Ellen Jacobson's Blog, page 5

Books About Sailing

It's crazy busy right now for me in the run-up to the publication of the next book in my sailing mystery series, but I wanted to take a break and share some great resources for finding sailing-related books that you might want to check out. Even if you're not a boater yourself, you'll still probably find something you enjoy whether it's a travel memoir, historical fiction, thriller, kids books etc.

Charlotte Kaufman has lists of sailing-related books broken down by age groups. If you aren't familiar with Charlotte and her family's experience losing their boat, Rebel Heart, check out this essay she wrote for HuffPost. Charlotte has written a memoir about this tragic event which I'm looking forward to reading when it's published.

Sailing Book Suggestions for Adults
Sailing Book Suggestions for Tweens & Teens
Sailing Book Suggestions for Children


Check out SisterShip Press for another great list of sailing-related books written by women, including books published by their press. The team behind this organization--Shelley Wright and Jackie Parry--are responsible the relaunch of SisterShip Magazine and the annual Women Who Sail Australia Gathering on the Bay.

SisterShip Book Club


The Boat Galley has a podcast on books for people who are getting ready to cut the dock lines and head off cruising. If you're not familiar with The Boat Galley, it's a wonderful resource about all aspects of boating. And if you don't already have a copy of The Boat Galley Cookbook, that's well worth checking out. I can't imagine cooking on our boat without it.

Best Books for Soon-To-Be Cruisers


The American Sailing Association (ASA) has a list of books about sailing voyages and adventures.

8 Great Sailing Books


If you're looking for books to do some armchair sailing during the off-season or to stock up your floating library Waterborne has you covered.

20 Sailing Books Every Sailor Should Read


Thinking about cruising? Cruising World has a list of books to read to get prepared.

Top 10 Books to Prepare You for Cruising


What have you been reading lately? If you know of any other lists of sailing-related books that you think I should add, leave a comment below with a link to it and I'll check it out.

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


The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is coming soon! Pre-order >>Poisoned by the Pier<< on Amazon.

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Other eretailers and paperback / large print coming soon.

Saturday Spotlight | Hoosier Dad By Elizabeth Seckman

In addition to the usual blog posts every Monday and Wednesday about our 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.

Today, I have the pleasure of celebrating the release of Hoosier Dad written by my wonderful blogging friend, Elizabeth Seckman. 

I'm about halfway through reading Hoosier Dad and can't wait to see how it ends. The quote below is a perfect example of the great banter and humor between the characters. If you like sweet romances, then you'll love this book! But don't take my word for it, check out these great reviews on Goodreads.


Sarah Andrews can hold her own in a courtroom, but when it comes to love, she’s 0-3 and Rich Cooper was her biggest loss to date. 
Hoosier Dad is available!
 Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords/ kobo.com






Elizabeth is a mom, a wife, and the caretaker of far too many pets, all of whom her children swore they'd take care of. But they went off to college leaving fur babies in their place. She is a multi-published author of women's fiction and romance. 
Blog / Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Simon The Time Traveling Cat Vs. Dewey The Talking Chameleon, PLUS A New Release | IWSG

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 during IWSG day.

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 optional question is:

"Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?"

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. I didn't exactly answer the question, but I did write about my favorite genre to write in - cozy mysteries.

Simon the Time Traveling Cat vs. Dewey Decimal the Talking Chameleon


"Why aren't you rubbing my belly?" Simon asked as he dug his claws into my arm.

I pushed the large gray cat's paw away. "Hey! That hurts!"

"It's your own fault, lady," he said. "That's what you get when you pay attention to that stupid computer of yours instead of me."

"The world does not revolve around you, Simon," I said as I pulled him away from the keyboard. "I have other priorities."

"You call that a priority?" He batted at the screen. "These are stupid book covers. No one wants to read another one of your silly cozy mystery series."

"They might want to read this one," I said. "You know why? Cause it features a talking chameleon named Dewey Decimal instead of an obnoxious cat who is always demanding belly rubs and full-fat milk."

He growled. "Chameleons. What a dumb idea, lady. All they do is sit around and change color."

"Not this one. He lives in a library in North Dakota and helps the amateur sleuth find clues in books which solve murders."

Simon sprawled on the keyboard, erasing all my work. "Why don't you tell him to come down here to Florida and we'll have it out. A chameleon is no match for me."

"I'm not so sure about that. I've seen you hunting lizards before. They always seem to get away from you."

