Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr, Illustrated by Joshua Edelglass’
Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing, May 1, 2022 Category: Children’s Graphic Novels, Pirates, Action Adventure, Jewish, Children’s Prejudice and Racism Tour dates: May 2-June 30, 2021 ISBN: 978-1728420097 Available in Print and ebook, 96 pages
Description Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr, Illustrated by Joshua Edelglass’
Set in the shadows of the Spanish Inquisition, this is the coming-of-age story of José Alfaro, a young refugee who forms a powerful bond with the mysterious Pirate Captain Toledano. It’s also a dynamic pirate adventure on the high seas, with hand-to-hand combat and ship-to-ship action, and the powerful story of a dark time in history when people took different paths to survive.
José Alfaro is a cocky, rambunctious teen in the 16th-century colony of Santo Domingo, pulling pranks and dodging the authorities. One day, José’s mischief lands him in serious trouble.
Hoping for a fresh start, he stows away on the Laqish, not knowing that it’s a pirate ship. From his hiding place, he watches the pirates divide their loot and plan their attacks on long days at sea. He also takes note of the respect they have for their captain, the intimidating Toledano.
But the captain has a secret―like José, he is a Jew. For him, piracy is not about the gold; it has a different purpose.
Under the tutelage of the ship’s quartermaster, José learns the intricacies of pirate life. But when he can, the captain finds ways to pull José away from the crew, to teach him about his ancestors.
View Trailer Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr
My Thoughts Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr
Jose is called names by his peers due his being very well educated. Most people, let alone teens in the 16th-century colony of Santo Domingo. Despite this, Jose lives a carefree life, that is until a shipwreck full of the Spanish Inquisition.
That is the day that his father shares a big secret with Jose. One that he kept from Jose and the entire tow, to protect his son. The secret, they are Jewish. There is no time for Jose to react! Soon after his father’s confession, the Inquisition show up and arrest Jose’s father. They try to arrest Jose as well but he narrowly escapes out the window. He has no time to think but runs towards the sea and stows away on a ship.
The ship sets sail but Jose is soon discovered. It turns out the ship is a pirate ship and they don’t take too kindly to stow aways. However, it is up to Captain Toledano to decide Jose’s fate and he decides to keep him around. Toledano is also Jewish so, when he discovers Jose’s family secret, he takes him under his wing. Jose has little interest in learning about his religion but he has lots of interest in becoming a pirate. He also hopes that he can rescue his father.
Does Jose learn the ways of pirates, can he recue his father in time? You will have to read the book yourself to find out.
This graphic novel is not only an action-packed adventure but historical fiction. It was written for children however; it is an excellent read for all ages. The writing is sharp with detail on the story and character development. The illustrations are crisp with every detail and so artfully done. To get an idea, just look at the book cover! The writing and illustrations work perfectly together, so much so, that I forgot that I was reading a graphic novel! I felt like I was on the ship and living the life of a new pirate, like Jose!
I highly recommend ‘Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano’
About Arnon Z. Shorr
Arnon Z. Shorr is an author, screenwriter and filmmaker of character-driven adventures and thrillers, where heroes grapple with the extraordinary, and in doing so, learn important truths about themselves.
Arnon spent most of his childhood between worlds: a Hebrew speaker in America, a private school kid in a rented two-bedroom apartment. Whenever he’d set foot in one world, his other foot would betray him as different. For that reason, he tells stories that embrace the peculiar, where encounters with the unexpected reveal who we are.
Joshua Edelglass is a freelance illustrator from Massachusetts. He is also the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah New England. At Brown University, Josh wrote and drew the political cartoon, WorldView for The Brown Daily Herald. That experience gave him the bug for cartooning, a passion that has never left him.
Josh’s work has appeared in a variety of exhibitions, including Pow! Jewish Comics Art and Influence that ran at the Brooklyn Jewish Art Museum in Spring 2018. Josh was included in the Jewish Comix Anthology, published in 2014 by Alternative History Press. Josh was also included in SCI: The Jewish Comics Anthology vol. 2, which was published in the fall of 2018.
