Character Spotlight ~ Kaye Dacus' Salvador & Shaw

Salvadore & Shaw

Ransome's Quest is the final story in Kaye Dacus' Ransome Trilogy so enjoy meeting the bad guys ~ pirates Salvador and Shaw!


Over to you, Kaye:~

Brief physical description

Tall with dark hair, brown eyes, patrician features, El Salvador de los Esclavos is the very image of a swashbuckling pirate—right down to the scar across his forehead and down into his left eyebrow. On sight, he could pass for Spanish, but his accent marks him as English.

A tall man, with shoulder-length, straight hair that has been bleached by the sun, contrasting with the dark whiskers scrubbed across his jaw as if he has not shaven in several days, Shaw is the pirate everyone in the Caribbean fears. Behind his dimples and sparkling blue eyes beats the heart of the wickedest pirate to sail the Caribbean since Blackbeard himself.

Actor/famous person

Salvador: Rand Gamble

Shaw: Josh Holloway

Strengths and weaknesses

Salvador never set out to become a pirate, but when the ship he was on as a young man was taken by pirates, he was given a choice—join the crew or die. Because of the strong morals instilled in him by his family, as soon as he was old enough (and had enough money) he broke with that crew, bought his own ship, and gathered his own crew pirating the way he thought it should be done—which was to liberate as many slave ships as he could. Salvador’s biggest weakness is also his biggest strength—his sense of morality and ethics. . .and he’s lost many crew members over the years because of his refusal to do outright wrong.


What Shaw believes is his strength is, indeed, his biggest weakness: his desire for revenge. Believing himself wronged by others as a young man, Shaw has spent most of his adult life wreaking vengeance on others—even those with nothing to do with what happened to him in the past. What he lacks in mercy, he makes up for in pride and cruelty, knowing he is the most fearsome pirate to have sailed these waters in more than a century, since the end of the Golden Age of piracy.

Quirk (if any)

Salvador, because of that high sense of morals and ethics, keeps ledgers and account books detailing every ship he’s ever taken, each life he’s saved, each shilling he’s confiscated, never taking more than he needs to pay his crew and keep his ship in repair, and giving as much as he can to the slaves he liberates to help them start new lives.

For Shaw. . .is liking to hurt and demean others a quirk?

Your inspiration for the character

When the idea for the Ransome story—which became the trilogy—first came to me, I knew there would be a pirate. And I knew exactly who that pirate would be. (And finding the images of actor Rand Gamble cemented him in my mind!) But then, when the story expanded from one book to three, I knew one pirate wouldn’t be enough—so I needed another pirate. Since I already had Salvador, the “Robin Hood of the Caribbean,” I needed one who would provide a counterbalance to him—as bad as Salvador is good. And, when re-watching the first and second seasons of LOST, the character of Sawyer (portrayed by actor Josh Holloway) started giving me ideas for a pirate whose handsome, be-dimpled exterior is in direct contrast to the type of person he really is.

Background to the story

Ransome’s Quest is the conclusion of the action-adventure romance Ransome Trilogy, following Ransome’s Honor and Ransome’s Crossing.

The pirate El Salvador de los Esclavos has haunted the waters of the Caribbean for almost ten years. When he snatched Charlotte Ransome, it was a case of mistaken identity. Now Charlotte’s brother, Commodore William Ransome, whose reputation in battle is the stuff of legend, is searching for him with a dogged determination. But another rumor has reached Salvador’s ears: Julia Witherington Ransome has been kidnapped by the man feared by all other pirates—the pirate known only as Shaw. The violent and bloodthirsty savage from whom Salvador was trying to protect her.

When word reaches William of his wife’s disappearance, his heart is torn—he cannot abandon the search for Charlotte, yet he must also rescue Julia. Captain Ned Cochrane offers a solution: Ned will continue the search for Charlotte while William goes after Julia. William’s quest will lead him to a greater understanding of faith and love as he must accept help from sworn enemy and have faith that Julia’s life is in God's hands.

Thanks Kaye ~ your spotlights are always full of great detail!  Be sure to check out more images from Kaye's trilogy with her image set here and the book trailer.

Relz Reviewz Extras
Character spotlight on William Ransome & Julia Witherington
Visit Kaye's website
Buy Kaye's books at Amazon or Koorong