New Book: Drummer Boy Of Castle Island

Enjoy a roller coaster ride through a hurricane, ride a wave with a demon, submerge yourself in battles between three Bermudian youngsters and pirates, and relish in the history and incredible beauty of the islands strung along the Atlantic side of Castle Harbour. These are just a few of the offerings in author/illustrator, Joan K. Aspinall’s new novel entitled The Drummer Boy of Castle Island.

The author describes the story as a rollicking time travel adventure in which, accompanied by her brothers, thirteen year-old Jeannine, who calls herself a “wild woman earth goddess” and dances on the top of ancient fortifications, chases the ghost of a drummer boy, Christopher Dock, down the subterranean passageways of Castle Island to exit in the eighteenth century.

She encounters not only sailors, scalawags and a hint of pirate treasure, but also Urcan, the giant Indian god of hurricanes who ravishes the island and the British fleet, and washes down the sailors’s entrails with a waterspout.

Forced to match wits with antagonist, ex-pirate, Skagg, the siblings paint their bodies with prickly pear dye, fashion weapons of cactus needles, and match their battle skills against the men, outsmarting them at every move. The children survive the horror of the hurricane and witness not only heroic feats, but the anguish of death and drowning. Underlying themes of new puberty, self-consciousness, and sibling conflicts resolve themselves in the end as glorious Bermudian youth triumphs.

“The Drummer is more than a fantasy story,” Ms. Aspinall says. ” It pays tribute through photos and poems to the late fisherman Christy Smith who kept his boat in Tuckers Town Bay and provides tidbits of history relating to the forts.” Christy Smith, who died many years prior to the commencement of this story, appears as himself in 2011, the date of the story, Aspinall states.

.A well known local author, with twelve full-colour titles on the Bermuda book scene, Ms. Aspinall writes under publisher name Some Child Books. In her usual flair of book production, the artist created pen and ink drawings of her human characters as well as the demons of the hurricane Commenting on the Drummer, she states dramatic hurricane scenes, covering three chapters, were written two months before she lived through Hurricane Fabian in 2003.

“I cannot believe how accurate I was in describing the storm’s monumental power and devastation,” she said. “Every Bermudian can relate to my writing.” The scene of foliage, shredded to the fineness of green parsley, covering the outside walls of her house after Hurricane Fabian, inspired the only detail she later added to the manuscript.

Ms. Aspinall has dedicated her book to late fisherman, Christy Smith, who she calls “the lone fisherman of Castle Island” with the inclusion of a poem by that name. “Christy introduced me to Castle Island when I was very young,” she states,” and I was fortunate to take detailed photographs of the fortifications in the 1970’s. In retrospect, I saved on film what nature has subsequently destroyed; so many views and fort elements are no longer there.”

“At that time, I wanted to compose a photo book of poems, never imagining I would convert this realism base into a fantasy novel decades later. I donated all the negatives to the National Museum of Bermuda years ago, as well as my paintings of Christy Smith, with their promised commitment that they will create a Bermuda fisherman display.”

As a special gift to anyone purchasing the book at a signing, Ms. Aspinall will be giving out her artist signed prints of Castle Island and Christy Smith based on the paintings now held by the National Museum of Bermuda.

She states that the Drummer book includes this first poetry and images of what the island looked like in the 1970’s, plus shots of Christy Smith in his dinghy. “This is the greatest tribute that I can give to this wonderful legend of a man, who meant so much to so many people. I hope it brings joy to his many descendants.

“The Drummer Boy has waited ten years for publication and is actually responsible for my entering the publishing business,” she states.” I attended New York’s BEA 2007 (Book Expo America) in order to ‘hook’ an agent for its manuscript. There, I met a vast assortment of printers from Singapore, China, India, and Korea. When one of them contacted me in Bermuda and asked if they could be of assistance, that was the birth of Shoo Cat Shoo and the launching of a new career.

Ms. Aspinall laughed, reminiscing that this event made her do an about turn into children’s publishing rather than committing herself to a career as a novelist. “Now it is time to put away the things of a child, and concentrate on my true love of writing.”

The Drummer is a 72,000 word, 288 pages, soft cover book. It has been printed through PrintLink in Canada.

The book will be launched this week.  Ms. Aspinall will be signing in St. George’s on Friday night at the Globe Hotel during the annual National Trust Walk. On Sunday, Dec. 16th, she will be at the Bermuda Art Centre in Dockyard from 1pm – 4pm.  She will also host book signings at The BookMart on Wednesday, Dec. 12th from 11am – 2pm and on Friday, Dec. 14th from 6pm-9pm.

You may contact Ms. Aspinall via pina@ibl.bm. for her schedule or phone 293-2529.

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