Giveaway Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr
This giveaway is for 2 print copies One for each of 2 winners. This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on July 1, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr, Illustrated by Joshua Edelglass’
Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing, May 1, 2022 Category: Children’s Graphic Novels, Pirates, Action Adventure, Jewish, Children’s Prejudice and Racism Tour dates: May 2-June 30, 2021 ISBN: 978-1728420097 Available in Print and ebook, 96 pages
Description Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr, Illustrated by Joshua Edelglass’
Set in the shadows of the Spanish Inquisition, this is the coming-of-age story of José Alfaro, a young refugee who forms a powerful bond with the mysterious Pirate Captain Toledano. It’s also a dynamic pirate adventure on the high seas, with hand-to-hand combat and ship-to-ship action, and the powerful story of a dark time in history when people took different paths to survive.
José Alfaro is a cocky, rambunctious teen in the 16th-century colony of Santo Domingo, pulling pranks and dodging the authorities. One day, José’s mischief lands him in serious trouble.
Hoping for a fresh start, he stows away on the Laqish, not knowing that it’s a pirate ship. From his hiding place, he watches the pirates divide their loot and plan their attacks on long days at sea. He also takes note of the respect they have for their captain, the intimidating Toledano.
But the captain has a secret―like José, he is a Jew. For him, piracy is not about the gold; it has a different purpose.
Under the tutelage of the ship’s quartermaster, José learns the intricacies of pirate life. But when he can, the captain finds ways to pull José away from the crew, to teach him about his ancestors.
View Trailer Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr
Advance Praise Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr
Winner of the PJ Our Way Author Incentive Award
Praise The Pirate Captain Toledano Film
“Despite its brevity this movie was extremely well done, emotionally very moving, realistic, and genuine.”-Anne, Amazon
“I’ve definitely never seen this version of pirate storytelling, or even knew about their existence historically until now, but it’s SO fascinating to think about what these pirates could have been like. The score, the acting, and the storyline flows so well and definitely makes you want to keep watching what happens with the stowaway. I’d love to see this made into a feature one day.”-Milagros Ortiz, Amazon
“Filled with suspense and genuine emotion. I was moved by the story and very impressed.”- Philip W, Amazon
IndieFEST Film Awards Winner: Award of Excellence
Near Nazareth Film Festival Winner: Jury Award
Interview with Arnon Z. Shorr and Joshua Edelglass’
TR: Please tell us something about ‘Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano’ that is not in the summary. (About the book, character you particularly enjoyed writing etc.)
AS: This book isn’t the first time I’ve explored the world Captain Toledano and his pirates. In fact, “José and the Pirate Captain Toledano” expands on a story I first told in a short film that premiered exactly five years ago (on 5/2/2017)! That film is just ten minutes long, and it tells the story of a Jewish refugee from the Spanish Inquisition who stows away on a pirate ship and comes face-to-face with the intimidating Captain Toledano. The film did really well on the festival circuit, and was an excellent launch-pad for the book’s much-expanded story. Usually, you get a book before you get a movie, so I recommend reading the book first. In this case, I’m not sure – should you read the book first or see the movie first? What are the ‘rules’ when a movie inspired the book? The film is available on some streaming platforms, and on Amazon.
JE: As soon as I saw Arnon’s wonderful short film, I was filled with excitement at the prospect of expanding that story into a full-length graphic novel! I couldn’t wait to start drawing! Arnon’s short film did a beautiful job of establishing a visual “feel” for the characters and the setting. It was a special opportunity to be able to use the film as the seed for what would become the epic story of the graphic novel. I enjoyed being able to bring some characters from the short film to life on the comic book page (such as the Pirate Captain Toledano himself!) and also to introduce so many new characters and settings. There are a lot of similarities between film and comics, but also many differences too; it was a fun challenge to take everything Arnon and I loved about the short film while, also opening up the story to take full advantage of everything the medium of comics has to offer.
TR: What is your favorite scene in the book? Why?
AS: It’s hard to pick just one! But I think my favorite scene in the book is a sort of ‘Spartacus’ moment near the end. Since it’s near the end, I don’t want to say too much about it – but it’s a moment when a whole lot of secrets get revealed, and – to me – it’s the moment that symbolizes what this book is really about: standing up for our own uniqueness – and for each other’s.
JE: I love José’s first encounter with the Pirate Captain Toledano.
TR: What draws you to the graphic novel genre?