"Enough talk, lady," he said digging his claws into my arm again. "Time to rub my belly before my afternoon nap."

I shook my head and sighed. Hopefully, Dewey doesn't turn out to be as much trouble as Simon, I thought to myself. Imaginary creatures can be so unpredictable.

* * *
Yes, it's true. I've been distracted by a shiny, new object - namely, a new cozy mystery series. I even spent an hour or two procrastinating and creating mock-up covers for the Dewey Decimal Mysteries. I really need to focus on getting some more books out in my current series before I move onto a new one. How do you guys keep focused on what you should be working on instead of something new and exciting?

My Latest Release - Can You Help?



And in other news, Poisoned by the Pier is going to be released on June 28th. This is the third book in my Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery series.

I did something crazy and put it up for pre-order on Amazon before I have the final manuscript back from the editor (it's due back mid-June). Poisoned by the Pier will also be available on other eretailers (Kobo, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple Books and Google Play), as well as in paperback and large print closer to the release date. I've got a lot to get done this month before the release. Eek!

If you can help spread the word about my upcoming release that would be awesome! Drop me an email at ellenjacobsonauthor@gmail.com or leave a comment below with your contact details and I'll follow-up with more info.

BLURB

Life without chocolate and junk food—completely miserable. Finding someone poisoned by a cake—even worse.

Mollie thought she had enough problems to deal with when her husband threw out all of her chocolate and junk food. But when someone is poisoned during a cake baking competition, she’s thrust into another murder investigation.

While she tries to identify the killer, Coconut Cove’s annual boating festival is in full swing. In between getting ready for her first sailing race and cheating on her diet, Mollie and her cat, Mrs. Moto, uncover clues, interview suspects, and do their best to avoid rutabagas.

Can Mollie nab the murderer before someone else is poisoned?

Poisoned by the Pier is the third book in the light, humorous, and original Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery series. If you like kooky characters, adorable cats, and plenty of chocolate, you’ll love this cozy mystery. Buy Poisoned by the Pier today and laugh out loud from the first page to the last.

Spoiler Alert: You’ll never look at rutabagas the same way again after you finish reading this book!

Pre-order your copy on Amazon

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

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Add Poisoned by the Pier to your Goodreads TBR list. 

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Cuteness Overload! KinDoo Family Center Celebration

Scott and I have been volunteering as English teachers at this wonderful place in Indiantown, Florida over the past several months - the KinDoo Family Center. It's been such a joy and delight working with this organization. Honestly, I think we've gotten more out of the experience than we've put in.

There was a celebration of the students' achievements last month and I've got a bucketload of pictures to share with you. Hang in there to the end when you'll see photos of some super adorable kids. Total cuteness overload!

KinDoo offers free classes in English, sewing, art, nutrition, exercise, computer skills, and math, as well as a citizenship course. At the celebration, students made presentations in English and showed off their sewing talents during a red carpet fashion show.


This is Sister Mary Dooley, one of the two nuns who founded KinDoo. She, along with Sister Kate Kinnally, worked for years as administrators at Hope Rural School which serves children of immigrants in the Indiantown community. In April 2015, they were moved to open a family center focused on offering life skills to parents.

You can read more about these remarkable women here. {BTW, I don't know why we didn't get a picture of Sister Kate. Such a shame. She's a real sweetheart.}


One of the things I love about Indiantown is its diverse community. Families from Guatemala, Mexico, and Haiti have settled here and made this small town their home.




The celebration kicked off with a welcome from two of the ladies who attend classes at the center. So nerve-wracking to speak in English in front of a crowd!


Then this lovely couple led a prayer.


Sister JoAnn and another volunteer led a group of students in reading a book about baby animals and what they grow up to be. During the presentation, they taught the audience the Spanish translations for the various animals.


Other students shared stories they had written about their families, while others presented bi-lingual books that had been donated to the center, sharing what they had learned from them.


After the English presentation, it was time for the fashion show. Cuteness overload! The students and their families modeled the clothes, pillow covers, and bags that they had made. Look at this cutie in her new pink dress.


This is an adorable skirt. By the way, it isn't just ladies who take sewing classes. This little girl's father made pajama bottoms. A lot of talent in this family!


I love the pattern on this dress - so sweet!


Who doesn't love an adorable little romper?


See how Scott caught a picture of someone taking a picture on her phone of this cutie-pie? Another adorable dress.


Squee! An adorable baby wearing an adorable bib! It's possible I've overused "adorable" and "cute" in this blog post, but there was a serious amount of adorableness and cuteness going on.


