The Herald Building – First Floor, Downtown Bellingham, Wash.
FREE! Local Authors and Artists Event featuring Gifts for Palentine’s and Valentine’s Day:
Books
Children’s Books
Candles
Soaps
T-shirts
Toys & Games
Prints & Paintings
Cards
Vintage Goods
Bric a Brac
Open to the Public
POP on over to our POP-UP Event on Sat. & Sun. Feb 4th & 5th at the Herald Building, First Floor – Downtown Bellingham!
Featuring the Following Authors:
Susan Conrad, Peggy Sullivan, Gail Noble-Sanderson, Wendy Kendall, Jennifer Mueller, Robert Wright, Rob Slater, Donna LeClair, Strider Klusman, Marian Exall, Christine Smith, Sean Dwyer, MW Soapworks, Neal Cronic – Artist & Kiffer Brown.
POP on Over for this FUN and FREE event! We have a few spots left, if you are interested or in the neighborhood.
We’d love to help create these pop-ups for Chanticleerians all over.
Message or email Kiffer at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com
The Herald Building – First Floor, Downtown Bellingham, Wash.
FREE! Local Authors and Artists Event featuring Gifts for Palentine’s and Valentine’s Day:
Books
Children’s Books
Candles
Soaps
Tee-shirts
Toys & Games
Prints & Paintings
Cards
Vintage Stuff
Bric a Brac
Open to the Public and FREE!
POP on over to our POP-UP Event on Sat. & Sun. Feb 4th & 5th at the Herald Building, First Floor – Downtown Bellingham!
Featuring the Following Folk:
Susan Conrad, Peggy Sullivan, Gail Noble-Sanderson, Wendy Kendall, Jennifer Mueller, Robert Wright, Rob Slater, Donna LeClair, Strider Klusman, Marian Exall, Christine Smith, Sean Dwyer, MW Soapworks, Neil Cronic – Artist & Kiffer Brown.
POP on Over for this FUN and FREE event! We have a few spots left, if you are interested or in the neighborhood.
We’d love to help create these pop-ups for Chanticleerians all over.
Message or email Kiffer at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com
Tips to Selling More Books Online – Part 4 by Kiffer Brown
And that is with just one hashtag…Make your social media posts work harder for you!
The POWER of the HASHTAG
Hashtags will make your social media posts work harder for you! They will amplify your posts. Hashtags will help new readers discover your books and help you discover new readers. – Kiffer Brown
Definition of Hashtag: A hashtag, introduced by the number sign, or hash symbol, #, is a type of metadata tag used on social networks such as Twitter and other micro-blogging services (i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest). It lets users apply dynamic, user-generated tagging that helps other users easily find messages with a specific theme or content. In other words:
Hashtags enhance your exposure to people who do not follow you. If you are just staring out building your social media platforms, #hashtags will help you increase your Followers — even if you only have one person following you. If you are already participating in social media, hashtags will enlarge your following!
Hashtags are your hardworking friends (you know the ones who will help you move or watch your kid in a pinch) in social media.
Hashtags help to gather different social media conversations about the same topic.
It makes the same topic easier to find and search throughout a social media platform.
Imagine being able to type in a word in your post that will allow other people on the platform to search the topic and, thereby, discover your post. Hashtags ( # ) will work for you in your posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Hashtags help to boost your social media posts beyond your own followers. It will help you find crossover markets for your books. Do some research to find out the hashtags that resonate with your targeted readers. For example if your work’s protagonist is an adult with autism, you may want to try #adultautism.
Or if your work centers around a protagonist who is a birdwatcher (example: Border Songs by Jim Lynch), you may want to have your social media posts use #birdwatchers or #PNW or #PNWBirds if the plot is centered in the Pacific Northwest Or if the work is science fiction but will appeal to computer geeks use #cyberpunk and #SciFiCyberpunk.
Hashtags need time to percolate. It will take some time to be able to drill down to discover the best niche hashtags to reach out to your audience. You must use the hashtags over a long time to start percolating throughout the Internet and to allow potential new followers time to find you via #hashtag. Be patient. Be consistent.
Promoting on social media is a lot like brushing your teeth. You can’t just do it on Sundays or set aside a couple of days a month to do it. Your social media posts must be consistent and almost daily. You don’t have to spend a lot of time doing it— much like brushing your teeth, but consistency and long-term maintenance are the keys. Some people I know set a tea timer or kitchen timer to keep themselves from going down the social media rabbit hole. Fifteen minutes twice a day is better than a whole Sunday spent posting. Also, remember that social media levels the playing field against the big boys. It is mostly free (except for your time) and still a bargain as compared to the old Yellow Page ads or magazine ads.
A TWO-WAY STREET –– If you want others interact with you on social media, you must LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE other peoples’ posts. Nuff said. Social Media is the world’s largest cocktail party—make the most of your networking time! Following a hashtag is just like following a friend.
A friendly reminder: The same goes with REVIEWS. If you want more consumer reviews, you will need to post more consumer reviews of others’ works. It is well-known by publishers that Editorial Reviews generate more Consumer Reviews (reader reviews).
Find Readers by Association with Top Authors in Your Genre by Discovering their hashtags and key words. Determine two or three best-selling authors’ works whose works you would like to have your books shelved next to in a bookstore. Then follow the author on social media (and interact), read and leave consumer reviews wherever you purchase books, and subscribe to his/her blogs and emails. Again, a long time strategy, but when you are ready to for a “peer review” and/or ask for an author quote, you will have increased your chances. Discover their hashtags to discover new readers.
#Hashtags can help you enlarge your reader base. Meanwhile, you can state that “If you are a fan of MISS BIG AUTHOR’s works, perhaps take a look at my works while you wait for the next one in the series to come out… ” A word of caution, make sure that your book is well edited and the best that it can be. Why? Because a few of Miss Big Author’s fans will take you up on your proposition. And if Miss Big Author likes your work, you may just get an endorsement blurb for your cover. Be ready for when Luck meets Opportunity and Preparation.
Back to #Hashtags
#Hashtags continue to work for you long after you have posted (percolation). The social media platforms’ crawlers continuously search for them and try to connect the people who use them.
Here are some hashtags that READERS use: #amreading
#amreadingfantasy or #amreadingYA or #amreadingthrillers #summerreading #tbr (to be read)
Here are some hashtags that writers and authors use:
#amwriting (1,045,508 viewers at the time of this article). #novel (383,783 viewers at the time of this article) #author (1,448,021 viewers at the time of this article)
Hashtags on Instagram
If you only want to use #hashtags on INSTAGRAM, then use the following format: #instawritingcommunity #instawritersofinstagram #instaamwriting
On Instagram the hashtag #books is banned. So, you must drill down instead of using the obvious. But #instafantasybooks is legal.
One study shows that Instagram posts with a least one hashtag generate on average 12.65 percent more engagement.
The Jøssing Affair by Janet Oakley won the Goethe Book Awards Grand Prize. The award-winning novel is about the Nazi occupation of Norway and the Norwegian Resistance Fighters in WWII. There is also love, betrayal, espionage, and bravery.
You can capitalize a couple of letters – for example: #JossingAffairBookLaunch #WWIINorway #NorwayOccupation #NorwaySuspenseNovels
Do not use ! or ? or ‘ or any punctuation in your hashtags besides the hashtag (#)
Banned Hashtags
Also, if you use a banned hashtag, your posts and account could be flagged and then “shadowbanned” which means that your posts will not percolate throughout Instagram.
Some banned hashtags are innocent as #happythanksgiving or #besties (banned because of overuse and spamming) to the egregious posts that you could imagine would go with these hashtags: #milf #lingerie #nasty #xxx #selfharm.
Hashtags may be used on any social media, and are typically found within a post in an #organic fashion, or at the end of the post like an index word. Twitter is a platform where the hashtag is so endemic that it often becomes like punctuation, performing its function while remaining nearly invisible to readers, as long as it’s not overdone.
Using a hashtag as part of a sentence is understood and accepted on Twitter, probably due to the character limit. But on Google+ and Facebook the hashtags are used less and can be intrusive in the middle of sentences. When in doubt on Facebook and Google+, add your hashtags to the end of your post, even on a separate ending line.
If your hashtags sticks out like a sore thumb, it may communicate “this is spam”, especially on some platforms, and that may create a negative reaction to the post.
Hashtag Advice
Use 3 – 6 hashtags. Start with a popular standard then drill down. For example, @ChristineKatSmith used #catnap #tabbycat #happyhour #landotter (a boater’s term for a cat) #friday #shelterinplace Christine is the co-Captain of the David B, a small ship that offers adventure cruises to Alaska and the award-winning author of More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B.
In the above Instagram post, she used the following hashtags @ mvdavidb
#glaciers #dawesglacier #alasks #alaskacruise #cruisealternative #tracyarmfordsterrorwilderness #photographyworkshop #travel #explore #adventure #wilderness #wildplaces #tidewaterglacier #boattour #yachtcharter #alaskayachtcharter #smallshipcruise #mvdavidb
The post looked like this:
Now to see how one of our favorite authors uses hashtags – Michelle Cox at @michellecoxwrites Michelle’s A Promise Given won the Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Grand Prize along many other awards.
Notice how she uses little known hashtags all the way to a broader net with #DowntonAbbey #Chicago #MissFisherMurderMysteries and then associates her brand (#HenriettaAndInspectorHowardSeries) with the other hashtags such as #mustread #booktofilm and so forth.
This in an introductory blog post to hashtags. Remember that following a hashtag is like searching for someone or something. Just type your hashtag into the Search text field on the social media platform that you are posting on.
Give it a try! Try it! You’ll like it! – Kiffer
Chanticleer Reviews social media handle is @ChantiReviews The hashtags we commonly use are: #CIBAs #ChanticleerFamily #ChanticleerRReads and the CIBA Divisions such as #CYGNUSAwards @MandMAwards and so forth.
HANDY LINKS – Chanticleer Reviews Tool Box Series
Click on these links to blog posts on the Chanticleer website for more information on how to increase online book sales:
Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox post on Marketing and Book Promotion to Increase Online Book Sales.
Stay tuned for our next post on the How to Increase Online Book Sales series.
Also, we will continue to post the 2019 CIBA Finalists, so please stay tuned.
And, we will have new writing craft posts from top editors coming your way to keep you writing and editing during these unprecedented times.
We encourage you to stay in contact with each other and with us during this stint of practicing physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Let us know how you are doing, what is going on where you live, how are you progressing on your writing projects.
I invite each of you to join us atThe Roost– a private online Chanticleer Community for writers and authors and publishing professionals. You are welcome to email me for more info also.
We are active onFacebook,Twitter, and Instagram. You can find us by using our social media handle @ChantiReviews
Minimize physical contact! Maximize social connecting!
Are you gifted in the art of puzzle making? Do you have the ability to flip houses for profit? Are you a fervent advocate for renewable energy and want to share your knowledge with the world?
Do you have a unique and interesting way of doing something? If so, and you choose to write an instructional manual, a travel guide, or shed some light on a subject, we would like to say, “Welcome!”
We need your input, your advice, your manuals and manuscripts for the CIBA 2019 Instruction and Insight Awards.
The deadline is fast approaching, so don’t delay, enter your work and let us judge it against the other entries to sus out the best!
The categories are:
The Arts: Music, Photography, Performing Arts, Fine Arts,
Cookbooks, Home and Garden
Motivational: Career, Business, Sports, Self-help
Arts and Crafts How-To
Nature and Environment
Travel Guides
Science
Pets and the Animal World
Health, Diet, and Fitness
Writing Guides
Pop Culture and Social Issues
If you have a published book or manuscript of Instruction & Insight, enter it before December 31, 2019! Who knows, you may bring home a First in Category – or even the Grand Prize Award!
