WOMEN AT SEA ~ Susan Page Davis ~ Giveaway

It's "Throwback Thursday" here on Whispers in Purple blog.

So . . .

Please welcome author SUSAN PAGE DAVIS

and let's talk about

 WOMEN AT SEA 

Take it away, Susan

In 1830, there were 7 men for every woman in Victoria, Australia. Both free settlers and female convicts were sent to Port Phillip, where the city of Melbourne grew up. The labor shortage was so severe that many single women sailed out with families, to work as domestic servants. The life was hard, and servants who lost their jobs or became pregnant found themselves on the street.

For female convicts, a sentence of transportation, or being shipped to England’s colonies in Australia, often meant unwilling prostitution. The conditions were so unbearable that some women chose execution over transportation.

Alice Packard, the heroine of The Seafaring Women of the Vera B., rescues several women from a brothel in Melbourne to help sail her ship. After her husband’s death, she feels compelled to deliver his ship and cargo to Massachusetts, but the crew deserted in favor of Australia’s gold fields. Desperate for workers, Alice meets several women who are willing to work hard and dangerous jobs to escape from their life in Melbourne. With help from her aging boatswain and a British noblewoman who is disillusioned with colonial life, Alice hires a full crew and helps the women flee.

My son Jim and I wrote this book together, inspired by the stories of courageous women who fought to make a better life for themselves.

In the second book of the series, The Scottish Lass, sailor Fiona Campbell is captured and forced to accompany a band of cutthroats on their quest for a lost treasure. Shifty Samuel Trafton has betrayed his friend Elwood Stark and stolen the new Stark’s commanding from under him. Stark approaches Alice Packard for help, but she’s not sure she can trust him. Fearing for her life, Fiona fends off her kidnappers and prays Captain Alice and her crew will come to the rescue. Meanwhile, first mate Tommy Mercer tries to help Fiona and suffers for his efforts. Can Fiona save Tommy’s life? Will the Trafton keep her captive when he leaves the islands?

Alice has many lives depending on her, and she can’t afford to make a mistake. Could Stark be in league with Trafton to gain control of the Vera B. as well as Stark’s schooner? The Hearts of Oak series is full of adventure, but it’s also about loyalty, forgiveness, and faith.

 Buy The Seafaring Women of the Vera B. at:

Paperback: https://bookstore.susanpagedavis.com/product/the-seafaring-women-of-the-vera-b/  

E-book: https://amzn.to/3aw21w0

Buy The Scottish Lass at:

Paperback:  https://bookstore.susanpagedavis.com/product/the-scottish-lass/

E-book: https://amzn.to/2K9Jqvb   

Both books are also available on Kindle Unlimited.

Author Bio: Susan Page Davis is the author of more than 90 Christian novels and novellas. She’s a winner of the Carol Award, two Faith, Hope, and Love Readers’ Choice Awards, and two Will Rogers Medallions. She lives in western Kentucky with her husband Jim. They have six children and ten grandchildren.

Her co-author on this series, son James S. Davis, has spent time in Australia, Micronesia, and other far places. He has a degree in agriculture, and he and his wife live in South Carolina with their seven children.

Find Susan at:

Website: https://susanpagedavis.com

Twitter: @SusanPageDavis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanpagedavisauthor

Newsletter: https://madmimi.com/signups/118177/join

Susan will give away one copy of either The Seafaring Women of the Vera B. or The Scottish Lass, e-book or paper (paperbacks to US addresses only, please). Winner may choose. 

Giveaway runs for one week, ending Thursday, May 7. 2020, at Midnight, Central time.

Thank you so much, Susan (and Jim) for being my blog guest this week.

Both books sound fascinating.