Ellen Jacobson's Blog, page 22

IWSG, Book Release Plans & A To Z Challenge {D Is For "Discutir" - To Discuss}

In my ongoing efforts to learn Spanish, I'm highlighting a Spanish word each day during April as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I'm also sharing the random thoughts that pop into my head when I try to pronounce them.
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Today is the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's IWSG day. The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It's a great place to mingle with like minded people each month.
I chose today's Spanish word, >>discutir<< (to discuss), as a lot of interesting discussion happens in the comments on people's posts.  
Every month there's an optional question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they're struggling with what to say.

This month's question is:

"When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep writing?"

Check out how people have answered this month's question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list here.

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Apologies in advance to all of you Simon the Time Traveling Cat fans, but he's not making an appearance today to answer this month's question. He's way too busy napping and dreaming about catching lizards to be bothered with this blogging nonsense. Which is a good thing, because I've got other stuff to share with you that's far more interesting than my usual complaints about Simon's hairballs and constant demands for full-fat milk.

So here's the big news - I set a release date for >>Murder at the Marina<<. The big event will take place on Thursday, June 21st, which just happens to be the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere (apologies to all of you Down Under) and National Seashell Day. What better way to celebrate than by reading a cozy mystery that features sailing and walks on the beach? A cat also plays a starring role, but don't tell Simon.

I picked a June release date because it should give me enough time to get the next book in the series, >>Bodies in the Boatyard<<, in reasonable enough shape so that I don't have too much of lag time between releases. Thanks to everyone for their advice on release schedules on last month's IWSG post and in the IWSG Facebook group.

Which brings me to the next thing that I want to share with you - my writing insecurity. Yep, you guessed it, the thought of publishing a book is kind of freaking me out. Whenever I try to talk with Simon about it, he just yawns, rolls over on his back, and then demands that I scratch his belly. He's like my own personal Insecure Writer's Non-Support Group.

Anyhoo, enough about Simon. I'm making plans for my book release, including seeking out folks who want to help with a blog tour between June 17th and June 30th and/or are interested in reviewing the book and would like an ARC (advance readers copy). If this sounds like it might be up your alley, please fill out this handy-dandy form on Google Docs or drop me an email at ellenjacobsonauthor (at) gmail (dot) com.

You can find out more about >>Murder at the Marina<< on my author blog.
When your life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to keep your spirits up and stay focused? What's your favorite word that starts with "D"? Any book release tips?
Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!

Check out the other folks participating in this year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge here.

C Is For "Coser" {To Sew} | A To Z Challenge

In my ongoing efforts to learn Spanish, I'm highlighting a Spanish word each day during April as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I'll also share the random thoughts that pop into my head when I try to pronounce it.

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Today's Spanish word is >>coser<< (to sew). And now for some random thoughts:

1 - We have a Sailrite sewing machine on our boat. They're super expensive, but lots of people swear by them. {You can read more about drinking the Koolaid and joining the Sailrite cult here.}

2 - They're industrial machines and can sew through many heavy layers of fabric, like sailcloth and sunbrella.

3 - We have a "monster wheel" which means we can use it without electricity when we're out cruising. It came in handy in the Bahamas last year when we had to repair our bimini.

4 - We're thinking about making a headsail on it this year, using one of Sailrite's kits. Sounds a bit daunting, but could be a fun challenge.



Do you know how to sew? What's your favorite word that starts with "C"?
Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!

Check out the other folks participating in this year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge here.

Month In Numbers & A To Z Challenge {B Is For "Bilbliófilo" - Bibliophile}

In my ongoing efforts to learn Spanish, I'm highlighting a different Spanish word every day during April as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I'm also sharing the random thoughts that pop into my head when I try to pronounce them.

Today's post is a bit different, as it's also our regular monthly update in numbers. I chose today's Spanish word, >>bibliófilo<< (bibliophile), because I read a few books during March as part of my Goodreads challenge.

So without further ado, here's the usual photo collage and some random thoughts about today's word and what I got up to last month:


Clockwise from upper left: (1) tree in your cockpit - sure sign you haven't been cruising in a while; (2) fun with a friend's drone; (3) watching the thoroughbreds train at nearby Payson Park; (4) impulse shopping for brandless food; (5) celebrating St. Patrick's Day with potato nachos; and (6) working on promo stuff for my book release.
It's been a pretty quiet month, focused primarily on writing-related stuff. I've been gearing up for my book launch (more on that on Wednesday) and there's been so much stuff to figure out and get set up. So, unless you want to hear about cover design, vendor accounts, formatting and the like (trust me, you don't), then this will be a short and sweet monthly update.

24 - Number of days I wrote during March. We had a monthly writing challenge as part of the Women Who Sail Who Write Facebook group I'm part of. Such great support and camaraderie from the ladies in that group.12,000+ - How many words I wrote during March. Many of them were for blog posts (for both this blog and my author blog), some were edits to >>Murder at the Marina<<, and some were for the first draft of >>Bodies in the Boatyard<<. Not as many words as I had hoped.12 - How many books I read. 4 were for the Around the World in 80 Books challenge, 1 sailing-related, 3 mysteries, 1 sci-fi/fantasy, 1 suspense, 1 horror, and 1 non-fiction.2 - How many cookies I ate. After doing FebFast last month, I've really fallen off of the healthy eating wagon. 3 - The number of challenges I mention in this post. There should be some sort of challenge for how many challenges you can mention in one blog post.21 - How many days I went walking. We've got a little ladies walking posse going at the marina, which helps keep me motivated, although I don't go as often as I should. I guess I could have lied and told you I walked every day this month. How would you know the difference?1 - Number of lies I told on this post. Can you spot it?$170 - How much I spent on groceries.1,200 - How many pounds a thoroughbred horse weighs. One of the highlights this month was watching them go through their paces at a nearby training centre. They move so fast.7 - How many saints share feast days on March 17th. St. Patrick gets all the attention, but did you know about St. Gertrude, the patron saint of cats? It's her day too. We had a get-together at the marina to celebrate all things Irish. Sadly, there weren't any cats invited.
In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite posts from last month:

Morning Coffee | Random Thoughts & Oddities
Boat Cards & Memories of Meeting Fellow Cruisers
The Importance of a Cruising Community When You're Not Cruising
 

How did last month go for you? What are you looking forward to this month? What's your favorite word that starts with "B"?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi! 

Check out the other folks participating in this year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge here.

A Is For "Anclaje" {Anchorage} | A To Z Challenge

In my ongoing efforts to learn Spanish, I'm highlighting a Spanish word each day during April as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I'll also share the random thoughts that pop into my head when I try to pronounce it.

* * * Today's Spanish word is >>anclaje<< (anchorage). And now for some random thoughts:
1 -  These are some pictures of anchorages we dropped the hook at during our time cruising in New Zealand, the Bahamas, and Florida.
2 - I've blatantly recycled these photos from older blog posts. Some of you may remember them if you've been following our blog for a while.
3 - Although, if you do remember them, I'm  impressed. I can't even remember what my middle name is. Oh, wait, I don't have a middle name. That explains it.



What's your memory like? Do you remember what your middle name is? What's your favorite word that starts with "A"?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come to visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!  

Check out the other folks participating in this year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge here.

Saturday Spotlight | "Death By Adverb" Book Release By Rebecca Douglass

In addition to the usual blog posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday about our eccentric travel adventures and day-to-day life living aboard a sailboat, I also occasionally post on Saturdays, focusing on things related to writing such as cover reveals, book launches, reviews, interviews with authors etc. So if you're a bit of a book nerd like I am, check in on Saturdays - you never know what might pop up.

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Today we're featuring the release of >>Death by Adverb<< by Rebecca Douglass. This is a delightful cozy mystery which I had the pleasure of reading (see below). Given the fact that I live on a sailboat, I really liked the cover. Although I do prefer my boats without dead bodies. Have a read below for more details about >>Death by Adverb<<, along with an excerpt.





BLURB
JJ MacGregor’s having a rotten summer. Her arm’s in a cast, her jeans are too tight, and her son is spending his vacation with his dad. To make matters worse, her relationship with Police Chief Ron Karlson is up in the air and they haven’t spoken since June. Maybe the only good thing is that she’s got a writing job at last. Wilmont Charleston-Rutherford want her to help him with his memoirs, and JJ doesn’t care if he’s making it all up. All she has to do to make some much-needed money is keep her mouth shut and fix some of the worst prose she’s ever seen.
Of course, keeping her mouth shut isn’t JJ’s strong point. When she loses her temper so does her boss, and she’s back to job-hunting. That’s bad enough, but when Wilmont Charleston-Rutherford turns up dead, everyone remembers JJ fought with him. About the time the police are wondering if JJ might have tried to avenge the English language, her sewer backs up, and the dead man’s missing daughter shows up on her doorstep—only to disappear again before morning. JJ has her work cut out for to find the girl, the killer, and a new septic tank before anyone else dies—but at least the murder has her talking to Ron again.
EXCERPT
"What the—hey, watch that thing!” I yelled as the man in white brought his saw toward my immobilized arm.

Nurse Chu patted my shoulder comfortingly, but she didn’t loosen her grip on the casted limb she held against the table.
 
"Don’t worry, Ms. MacGregor,” she said, “The doctor hardly ever slips and cuts off anyone’s arm.” 
I swallowed hard, reminding myself that these were medical professionals. Despite appearances, they weren’t planning to torture me, cut off my arm, or damage me in any way. I was in the Pismawallops Clinic getting the cast off my broken arm at last, a happy event. 
I cringed anyway as the saw started to cut the plaster. “Easy there,” I said, trying to sound like I was joking. “My insurance runs out in a couple of months, and I need to be healthy when that happens!” In fact, I was doing plenty of worrying about insurance. Once my coverage under my ex-husband’s policy ran out, I was going to be scrambling to make payments on even the cheapest insurance. It was worth it, to be free of the man I thought of as pond scum, but I still worried. I fixed my gaze on the educational poster on the wall in front of me, and resolutely ignored the whining saw. 
Dr. Salisbury finished cutting the cast loose and peeled the remains away. I stopped staring at the poster enjoining me to wash my hands and avoid the flu, and looked at the thing lying on the table.
The exposed arm looked white and dead, and I wasn’t sure it was attached to me. 
BUY LINKS

Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads

THE AUTHOR












Rebecca Douglass was raised on an Island in Puget Sound only a little bigger than Pismawallops, and remembers well the special aspects of island life. She now lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area, and can be found on-line at www.ninjalibrarian.com and on Facebook as The Ninja Librarian. In addition to the Pismawallops PTA Mysteries (Death By Ice Cream and Death By Trombone), her books include three Ninja Librarian book, tall tales for all ages, and the humorous middle-grade fantasy Halitor the Hero. Rebecca is a long-time volunteer and servant of her local schools, now due to retire (and seek now opportunities to serve). She spends her free time bicycling, gardening, reading, and supporting her grown sons. For a vacation she likes nothing better than hiking, camping and backpacking.
Find out more about Rebecca on her Blog | Amazon Author Page | Smashwords Author Page | Facebook | Goodreads Author Page

The first two books in the series are on sale on Amazon for 99 cents—Death by Ice Cream and Death by Trombone.


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MY REVIEW
"Death by Adverb" is the third in the delightful Pismawallops PTA mystery series which is set on an island in the Puget Sound. Douglass paints a wonderful picture of the small town of Pismawallops in the Pacific Northwest, bringing to life the joys and challenges of living in a remote tight-knit island community. "Death by Adverb" can be read as a stand-alone novel, although, after reading this installment, you'll want to go back and dive into the first two books in the series.

 The main character, JJ, is recently divorced and a mother of a teenage boy. She's trying to figure out what kind of relationship she wants to develop with the new man in her life who just happens to be the chief of police—something that comes in handy when investigating murders. In addition to figuring out her love life, JJ is also trying to figure out how to make ends meet. Her recent employment helping an obnoxious rich man edit his memoir leaves a lot to be desired. When her employer ends up dead, JJ gets drawn into investigating what happened and, in the process, finding herself tangled up with his family and other locals on the island who might have had it in for him.

"Death by Adverb" is another fun read by Douglass with a well-executed plot, interesting characters, and a wonderful setting.

What books have you been reading lately? Have you read any of Rebecca's books? Do you leave book reviews?
 
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Flashback Friday | Marina Life

 
Flashback Friday takes place on the last Friday of the month. The idea is to give a little more love to a blog post you've published before that maybe didn't get enough attention, or is something you think is still relevant or even a something that you really love and want to share again.

Many thanks to Michael d’Agostino for starting Flashback Friday and inspiring me to go back and revisit some of our earlier blog posts.


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This is a flashback to one of the e times we stayed at a marina in New Zealand. We normally prefer to anchor, but marinas were relatively inexpensive in New Zealand so we would stay at them occasionally to take care of life and boat chores. When we were at marinas we would run around like crazy trying to get everything done in order to get the biggest bang for our buck. After all, if we just wanted to sit around and relax, we could do that an anchorage.

{This post was originally published in February 2014. You can find the original post here.} 


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We’ve actually been spending far more time in marinas then we intended to due in part to the weather and in part to some commitments in Auckland. Fortunately, marinas are relatively inexpensive in New Zealand; otherwise this wouldn’t be sustainable on our cruising budget. For our 26’ boat we pay around NZ$22-25 a night for a fingered berth. From what Scott tells me, marinas in Europe are far more expensive and he’s paid around €100 a night for berths there.

But because we’re cheap and would much prefer to be out there on the water, we try to minimize how much time we do spend in marinas and maximize the number of boat and life chores we can get done when we’re there. You would think it would be relaxing to be in a marina, but a day at a marina for us is often chock-a-block. Here is what a typical stay might look like for us. 

Arrival Day 

10:00 am – 11:30 am 

Arrive at marina and find the office to check-in. Typically, the berth they have assigned you is the furthest one away from the office so you have a bit of a walk to get there. Spend some time filling out paperwork and proving you have third party insurance. Find out where the shower block, laundry facilities and nearest grocery store are. These are three of the most important life chores you need to accomplish – make yourself smell good, make your clothes smell good and re-provision. And because everything at a marina revolves around gold coins (NZ$1 and $2 coins), trade a twenty dollar bill for a bag of coins. Otherwise, you and your clothes aren’t going to get clean. 

11:30 am – 12:00 pm 

Return to your boat and collapse because you’re exhausted from not having slept in days in near-gale force conditions. Try to convince each other that taking a shower really would make you feel better. 

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm 

Hit the shower block. Wait outside the shower because it is occupied. Debate whether to walk what seems like five miles to the other shower block but decide to stay and pray that they person in the shower will come out soon. Finally they do. Except it isn’t one person, it is two. Perhaps they only had one NZ$2 coin and had to share the shower? Either that or they’re newlyweds. Personally, I want all of the five minutes of hot water that my NZ$2 coin is going to give me without sharing it with Scott. But then again, we’ve been married for over 20 years.

Take a shower wearing your flip-flops because athlete’s foot sounds like a real drag. Try to shave your legs in the bad lighting and then give up. Convince yourself that the hair kind of disguises the bruises on your legs you have gotten from banging around the boat when it gets all tippy. Oops, the alarm has gone off and you only have one minute of hot water left! Do one last rinse and then towel off. 

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm 

Go through your current food stores to try to figure out what you need at the grocery store. It seems simple but it isn’t because your food is spread out in several hidey holes throughout the boat, some in very hard to reach places. Give up and just decide to buy a lot of cans of tomatoes and bags of pasta. You can’t really go wrong with spaghetti. 

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm 

Walk to the grocery store. Do your shopping. Have them bag your groceries in plastic bags even though you know you already have reusable grocery bags in your backpack. But you needmore plastic bags. When you live on a boat you love plastic bags. And you can neverhave too many plastic bags. (Or paper towels.) Once you’re done shopping, restow all of the groceries into your backpacks and reusable grocery bags. Lug them all back to the boat because you don’t have a car. Your feet are your car. Tell Scott how strong he is from time to time as he is carrying the really heavy items on his back. 

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm 

Unload the groceries and stow in the various hidey-holes. Try to do some sort of inventory of what you have so that putting the shopping list together next time will be easier. Watch Scott shake his head because the inventory system hasn’t worked the last three times you’ve tried it. 

