. If you get desperate, ants and crickets can make a scary but necessary snack in a pinch.

4. Start a fire:

Here’s where those brown coconuts come into play. Their husks are flammable and work as tinder. As a bonus, the burning husks also act as mosquito repellent. If you have eyeglasses or a magnifying glass, you can use direct sunlight to ignite the coconut husks. (Think Lord of the Flies.) However, if you’ve lost your glasses, use a shoelace and tie both ends to a bow-shaped stick. Use another branch as a spindle and loop the string around it. Place the coconut husk under the spindle’s bottom and a stone on the top for pressure. Quickly move the bow back and forth for friction to ignite a spark. It is not an easy task, so don’t let the fire burn out once you get it started. Keep gathering dry wood, branches, bamboo, leaves, and more husks to feed the flames.

5. Signal for rescue:

Keep that fire burning with lots of black smoke and spell out S.O.S. on a large beach section with dark stones to signal planes or ships.

I pray we never have to use any of these tips. I prefer to experience survival disasters only through story heroes and heroines. But no matter what comes our way, may we be comforted knowing God and happily-ever-after always win in the end.

Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in Psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone-filled household.

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What about you? What makes you want to read The Captain’s Quest by Lorri Dudley? And just for fun, if you knew you would be stranded on a tropical island, what 3-5 items would you insist on bringing?