Have you done volunteer work? What kind? What did you enjoy about it?

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


The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is coming soon! Pre-order >>Poisoned by the Pier<< on Amazon.

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Other eretailers and paperback / large print coming soon.

Dinghy Sailing | Wordless Wednesday

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 - When we were in the Bahamas, Scott took our Walker Bay dinghy out sailing.

2 - It's a miniature sailboat! I love tiny things. I was one of those girls who had a dollhouse and could stare at the tiny furniture and accessories for hours.

3 - Scott won all of the regattas he entered. Of course, he was the only participant, but why make a little think like lack of competition take away your glory when you get first place.

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

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here and here.

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


The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is coming soon! Pre-order >>Poisoned by the Pier<< on Amazon.

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Other eretailers and paperback / large print coming soon.

Musings On Patriotism

"A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."

~George William Curtis~

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and on an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."

~Harry S. Truman~

"Patriotism consists of not waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

~James Bryce~

 

"My fellow American, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

~John F. Kennedy~

"Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism when hate for people other than your own comes first."

~Charles de Gaulle~

"In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

~Martin Luther King~

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

The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is coming soon! Pre-order >>Poisoned by the Pier<< on Amazon.

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Horses! | Wordless Wednesday

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 like horses, but only from afar. I'm deathly allergic.

2 - We saw these ones on the banks of the St. Lucie Canal on our way back to Indiantown Marina.

3 - They were drinking the water. Gross. I'd be scared to get that water on my skin. Drinking it - no way.
 
What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here and here.

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


The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is now available! Pick up a copy of >>Bodies in the Boatyard<< at:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (AU) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google Play

Paperback available at: Amazon

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Weather Windows, Boredom & Plenty Of Conch Shells | West End, The Bahamas

It's hard to explain weather windows to people who aren't cruisers. And, no I don't mean that kind of "cruiser," I mean the type of people who live on a boat and, you know, cruise around. You can be a short-term cruiser, a long-term cruiser, or something in between.

When you're crossing a potentially dangerous stretch of water, like the Gulf Stream, weather windows are super-duper important. If you don't wait for just the right one, things can go very wrong.

So on our way back to Florida (Scott and I were helping a friend bring his boat back from Marsh Harbour), we dropped the hook in Ginn sur Mer and waited for Mother Nature to give us her blessing.

It's a place we've anchored at before and consists of a series of canals in the midst of an abandoned development. Last time we were there, things were spooky. This time, things were just boring. Everyone wanted to be back in the States. It was just a matter of waiting until the timing was right.


To alleviate the boredom, and to replenish the food and booze supplies, we made a number of excursions into the West End, which is located at the tippy-top of Grand Bahama Island.

The first step in any shore excursion is transportation from your boat to shore. The second step is finding a place to safely land your dinghy. The third step is hoping no one steals it.

WARNING: For those of you who are cruisers and want details on where to land your dinghy and how to find the settlement, read on. For those of you who could care less, skim away to your heart's content.

We set off down one of the canals until we found this spot. It's located after the second bridge, next to a drain pipe. You scramble up the rocks and tie your dinghy up to a tree. Make sure you have a really long painter. (Painter is sailor talk for a rope attached to a dinghy. Why we can't just call it a rope is beyond me.)


There aren't any handy signs pointing the way to the West End. We knew it was "that way," but we weren't exactly sure how to get there. Fortunately, some kids came by while we were scratching our heads and showed us which trail to take through the brush. It's the one to the right of these drain pipes. You'll get to a fork after a minute or two - take the right one. It isn't a long trail.


From there, it was easy-peasey. When you reach the end of the trail, turn left on the road which takes you to the main road. If you look right, you'll see a house. We met the lady who lives there on one of our excursions. I'm not sure how happy she was to see us cutting through the brush, so be warned.

From there, navigation is simple. There are two main roads through the settlement. You're on the western "in-land" road. Turn left, walk a few blocks and the grocery store is in a yellow building. It's a well-stocked store. Everything you need and prices comparable to Marsh Harbour.

Alternatively, turn right, make a left at the white church (you can see it right across the street), and you'll find yourself on the other main road which runs along the water. The liquor store is handily located on the corner.

Okay, back to pretty pictures and stuff which might interest cruisers and non-cruisers alike.

If you follow this blog, you might remember how I posted about our friend catching a fish. We were pretty sure it was a snapper, but what do we know? We're not locals.

