Philippa Flynn's Year of Panic and Piracy: A Novel

An introverted history professor and a former romance cover model collaborate on a life-changing endeavor in a witty and swoonworthy novel about new beginnings in unexpected waters.

When a sinkhole nearly swallows her whole, burned-out history professor Philippa Flynn takes it as a wake-up call. Leaving her carefully planned but unfulfilling life behind, she moves into an old seaside house she inherited from her grandmother, a bestselling author of swashbuckling romances. Philippa expects the clutter, disrepair, proximity to the family she deliberately moved away from, and reclusive writer she’ll be sharing the house with. She doesn’t expect that writer to also be the cover model who personified Iris Flynn’s bare-chested, cavalier-booted pirate king.

While navigating their awkward cohabitation and searching for creative inspiration, the pair discovers the outlines for six more novels they could work on together. But Philippa’s used to facts, Dylan has writer’s block, and neither can craft a love scene while real sparks are flying.

To write the story on the page, Philippa will have to embrace the one she’s living, even if it means swapping tenure for treasure maps and plans for pirate kings.

Jacqueline is a writer, costume designer, and lover of beautiful things. She's on the fulltime faculty in the Department of Theatre & Film at the University of British Columbia where she teaches character design, world building, and period costume construction courses. When not obsessing about where to put the buttons or the commas, she can be found running by the ocean, eating excessive amounts of gluten, listening to earnest love songs, and pretending her dog understands every word she says.

“I adore Jacqueline Firkins’s unmatched ability to conjure people and places so real they feel like you could reach out and touch them. Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy will surprise you in all the best ways, wrapping you up in a soft, sumptuous slow burn while you fall for flawed, feisty, gorgeously written characters. If you’ve ever wished you could chuck it all and pick up a cutlass—even a fictional one—you need this book!” —Maggie North, author of Fossil Feud

“A perfect blend of whimsy and heart, Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy is the type of book that grabs you on the first page and won’t let go. It’s a captivating story about love, loss, and family—and finding the bravery to change course. I adored every second of Philippa’s path to self-rediscovery.” —Mara Williams, author of The Epicenter of Forever

“Swoony romance, heart-warming depth, and strong wit: Everything I’ve come to expect and adore from Jacqueline Firkins. Along with strong themes of grief, financial struggles, sexism, and single-minded parents I wanted to punch in the face on multiple occasions, Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy explores self-discovery and self-acceptance in equal measure and holding tight to the people who have always had your back while also opening your heart to new love. I so enjoyed taking this journey with Philippa toward finding her joy and the strength to follow it.” —Meredith Schorr, USA Today bestselling author of RoomMating

“If you aren’t ready to ditch an unfulfilling career and take up residence in your grandmother’s ramshackle manse on the Maine coast with a housemate who may not be an actual pirate but has played one on the covers of umpteen romance novels, try the next best thing: reading Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy by Jacqueline Firkins. This beguiling mix of slow-burn romance, complicated family dynamics, sly wit, bracing ocean winds, and a dash of HGTV offers the best kind of escapism—one that is deeply rooted in an authentic and empathetic portrait of two quiet people finding the courage to write their own love story. Come for the shirtless pirates, stay for the grown-up take on charting a new course through midlife.” —Amanda Sellet, author of My Best French Wedding

“Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy is simultaneously a love letter to swashbuckling clinch covers and a deeply introspective work of contemporary fiction, balanced with Firkins’s signature wit. Readers who enjoy stories about storytellers will be swept away by Philippa’s soul-searching excursion to the Maine coast and the unexpected connection she finds there.” —Kristyn J. Miller, author of Given Our History

“With its bantering characters falling headlong into their own love story as they put one to page, Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy is a heartfelt reminder that we don’t need to have everything figured out to find happily ever after. The perfect romance for anyone learning to trust themselves and take big leaps through life.” —Leanne Toshiko Simpson, author of Never Been Better

“Oh my goodness! Jacqueline Firkins has written the most extraordinarily fun novel—a modern day tale about a woman who quits her boring, humdrum life to move into the house she inherited from her novelist grandmother in coastal Maine and try to make her own writer dreams come true. There, she meets her grandmother’s tenant, a reclusive swashbuckling pirate king (well, he plays one on the covers of her grandmother’s romance novels, anyway), and together they face such obstacles as a falling-down house, lots of family drama, no money…and lots and lots of sexual tension. This is a delightful, hilarious, and suspenseful story of new beginnings, bravery, and finding the treasure of the life that’s right in front of you, even though others might think you’re crazy.” —Maddie Dawson, bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners