Blog Posts

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.
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...