Letters from Cheyenne

The definition of adventure—more or less—is a risky endeavor with an uncertain outcome.

Adventures are scary because we don't know what will happen, and they're exciting for exactly the same reason. They are where our greatest challenges lie, as well as the greatest triumphs.

Here are some of my own adventures (and mis-adventures!) in writing, sailing, and life.
Crossing the English Channel After Five Years Off the Water
Crossing the English Channel After Five Years Off the Water
Three weeks ago I wasn’t sure I had it in me. The English Channel after five years off the water, on a brand-new boat, with eight-meter tides and the world’s... Read more...
I’d sweated through my interview suit
I’d sweated through my interview suit
I was on a Los Angeles freeway with a stack of maps and absolutely no idea whether my exit was ahead of me or behind me. Read more...
Trust issues (not the kind you think)
Trust issues (not the kind you think)
"Baby!" Colin yelled from the cockpit. "Come see. But you have to be quick." I’d been struggling to wash dishes with the weirdly poor French dish soap that barely sudsed... Read more...
The champagne sat untouched in the fridge
The champagne sat untouched in the fridge
I kept expecting someone to kick me off the show model. This wasn't how victory was supposed to feel... Read more...
Sailing to the End of the World
Sailing to the End of the World
Last month, I got to do something I’d been dreaming about for years. More than dreaming, in fact. I’ve been actively visualizing this thing every time I sat down to... Read more...
Best Surprise Gift Ever (From Me to Me)
Best Surprise Gift Ever (From Me to Me)
The great in-between has arrived. These few weeks between Thanksgiving and Xmas are one of my favorite times of the year thanks to a decision made by my mom and... Read more...
🎉 You helped The Navigator hit #1—thank you!
🎉 You helped The Navigator hit #1—thank you!
First things first: THANK YOU! I kept refreshing the screen, convinced it must be a data glitch. But no. The Navigator just spent weeks at #1 in all three of... Read more...
Six Weeks Out, What I’m Freaking Out Over
Six Weeks Out, What I’m Freaking Out Over
I’ve been lucky enough to have some glorious beach days recently, plus a decent streak of meditation and exercise—but all that R&R hasn’t quite been enough to keep the growing... Read more...
That Time I Was Fired
That Time I Was Fired
Do you know those truly special conversations where you walk away seeing your life through a different lens—fuller, brighter, kinder somehow? I had that experience this week when I joined... Read more...
My Favorite Historical Seafaring Novels Featuring Strong Women
My Favorite Historical Seafaring Novels Featuring Strong Women
If you love a good sea story, you might have noticed that it's a fairly male-heavy genre. I love a good Patrick O'Brien novel as much as the next gal,... Read more...
Why I Had to Write The Navigator
Why I Had to Write The Navigator
If a picture's worth a thousand words, maybe a video's worth a bit more. Beyond Ellen's amazing accomplishments, here's exactly why her story was so compelling to me personally.  Read more...
I Finally Know Who I Am Again
I Finally Know Who I Am Again
This has been the most incredible month for me and I'm overflowing with gratitude for the incredible response to The Navigator.  I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief today. Even... Read more...
Pride, Prejudice, and Pristine
Pride, Prejudice, and Pristine
If you’d asked, I would have said I liked Jane Austen. Not loved. Not ravenously consumed. Definitely not Beatlemania level, willing to neglect husband and hygiene to make it through... Read more...
On the Trail of History's Most Famous Cookie
On the Trail of History's Most Famous Cookie
True confession. I once set the kitchen on fire making toaster waffles. The kind that come pre-made. In a box.  In other words, be sure to take any baking advice... Read more...
What's In Your Tussie-Mussie?
What's In Your Tussie-Mussie?
Is your garden accidentally communicating heartlessness, or misfortune, or longing? 😱 Nosegays, also known as tussie-mussies, were small bouquets pinned to a dress or carried as fashion accessories. In the... Read more...
What Does the 16th of December Have to do With Anything?
What Does the 16th of December Have to do With Anything?
If you’re a reader, there’s something you may want to have on your radar well before the ball drops. A fun and significant date that just may change how you... Read more...
Old Writer, New Trick
Old Writer, New Trick
You know how, when you reflect on your life, there are a few key insights that stand out as true game-changers? Only a few, mind you. Not many things make... Read more...
I Sure Never Saw This Gift Coming
I Sure Never Saw This Gift Coming
One more September in the books. One more October's commandeered our calendars while we were sleeping, or clipping our toenails, or snorfing up carnitas tacos with pickled red onions. Now... Read more...
Sailing From the Past to the Future
Sailing From the Past to the Future
I spent my August mornings sailing into the past. The writing process was a gorgeous mix of excruciating and amazing, and the first draft is now done. It took 8... Read more...
The Big Daddy Fear I'm Keeping
The Big Daddy Fear I'm Keeping
Fears. We all have them. And we’d sure like to banish them, eh? Our culture supports derring-do. We thrive on it. We make documentaries about people who face their fears.... Read more...
Why I’m Having Coffee With My Fears
Why I’m Having Coffee With My Fears
You might think someone planning to sail across oceans might be afraid of storms, pirates, or running aground. But as Colin and I prepped for the next phase of our... Read more...
Adventure is a Muscle That Grows Stronger With Use
Adventure is a Muscle That Grows Stronger With Use
My body flooded with adrenaline and I bolted up in bed. “Delete it now!” I said. “It’s a phishing scam. Don’t touch it! You didn’t accidentally click, did you?” Three... Read more...
When Laziness is Something Else Entirely
When Laziness is Something Else Entirely
I realized I've historically had success in one of two ways—either someone told me what to do or I told someone else what to do. What hasn't worked as well?... Read more...
Victoria Did, Indeed, Have a Secret
