Vanessa Riley on Fire, Sword, and Sea, Women Pirates, Caribbean History, and Reinvention

In this episode, I sit down with bestselling historical fiction author Vanessa Riley while she is on tour for her powerful new novel, Fire, Sword, and Sea.

We go deep.

We talk about women pirates in the Caribbean, hidden history, the real cost of piracy, the sugar economy, and how the transatlantic slave trade shaped the world we are still living in. Vanessa shares the extensive research behind the novel, from Port Royal Jail to colonial archives, and how she brings erased stories back to life.

We also talk about her personal journey. From earning a PhD in mechanical engineering at Stanford University to becoming a twenty-nine-time published author. The pivots. The discipline. The courage. The craft.

This is a conversation about history, identity, moral choice, love as survival, and what it means to tell stories that were almost lost.

If you love historical fiction, Caribbean history, women pirates, or conversations about reinvention and creative success, this episode is for you.

About Vanessa Riley

Vanessa Riley is an acclaimed historical fiction author known for novels including Island Queen, a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, and Queen of Exiles, an ABC View Lit Pick. She was honored as the 2024 Georgia Mystery and Detective Author of the Year for Murder in Drury Lane and the 2023 Georgia Literary Fiction Author of the Year for Sister Mother Warrior.

Her work has been praised by The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and The New York Times.

With more than twenty-five novels to her name, Vanessa combines rigorous historical research with immersive storytelling rooted in the Caribbean, Georgian, and Regency eras. She is also an advocate for diverse voices and Sickle Cell Anemia awareness.

In This Episode We Discuss

• Fire, Sword, and Sea book tour

• Jacquotte Delahaye and women pirates in the Caribbean

• Port Royal Jail and the real history of piracy

• The sugar economy and colonial wealth

• Early forms of enslavement before the transatlantic slave trade

• Caribbean history and its connection to American history

• Writing historical fiction with modern language

• Vanessa Riley’s journey from Stanford engineer to bestselling novelist

• Publishing over twenty-five books

• Reinvention and choosing passion over expectation

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