When in doubt, ask the locals. That's my philosophy and it applies to just about anything - where's the best place to eat, can you drink beer from open containers, and what kind of fish is this?

We ran into this friendly bunch of folks. They all agreed that it was a mutton snapper. They also all agreed that it was delicious. It's nice to find a group of people who all agree on something.


Fish identification - check! Time to continue wandering.

This guy was hard at work moving stone. I could barely put one foot in front of the other because of the heat. This fellow worked away cheerfully without breaking a sweat.


Have you ever had conch? I'm not a big fan, but Scott loves it, especially in fritter form. Conch is everywhere in the West End with a lot of places offering conch salad.


We didn't stop and get anything to eat, but if we had, the banana coconut pancakes sounded interesting.


When you make a lot of conch salad and conch fritters, you need to do something with the shells. The answer is to put them in giant piles. Have you ever seen so many conch shells in one place?


The conch doesn't come out of its shell on its own. The Bahamians make conch processing look like a breeze. I'm not sure this make-shift shelter is really keeping the sun off of this guy. But maybe the heat doesn't bother him. He is wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans after all.


More conch processing, this time in a skiff.


It's not just about the conch. There was plenty of fish processing going on too.


This guy wanted his picture taken.


During one of our walks, we stopped and had beer at this picnic table. We found a new Bahamian beer at the liquor store - Eclipse. We've had Kalik and Sands before, but Eclipse was new to us. It was tasty. But then again when is a cold beer not tasty on a hot day?


What do you do with an empty beer can? We hate to throw them into people's trash cans without asking first. On one of our excursions, we happened to finish our beer right outside of the police station. So we walked inside and asked the officer on duty if we could toss them in their garbage. He shrugged, said "sure," and went back to texting on his cell phone. Not sure this would have played out the same way in the States.

Another picture of a fishermen, cause why not?


The Bahamian people are lovely. We met a really nice bus driver near the green and blue building below. He had driven a load of people up from Freeport to visit their sister church in the West End. We talked about fish for a while. Everybody likes to talk about fish.


More conch and more fishermen.


Have you had enough of conch? I have, so I'll leave you with one last scene from the West End.


Have you ever eaten conch? Do you like it?

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


The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is now available! Pick up a copy of >>Bodies in the Boatyard<< at:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (AU) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google Play

Paperback available at: Amazon

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Every Sailor's Worst Nigthmare | Wordless Wednesday

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 - Every sailor's worst nightmare is hitting a reef. This has happened to people we know. Fortunately, it's never happened to us. But, as we know, fortune is a fickle thing.

2 - We saw this shipwreck at the West End settlement in the Bahamas. There's a reef around here which you need to be very careful of. But even if you're careful, weather, engine failure, an issue with your sail, and other unforeseen issues can cause something tragic like this to happen.

3 - It's always sad to see something like this. It leaves me wondering about the story behind the wreck. What happened? Was everyone okay? Did they quit sailing after this incident or did they get another boat?

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

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here and here.

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


The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is now available! Pick up a copy of >>Bodies in the Boatyard<< at:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (AU) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google Play

Paperback available at: Amazon

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Cost Of Living Aboard A Broken Boat | March & April 2019

We track and report every penny we spend living aboard and cruising on Tickety Boo, our Moody 346 sailboat for a couple of reasons.

1 - It helps us see where our money is going, helps us make informed choices about where to spend our money, which in turn helps us stretch our money further so that we can keep adventuring longer.

2 - We found it really useful to check out other people's cost of cruising when we were starting out, so we figure we can return favor by sharing ours.

While we had hoped to be in the Bahamas this season on our boat, we're currently at Indiantown Marina in south Florida on the hard in the workyard due to a crack in our hull. We're still working through our options with the insurance company on how to deal with our broken boat.

While we were sorting everything out, we basically put everything else on hold, so this cost report is going to be a bit dull as there was very little spending on anything besides workyard fees and food.

On a more positive note, we did get to the Bahamas on someone else's boat. Scott helped a friend take his boat to Marsh Harbour in March. He then flew back to Florida and then the two of us returned at the beginning of April to help him bring the boat back. Our friend paid for our plane tickets to/from West Palm and our food while on his boat, so you won't see costs related to that in the report below.

You can find links to other cost updates from ourselves (on Tickety Boo, camping across the States, and our previous boat in New Zealand) and others on this page, as well as on The Monkey's Fist.