AS: I’ve been a filmmaker since I was a kid. I suppose I’ve always been interested in telling stories through pictures. Graphic novels tell picture-stories in a similar way to movies, and as such, they’ve always intrigued me, too. But this is the first time I’ve ever tried to actually write one. And I found the experience extremely rewarding creatively. Even though I didn’t illustrate the book, I felt that this form of storytelling still gave me an opportunity to craft a narrative that would be told – primarily – through images.
JE: I have loved comics for my whole life!! As a kid I was captivated by the ongoing sagas of (mostly) Marvel super-heroes. I voraciously followed Spider-Man, the Avengers, and of course Chris Claremont’s X-Men. (Claremont’s collaboration with Alan Davis on Excalibur was a high-water-mark for me in those early days of reading comics.) As I got older, I was delighted to discover the vast possibilities of comics and graphic novels through such thrilling and challenging works as Alan Moore & David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, Dave Sim & Gerhard’s Cerebus, Will Eisner’s The Contract with God trilogy, Joe Kubert’s Fax from Sarajevo, Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Jeff Smith’s Bone, Sergio Aragones & Mark Evanier’s Groo… and so many more! (I could fill pages writing about the many comics and graphic novels that I have loved over the years!) I am still deeply in love with the medium of comics and graphic novels. I believe there is unlimited potential within comics to tell so many different kinds of story, from the epic to the deeply personal. There’s a unique power possible with this combination of words and pictures. I love many different types of art, but comics and graphic novels will always be #1 for me.
TR: I never heard of Jewish pirates before, can you tell us how you find out about them and what compelled you to write about them?
AS: Years ago, a friend of mine lent me a book called “Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean” by Ed Kritzler. It’s a fascinating and unusual historical study of Jews – predominantly refugees from the Inquisition and their descendants – who took to the high seas to escape the Inquisition, and who took to piracy (or privateering) as both a means of survival and as a way to strike back against the nation that oppressed them. There were so many great stories in that book! But the thing that struck me the most was that the history offered an entirely new way to look at fictional pirates. If I could come up with a pirate story where the pirates were Jewish, I could create an entirely new and different pirate story – a story where the pirates are driven by something more noble than greed.
JE: My first encounter with Jewish pirates was that first phone conversation with Arnon, in which he told me about his short film and started talking about his ideas for the larger story he wanted to tell. His excitement was contagious, and I couldn’t wait to dive into this world of Jewish pirates and their adventures!
TR: How much time and effort went into your research for the book?
AS: The research for the book happened in stages. I had already done a great deal of research for the short film that inspired the book – including getting some dialogue translated into Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish) and digging up the oldest Sephardic liturgical melodies that I could find. The melodies didn’t make it into the book, of course, but the Ladino did. But since the story in the book is much bigger than in the film, I also had to research a much broader swath of the 16th century Caribbean. I used Google Maps to prowl the streets of Santo Domingo, looking for remnants of the old Spanish town. I reached out to descendants of the island’s Taino people to make sure my depictions were accurate and sensitive. I read other swashbucklers (notably, the first of the “Master and Commander” books by Patrick O’Brian) and watched pirate movies. I wanted to make sure I got the history right, but I also felt it important to get the ‘genre’ right – to tell a great pirate story.
JE: All of the research that Arnon had already done was extraordinarily valuable to me, as was the work that he and his collaborators had done in establishing the visual look of the short film. As Arnon and I began the process of creating our graphic novel, we found there was so much more for us to learn about and explore as we brought new characters and settings into the story. We tried to be as historically accurate as we could, while at the same time being open to our own creativity and imagination.
TR: I always enjoy looking at the names that authors choose to give their characters. Where do you derive the names of your characters? Are they based on real people you knew or now know in real life? How do you create names for your characters?
AR: José’s name is an echo of my son’s middle name: Joseph. My son, in turn, was named to connect him to one of our earliest known ancestors, the 12th century scholar Rabbi Joseph ‘Bechor Shor’ – a Tosafist from Orleans, France whose nickname became our family’s name. He’s the first in a line of Rabbis that lasted nearly a millennium, before the upheavals of the 20th century caused his descendant – my grandfather – to drift away from his ancestral traditions. I’ve spent a lot of energy trying to find ways to re-connect to the heritage and traditions of my ancestors – the ones that got lost when the generational ‘chain’ was cut. In that way, José’s search for his ancestral heritage is a reflection of my own. So I wanted to connect him both to my son and to my ancestral grandfather – the deep past and the hope for the future.