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm 

Make spaghetti for dinner. Eat dinner. Do the dishes using a decadent amount of fresh water. One of the best parts of being in a marina – all the fresh water you could possibly want. No need to wash the dishes in salt water today. It doesn’t get better than this! Oh yes, when you’re a cruiser, it is the little things that really make all the difference. 

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm 

Do the laundry and set up a “charging station” in the laundry room. When you don’t have an electrical set-up on your boat, every visit to a marina is an opportunity to charge the mobile phones, the portable DVD player and the computers. So when we hit the laundry room, we plug in an extension cord/pigtail and plug all of our gadgets in to charge. When you have a day in a marina, you have to multi-task – laundry and charging go hand in hand. 

9:00 pm – 10:30 pm 

Get back to the boat and decided to flaunt the marina rules which say you can’t hang laundry up to dry on your boat because their dryer doesn’t work. They call it a dryer, but it is really just a machine that eats up your NZ$2 coin, spins your clothes around for an hour and returns them to you wet.
Watch part of an episode of Battlestar Galactica on the newly charged portable DVD player before realizing there is no way you can stay awake through the entire episode. 

Departure Day 

6:30 am – 7:00 am 

Wake up but pretend to be asleep so that the other person will make the coffee. Continue the contest of wills until someone breaks and gets up and puts the kettle on. It is usually Scott. 

7:00 am – 9:00 am 

Make breakfast and get the boat in order. Complain to each other about the marina rules that make you vacate your slip by 9:00 am. No hotel would make you get out that early. But then again, this isn’t a hotel. If it was, we would have room service and someone would have brought the coffee and breakfast to us.

Top up with fresh water into every possible container you can think of – the normal jerry cans and water bladder, some old plastic soda pop bottles, the solar shower and a container for sun tea. You never know when you’re going to see fresh water again, so if you’re a cruiser, get it when you can.
Untie the dock lines and sail off to the next port of call.
Have you ever pretended to be asleep so that your partner will get up and make the coffee? 

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Wordless Wednesday | Barbed Wire

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - I don't think I'd want to work in a barbed wire manufacturing plant. Sounds painful.

2 - In the movies, they always make it look so easy to jump over barbed wire fences. Just casually toss your jacket or sweatshirt on top of the barbed wire to protect your hands and effortlessly hop over. If I tried that, I would need a lot of bandaids.

3 - Did you know that there's a Barbed Wire Museum in Kansas? It has dioramas. I love dioramas. I love anything miniature. Except for chocolate bars. Those should be supersized.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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The Importance Of A Cruising Community When You're Not Cruising

I was having a Facebook conversation with Deb from The Retirement Project the other day about being stuck at Indiantown Marina for the foreseeable future instead of being out on exciting adventures. She reminded me that, if you have to be stuck anywhere, this isn't too bad of a place to be. Being surrounded by a community of cruisers isn't something to take for granted.

Some people are either in the planning stages of setting out to sail and living somewhere far from the water where no one understands their dreams. Others have had to pause their adventures to fill up the cruising kitty and the people that surround them don't understand why they want to leave again.

But when you're stuck at a marina, people get it. They understand your desire to point your boat off to new and exciting ports of calls. Their excitement as they head off is contagious. The stories they share when they come back are infectious. They nourish your dreams. In short, a cruising community is pretty darn important when you're not cruising.

Some people find their community around them and others find it through online groups, forums, and blogs. But not matter how you do it, finding your "tribe" is so important.

Do you have a community of like-minded people surrounding you and supporting your dreams and passions?

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Saturday Spotlight | Around The World In 80 Books, The Final Update

In addition to the usual blog posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday about our eccentric travel adventures and day-to-day life living aboard a sailboat, I also occasionally post on Saturdays, focusing on things related to writing such as cover reveals, book launches, reviews, interviews with authors etc. So if you're a bit of a book nerd like I am, check in on Saturdays - you never know what might pop up.


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Remember when I started that "Around the World in 80 Books" challenge? The one I was so gung-ho about, but then never finished. Yeah, I had completely forgotten about it too until my mother gave me a reminder. So, while we're land-locked and working on boat projects, I thought this would be a good time to start ticking more countries off of the list.