Living Aboard Costs | March & April 2019

Overall, we spent >>$3,156<< during March and April.

When you look at the nitty-gritty details of what we spent below, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1 - All costs are in US dollars.

2 - Not all expenses are included - here's what we've left out:

(a) We don't report how much we spend on alcohol. I remember reading some horrible, judgy comments in a blog post a few years back about how much someone spent on booze, so I left it out when we first started tracking our cruising costs back in New Zealand. For consistency's sake, I've continued to leave it out when tracking our cruising costs.

(b) We've also left out our costs for medical insurance. We didn't think it made sense to include insurance costs as they can vary so widely depending upon your nationality, where you cruise, what level of coverage you want and can afford, whether you get subsidies etc. In case you are curious, while we're back in the States, we do have a high deductible/high out-of-pocket expenses insurance through the health insurance marketplace (aka the Affordable Care Act), primarily to protect our assets and cover us in case of a catastrophic medical condition.

(c) I haven't included any expenses related to my writing projects (e.g., editor, book cover design, publishing expenses, author website).

3 - I've included any shipping and taxes we've paid in what we report - Florida has a 6% sales tax.

All right, now that we've got that out of the way, let's dive into the numbers.

GROCERIES | Total = $411

This category includes everything we put in our bodies in terms of food and drink (excluding booze) that we prepare ourselves. It doesn't include things like paper towels and ziploc bags, which I know some people would classify as groceries. Sure, you could probably eat them, but they wouldn't taste very good.

Although we don't budget (you can read more about that here), I'm happiest when we keep our monthly grocery spend per person under $200. As you can see from the total above, we more than achieved that, but that was mainly due to our food being paid for while we were in the Bahamas.

PERSONAL & HOUSEHOLD | Total = $32

This is the category where we include household things (like paper towels and ziploc bags) and personal hygiene items (like soap and shampoo). We also capture items for the "home" here - like bug spray.

ENTERTAINMENT | Total = $184

In terms of drinks and eating out, this includes everything we don't prepare ourselves, even if we get something to go and eat it back on the boat. We also track how much we spend on books, magazines, DVD rentals and going to the movies in this category, as well as the occasional lottery ticket.

Our spend in this category was quite high for us, especially considering that we were in the Bahamas for a good chunk of time. We spent a lot of money going out to eat during March, plus we had an outing to a Minnesota spring training game in Ft. Myers, which accounts for the relatively high spend in this category over the past two months.

As many people have wrapped up their cruising season and put their boats in storage, things are quieter in Indiantown which should translate into less eating out over the next few months.

COMMUNICATIONS | Total = $110

Our cell phone is actually one of our biggest non-boat related expenses. We have a monthly prepaid plan with AT&T which includes 8GB of data and unlimited calls and texts.

BOAT FUEL | Total = Nil

Tickety Boo has been sitting in the workyard so we haven't needed to get any diesel or gas.

PROPANE  | Total = Nil

We have a propane/LPG cooker on our boat, which we need to replace as the stove no longer works and replacement parts aren't available. While we're at Indiantown Marina, we use an electric hotplate and a crockpot for cooking, so we haven't had to spend any money on filling our propane tanks.

MARINA COSTS | Total = $1,810

The workyard isn't cheap - $30 a day which includes water an electric. If you pay for a month in advance, you get a small discount.

BOAT STUFF | Total = $192

This category is for all the stuff we buy for the boat, as well as  repair and maintenance costs. Since our boat is broken, we've put boat projects on hold for now. The only expense we had was for insurance.

TRANSPORT | Total = $139

This category is for costs related to our vehicle, mostly for gas to drive into the nearby "big city" of Stuart for errands. Driving to Ft Myers to see the Minnesota Twins took a lot of gas which is a big factor in the number you see above.

MEDICAL EXPENSES | Total = $208

This category includes medical expenses outside of our monthly insurance premium (which aren't included here - see section on exclusions above), like over the counter medications and prescriptions.

Ongoing appointments for a medical issue which arose in February meant more spending in this category than I would have liked.
 
OTHER | Total = $67

In this category, we break out how much we spend on clothes and travel expenses. We also include a catch-all miscellaneous group for stuff that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else - things like laundry, Amazon Prime, presents, computer parts, postage etc.


Any money saving tips to share? What do you spend the most on each month? Are there any areas you're trying to cut back on?

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

The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is now available! Pick up a copy of >>Bodies in the Boatyard<< at:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (AU) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google Play

Paperback available at: Amazon

Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com