TR: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover?
AS: For this I’ll turn the interview over to the book’s masterful illustrator, Joshua M. Edelglass:
JE: Arnon and I started talking about the cover to the book about a year before I actually drew it! I did a lot of sketches before we – working in close concert with the great team at Kar-Ben – were able to find a design we were all happy with. We knew we wanted to convey certain key aspects of the story: that it was a pirate adventure, that it had a young protagonist, and that there was a Jewish aspect to the tale. We liked the idea of a movie-poster-style montage that would introduce a potential reader to the main characters they’d meet in the story. We tried to come up with a design that looked fun and exciting and that would make one want to open that cover up and read the story!
TR: Describe the room you are sitting in as though it was a scene in one of your books.
AS: When I write a graphic novel, I don’t illustrate it – but I do describe to the illustrator what should appear in the panel. So if I were to describe my room to Josh, it would go something like this:
PANEL 1: A narrow room, quite small, well-stuffed, but tidy. At one end, a large wood desk, elegant, rounded edges, no drawers. On that desk – two large computer monitors and a three-foot-long LED goose-neck desk lamp that casts a cool blue light in a pool over the black keyboard. The cool light from the lamp and the computer screens contrasts with the warm tones of the wood desk and two wood bookshelves that flank it. Above the desk: a massive TV screen, black, off, waiting.
Across from the desk (perhaps visible in a second panel? Not sure you could squeeze this into just one) an inviting wood futon, blue fabric with a southwestern print – perhaps Navajo? Perhaps simply someone’s imitation of what “indian” should look like. A few film awards and one screenplay cover are framed and hanging on the wall behind the futon, on either side of a large, curtained window. Again, blue fabric and brown furniture provide a warm/cool contrast.
JE: As I sit at my computer typing this answer, if I look to my left, I’ll see my drawing table. I keep my room very neat, but my drawing table is covered with ideas for future projects and remnants of previous ones. (Look, there’s a sketch of the pattern on José’s pants, still sitting on the corner of my table!) Various pencils, pens, bottles of ink, rulers, a triangle, and other tools are scattered around my table.
Looking further to my left, I see my closet filled with boxes of comic books. Looking to my right, I see shelves filled with art supplies and stacks of bristol board pages from previous projects… not to mention other fun stuff such as photo albums, projects my daughters have made for me, a box of cassette tapes (that I’m not sure I any longer have the means to play), photos, etc…
TR: What do you do when you are not writing?
AS: I have three wonderful children who take up much of my free time and attention. We recently moved into a house, so I’m learning how to tend to the lawn and the garden – it turns out I quite enjoy yard work! And of course, I try to watch a lot of movies.
JE: I’m the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah New England, an overnight Jewish summer camp located in Palmer, MA. I get to spend my summers at camp each year!! It’s one of the best jobs in the world. And, like Arnon, I have my wonderful family – in my case, my wife and twin daughters.
TR: What are you currently working on?
AS: As a matter of fact, I just finished writing a pilot screenplay based on “José and the Pirate Captain Toledano”. If you love the book and tell all your friends to buy it, hopefully the sales numbers will convince Hollywood to consider adapting it as a limited series… If that happens, I’m ready with the script!
JE: Arnon and I are also developing several different ideas for graphic novels – hopefully, one of them will be our next project together!
TR: Are there any questions that you would have liked me or another blogger to ask but didn’t? Please ask and answer.
AS: Q: Jewish characters, a storyline deeply rooted in Jewish history and tradition, and all from a publisher that focuses on Jewish kids’ books… Is this book just for Jewish kids?
AS: I understand where that question is coming from! We like to categorize our world – and especially the media that we buy (this is especially true with movies, where we pay for them before we see them). But to me “José and the Pirate Captain Toledano” is first and foremost a swashbuckling pirate adventure story – the sort of book that my 9-year-old would love, and that his septuagenarian grandmother would love, too – albeit for different reasons. And although the central characters are Jewish, I wrote the story for a much broader audience. You don’t need to be a Jedi to enjoy “Star Wars”, right? Same idea here.
About Arnon Z. Shorr
Arnon Z. Shorr is an author, screenwriter and filmmaker of character-driven adventures and thrillers, where heroes grapple with the extraordinary, and in doing so, learn important truths about themselves.