Victoria Did, Indeed, Have a Secret
The Time Traveler’s Guide to 1851: Women’s Undies Edition If you swoon for a good period drama full of 19th century dresses, from Bridgerton to The Gilded Age, you may... Read more...
Sailing as a Second Language
Sailing as a Second Language
I’d learned on day one of my first class that a halyard was a line used for raising or lowering a sail, but the strange word itself went unexplained. For... Read more...
The Story that Changed My Life
The Story that Changed My Life
“I have a story you might enjoy,” my dad said to me one day.  I was around seven, and sitting on the floor—knees splayed out in ways my adult brain... Read more...
The Storm is Brewing. How Do You Prepare?
The Storm is Brewing. How Do You Prepare?
I invite you to imagine, if you wish.  You are a sailor on a clipper ship, circa 1851. Your boat is your home, but it is also the remarkably thin... Read more...
My Fuzzy Valentine
My Fuzzy Valentine
I was sure I could read four more books on historic seafaring, six on novel structure, re-outline the novel that turned into a trilogy, blast through the holidays, finish up... Read more...
And Now For Something Completely Different
And Now For Something Completely Different
How about a mini moment of escape?  I invite you to time travel with me, back to the 19th century. It was an era with plenty of problems, but for... Read more...
What Matters Most in November?
What Matters Most in November?
I wish I could share the magic antidote to the 21st century. Mostly I’ve just been trying—in this moment of relative calm before the storm—to take the opportunity to decide... Read more...
A Month of Joyful Curiosity
A Month of Joyful Curiosity
Last month, I shared with you my challenges of taking baby steps up terror mountain and was rewarded with the most powerful gift a girl could ever hope for: Heaps... Read more...
A New Chapter Begins
A New Chapter Begins
Goodbye home equity. Hello sailboat. Read more...
Genuine Gratitude
Genuine Gratitude
May I break slightly with the zeitgeist this month to wish you joy? Whatever else you may be feeling — outrage, fatigue, fear — or any other legitimate human response... Read more...
The Prisoner's Apprentice Wins the Indie Readers Discovery Award for Historical Fiction!
The Prisoner's Apprentice Wins the Indie Readers Discovery Award for Historical Fiction!
I'm ecstatic to share that The Prisoner's Apprentice has won the Indie Readers Discovery Award for Historical Fiction. This is an incredible honor and truth be told I'm still a bit... Read more...
Whiteout Conditions Inside the Snowglobe
Whiteout Conditions Inside the Snowglobe
Life, As it Happens When Covid brought us back to California, we were fully expecting to climb back aboard Pristine and continue the adventure. But ongoing variants made it clear it would... Read more...
With What Eyes Do We See the Soul?
With What Eyes Do We See the Soul?
Once I’d finally accepted that the only way to get Rulloff out of my head was to write a novel about him, I assumed the best way forward was the direct... Read more...
Getting to Truth, Through Fiction
Getting to Truth, Through Fiction
Once a seed like your great-great-grand-uncle murdered a bunch of people gets planted, no matter how much you want to ignore it, you're powerless against the enormity of the questions... Read more...
It Takes a Villain to Make a Writer
It Takes a Villain to Make a Writer
I didn’t start out to write a book about a serial killer—never consciously chose the darkest corners of the soul as a neat place to spend years of my life.... Read more...
So... This Came in the Mail Today
So... This Came in the Mail Today
Twenty years in the making, folks. This is what JOY looks like! Wowza. What a journey this has been! Starting with "I'm related to WHOM?" and continuing through all-consuming jobs,... Read more...
2021—Here We Come
2021—Here We Come
You don’t need reminding that 2020 brought a heap of surprises. For the crew of Pristine, the year meant a series of unexpected pivots. Read more...
Sometimes the Real Adventure is Getting Home
Sometimes the Real Adventure is Getting Home
Just ask Ernest Shackleton. True, our Baja Bash didn’t involve icebergs or Southern Ocean storms, but the name of his ship could have been the theme for our more recent... Read more...
Love From La Paz
Love From La Paz
For Colin and I, the tectonic shift of Covid-19 revealed itself slowly, then all at once. We were a week away from departure for the South Pacific when Tonga closed... Read more...
It's Go Time
It's Go Time
Age may be relative, but cruising is a very physical lifestyle. I don’t care how many labor-saving devices you put on a sailboat, you still have to go up and... Read more...
Putting the Awe in Awesome
Putting the Awe in Awesome
It was my first shift of our first night passage in six months and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what was just ahead. Read more...
Embracing the Butterflies
Embracing the Butterflies
To my knowledge, there’s no official name for the advanced yoga maneuver that involves wedging yourself between the galley and nav station, balancing on one foot and one knee while... Read more...
We Found Pristine Waters
We Found Pristine Waters
We were told that Pristine’s original owner named her after the quest for pristine waters. If so, consider her aims achieved. Colin, Pristine, and I had this bay—and many others... Read more...
Killer Whales in Our Bathtub
Killer Whales in Our Bathtub
It’s a unique experience to wake up, step in the shower, and find a razor-toothed predator. Colin and I live a pretty clean life on Pristine, bathing every morning in... Read more...
“Hard to Port!”
“Hard to Port!”
We’d left Isla Isabel far behind and were in 1500 feet of water, safely far from any obstacles.  So why was that seagull standing on a rock? The binoculars came... Read more...
Surf SUP!
Surf SUP!
After sailing 2500 miles to find warmth and waves, it was time to break out the toys. There’s something about taking the slow boat that improves one’s sense of geography... Read more...
Mother Nature Brings Her A-Game
Mother Nature Brings Her A-Game
The cruising life involves some hefty contrasts. After a week surrounded by beach umbrellas and construction cranes, Colin and I sailed a mere 90 miles and arrived 9,000 years back... Read more...