The idea of the challenge is to read books set in 80 different countries, effectively exploring the world from the comfort of your armchair. Since my last update, I've read books set in five more countries – Burma (Myanmar), Colombia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, and El Salvador.

And guess what - that means I've now completed the challenge! It was a long one, but well worth it. I've read so many books that I normally would have never picked up, and learned something about different countries in the process.

You can read more about the challenge here, as well as check out Update #1, Update #2, Update #3, Update #4, Update #5, Update #6, Update #7, Update #8, Update #9, Update #10, Update #11, Update #12, Update #13, and Update #14.
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THE PIANO TUNER by Daniel Mason | Burma (Myanmar)

Imagine being an English piano tuner in the late 1800s and told that you have to travel to the remote jungles of Burma (Myanmar) to tune the piano of an eccentric army doctor and officer. I thought this was a fascinating premise - learning about the history of the area under British colonial rule as well as how to tune a piano that's been affected by the humid climate. I read some reviews that compare The Piano Tuner to Conrad's Heart of Darkness and I can see the similarities.

I now know a little bit more about pianos and the history of this area, including the fact that being a piano tuner sounds painful.

"Now, eighteen years later, she knew where the calluses on his hands lay and what they were from. Once he had explained them to her, like a tattooed man explaining the stories of his illustrations. This one that runs along the inside of my thumb is from a screwdriver. The scratches on my wrist are from the body itself, I often rest arm like this when I am sounding. The calluses on the inside of my first and third fingers on the right are from tightening pins before using regulating pliers, I spare my second finger, I don't know why, a habit from youth. Broken nails are from strings, it is a sign of impatience."

You can find out more about The Piano Tuner on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon. 


MEMORIES OF MY MELANCHOLY WHORES by Gabriel Garcia Marquez | Colombia

I was trying to remember whether I had ever read anything by Marquez before. He's a famous dude (Nobel Prize in Literature and all) and I've heard of his books and I felt like I should have read something by him by now. Turns out Memories of my Melancholy Whores was the first one for me. It tells the story of a bachelor on his 90th birthday who decides he wants to sleep with a virgin and the relationship he develops with her.

It was an interesting read. I liked part of it, other parts not so much, and many parts just creeped me out. But I did enjoy his way with words and his style of writing. There were passages that made me laugh, like his reaction when presented with the gift of a cat by his co-workers.

"I have very bad chemistry with animals, just as I do with children before they begin to speak. They seem mute in their souls. I don't hate them, but I can't tolerate them, because I have never learned to deal with them. I think it is against nature for man to get along better with his dog than he does with his wife, to teach it to eat and defecate on schedule, to answer his questions and share his sorrows. But not picking up the typographer's cat would have been an insult."

You can find out more about Memories of my Melancholy Whores on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.  


THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE by Lenne Kaaberbol | Denmark

The Boy in the Suitcase drew me in right away with the title alone. What does a "boy in a suitcase" conjure up to you? Nothing good, I'd imagine. The book starts off quickly with, no surprise, a boy in a suitcase in a train station in Copenhagen. It follows Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, as she tries to uncover the mystery behind the boy while trying to avoid the people who are hunting them down. There were some interesting twists and turns in this fast-paced thriller. While I didn't learn as much about Denmark as I would have liked in this book, I did learn about child trafficking in Europe.

It was hard to pick out a quote from The Boy in the Suitcase without having a spoiler. I ended up choosing this one, because who can't relate to being frantic over being stuck on an airplane, although hopefully not for the same reasons as this chap.

"He should have been back home in Denmark more than an hour ago. Instead he sat on what should have been the 7:45 to Copenhagen Airport, frying inside an overheated aluminum tube along with 122 other unfortunates. No matter how many cooling drinks he was offered by the flight attendants, nothing could ease his desperation."

You can find out more about The Boy in the Suitcase on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.


IN THE TIME OF BUTTERFLIES by Julia Alvarez | Dominican Republic

One of the things I've enjoyed about this challenge is learning more about other countries. Like the fact that the States has occupied the Dominican Republic twice - first in the early 20th century (the Dominican's gained independence in 1924) and again in the 1960s when the Americans were fearful of a Communist revolt and the establishment of a "second Cuba." Not only did I learn about that, but I also learned about the oppressive rule of Rafael Trujillo from 1930-1961. 