Arnon spent most of his childhood between worlds: a Hebrew speaker in America, a private school kid in a rented two-bedroom apartment. Whenever he’d set foot in one world, his other foot would betray him as different. For that reason, he tells stories that embrace the peculiar, where encounters with the unexpected reveal who we are.
Joshua Edelglass is a freelance illustrator from Massachusetts. He is also the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah New England. At Brown University, Josh wrote and drew the political cartoon, WorldView for The Brown Daily Herald. That experience gave him the bug for cartooning, a passion that has never left him.
Josh’s work has appeared in a variety of exhibitions, including Pow! Jewish Comics Art and Influence that ran at the Brooklyn Jewish Art Museum in Spring 2018. Josh was included in the Jewish Comix Anthology, published in 2014 by Alternative History Press. Josh was also included in SCI: The Jewish Comics Anthology vol. 2, which was published in the fall of 2018.
Giveaway Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr
This giveaway is for 2 print copies One for each of 2 winners. This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on July 1, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Publisher: Fireship Press (April 30, 2020) Category: Action/Adventure, Historical Romance, and Historical Thriller Tour dates: Sept 30-Nov 25, 2020 ISBN: 978-1611792775 Available in Print and ebook, 303 pages
Description Tsars Locket by Ken Czech
When Duty, Honor, and Love Collide
Julian Blunt, a former sea captain and a despised Catholic, is stunned when Queen Elizabeth proposes that he help carry a betrothal locket to Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Moscow. It means an alliance between England and Russia is brewing, and the queen warns that should the locket fall into the hands of the Pope or his minions, it could mean war.
Julian joins the queen’s messenger, the lofty and spirited Jessandra Calcross, in a perilous voyage across the Baltic Sea and into the very heart of Russia. When a papal assassin determined to prevent the royal marriage strikes, Jess turns to Julian as the only man she can trust. Although at odds over religion and station, a slender emotional bond grows. Stalked by the relentless murderer, Julian is soon torn between abandoning his mission so he can better safeguard Jess, and fulfilling his vow to the queen. If he fails the queen he’ll never captain a ship again. But if he and Jess continue on to Moscow, they face a darker peril in the mercurial and sinister Tsar Ivan–a peril that will drive courage and dawning love to the breaking point.
My Thoughts Tsars Locket by Ken Czech
Julian Blunt was a sea captain from 16th century England. However, he converted to Catholicism to marry the love of his life. Upon his return from his last voyage he discovers his wife died and his ship and crew are taken from him because he is Catholic. While visiting his wife’s grave a man approaches him and he is sure that he has come to arrest him.
However, he is taken to Queen Elizabeth in a discreet location. She asks him to perform a secret mission, bring a betrothal locket Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Moscow, to serve as an alliance between the two countries. This will also prove his loyalty to her and she promises to give his wife a better grave as well as restore his captaincy upon his return.
What could go wrong, does go wrong. The pope gets wind of the mission and wants it stopped at all costs. The ship Julian is sent on has a papal assassin among the crew who is trying to stop the mission at all costs. Also, on the ship, for the mission is the queen’s messenger, Jessandra Calcross who is disguised as a man to keep herself safe. Of course, it is eventually discovered that she is a woman. Julian discovers her secret first and vows to protect her.
It is apparent the Ken Czech did a lot of research for this book. He brought an historical event back to life with his mostly, fictional characters. The well written characters, backdrop, and adventure brought history to life. I felt like I was there in the thick of it all. I just couldn’t put the book down!
I think ‘The Tsar’s Locket’ would make an excellent movie. It not only has history and adventure but an excellent plot and of course, some romance. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction with non-stop adventure! I give it 5 out of 5!
About Ken Czech
History has been his passion since award winning author, Ken Czech was a wee lad. After retiring from a career of teaching history at both secondary and higher education levels, He turned that passion to writing historical novels. His stories combine fiction with actual events and actors taken from the past. He lives with his wife Mary on an abandoned granite quarry in Minnesota where they enjoy the wildlife and the changing seasons. That’s where his writing happens.
His latest book THE TSAR’S LOCKET has received Five Stars from Reader’s Favorite. His previous novels BEYOND THE RIVER OF SHAME and LAST DANCE IN KABUL have also received very favorable reviews.
Jose and the Pirate Captain Toledano by Arnon Z. Shorr, Illustrated by Joshua Edelglass’