In the Time of Butterflies is set prior to the second American occupation, during the time of the Trujillo's dictatorship. It's inspired by the true story of three sisters who were murdered for their part in an attempt to overthrow Trujillo. The book alternates between the perspective of four fictional sisters - three who were murdered and one who survives and recollects the family's involvement in revolutionary activity. I liked the youngest sister's account the best, presented in the form of diary entries, like this one about the Feast of Santa Lucia.

"Tonight, we will have the candle lighting and all of our eyes will be blessed on account of Santa Lucia. And guess what? I have been chosen to be Santa Lucia by all the sisters! I'll get to wear my First Communion dress and shoes all over again and lead the whole school from the dark courtyard into the lit-up chapel. I have been practicing, walking up and down the Stations of the Cross with a blessed look on my face, not an easy thing when you are trying to keep your balance. I think saints all lived before high heels were invented."

 
You can find out more about In the Time of Butterflies on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.


THE HEIRESS OF WATER by Sandra Rodriguez Barron | El Salvador

The Heiress of Water takes place in New England, where the protagonist, Monica, lives and El Salvador, her birthplace and home until the death of her mother when she was a child. The book follows Monica as she travels back to El Salvador and tries to piece together her family history, while at the same time investigating the medical applications of a venomous cone shell. It's part thriller, part mystery, and part self-discovery. It didn't end the way I expected to and left me wanting more, which can be a good thin in a book.

While there were lots of interesting quotes about El Salvador I could have shared, I chose this one because the sailboat vs. powerboat comparison made me laugh. So true.

"But Will didn't share Eddie's distrust of non-Hispanic New Englanders. Will proudly flew the American and Puerto Rican flags on his boat alongside the nautical ensign. Besides, in his experience, boaters were part of a subculture that transcends ethnic divisions. Many of them saw landlubbers as alien creatures. Beyond that was the separation between the 'purists' - the sailboaters - and the 'vulgar' powerboaters, whose mega-engines' consumption of gas was rivaled only by their owners' consumption of beer. All 'real' sea folk were members of a sacred tribe, and sailors were special to one another. Might as well be related by spit and blood."

You can find out more about The Heiress of Water on Goodreads and get your own copy on Amazon.

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If you're participating in the challenge too (or any other reading challenge), I'd love to hear what you've been reading. Even if you're not doing the challenge, let us know what books you've been enjoying lately.

COUNTRIES READ DURING THE CHALLENGE: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Kiribati, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wales, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

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Smiling During The Crappy Stuff

I don't have time for a long blog post today because I've been so busy lately. Not busy with anything that's going to make the world a better place, or at the very least keep our portlights from leaking when it's pouring down rain.

Nope, just busy with working on marketing and publishing stuff for my book, which I'm sure you don't want to hear about. Unless you find book formatting fascinating, in which case, talk to me about bleed in the comments.

For the rest of you, I'll tell you about someone at the marina who smiles even when he's working on crappy stuff. Seriously crappy stuff. Like driving a golf cart with a container of stinky stuff around the marina. Gross stuff that gets pumped out from people's holding tanks. You don't need any more description than that, do you?


So, there I was, walking back from the shower inhaling the not very pleasant smells that accompany this golf cart wherever it goes, when I heard the guy driving in it, call out, >>Pea soup. 50 cents a bowl for pea soup!<<

I laughed so hard that I had to gasp for breath. Which really wasn't a good thing because I got another giant whiff of that "pea soup" in the process.

I love that this guy has a sense of humor even when literally doing one of the crappiest jobs at the marina.

If he can have a smile on his face while pumping out holding tanks, then I sure as heck can have one on my face while I deal with something as trivial as book cover bleed.

By the way, I'm so busy that I haven't proofread this post at all. Did you laugh out loud when you read that? Me too. I never proofread these things, as you probably know already.You'll be glad to know that I have an editor for my book.

When you have a crappy job to do, do you manage to keep a sense of humor? If so, how do you do it?

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