But you have to enter in order to win. Don’t delay, follow this link and enter today.
The I&I Awards were new in 2017. Before that, the instruction and Insight books were included in the Journey Awards for NonFiction. Here are some of those books that made the grade – and are true I&I Winners!
Here are some titles that fit nicely into the I&Is from 2016:
All of these outstanding authors entered the I&I Awards – or, the earlier, Journey Awards and were chosen as the best books of the year!
The deadline is fast approaching! December 31, 2019, is almost here.
The Chanticleer Non-fiction Book AwardsFirst Place Award-Winning
Authors Awards Package Includes:
ALL First In Category Award Winners will be given high visibility during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.
First in Category award winner will compete for the Non-fiction Book Awards Grand Prize Award for Chanticleer Non-fiction Book Awards’ Grand Prize Ribbon and badges.
A coveted Chanticleer Book Review valued at $425 dollars U.S.CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order.
A CBR Blue Ribbon to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
Adhesive book stickers
Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
Promotion in print and online media
Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter
And the 1st Place Award winners will automatically be entered into the NON-FICTION GUIDEBOOKS AND HOW-TO BOOKS GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition2019!
Don’t delay, follow this link and enter for your chance to win a prestigious CIBA 2019 I & I Awards today!
What Opens but Never Closes? The Opening Day of Boating Season
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Opening Day of Boating Season
Here are five of our favorite reads from authors who followed their dreams to sail away.
One couple (with two teenagers in tow – yikes!) started by building their boat in the backyard of their suburban home; two who started only with the love for each other, the support of friends and family, and a dilapidated hull and a three cylinder iron works engine; one whose true story will make you reconsider taking to the tall seas; one whose story will inspire you to look beyond society’s conventional solutions and rationalizations and to plot your own course; and one who shares how an everyday couple made their dream come true of sailing the Pacific Ocean on a 31-foot boat and a tight budget.
[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]Boating season begins in the Pacific Northwest on the first Saturday in May, a tradition which goes back to the 1920’s. To celebrate, we thought we would offer you this superb reading list of true story boating adventures by local northwest authors.
After all, if you are going to be spending time boating this summer, or enjoy dreaming about boating from your lawn chair, stocking your library is just as important as stocking your galley!
More Faster Backwards: Rebuilding David B by Christine Smith
“Christine Smith and her husband Jeffrey race against time, money, and natural elements to save the David B—the vessel that they bet all of their resources on in hopes of making their dream of owning and operating a small expedition cruise boat in the Pacific Northwest come true.
“More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B” seamlessly mixes nautical terms with natural elements and boat builder’s craft. Those who enjoy cooking and baking will also discover it a delightful read. Seafaring people will sail through the narrative like soul mates, but landlubbers might appreciate a glossary of boating terms. The map provides great references and the photo albums heighten the pleasure.
More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B by Christine Smith won the Grand Prize of the Journey Awards for Narrative Non-fiction, a division of Chanticleer Book Reviews Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.”Read full review…
Christine Smith started working on tour and whale watching boats in 2001. It combined her love for nature and her interest in helping others to enjoy it. She is also an avid birder, and has worked as a volunteer interpreter for the Eagle Watchers on the Skagit River from 1997 to 2008, she helps visitors observe the local eagle population. She is also a founding member of the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, which became part of Whatcom Humane Society in 2014. She served for two years as a board member and Secretary for the North Cascades Audubon Society in Bellingham, Washington. When not watching birds or cooking on the David B, Christine enjoys running, ice skating and downhill skiing. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Cape Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s Nightmare by Réanne Hemingway-Douglass
“In Cape Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s Nightmare,” Réanne Hemingway-Douglass vividly recreates a sailing voyage in which she and her husband Don set out to round Cape Horn. As the reader discovers, they never quite got there. Meanwhile, Hemingway-Douglass shares the heady magic of starlit nights and breathtaking dawns, grueling and toilsome days, emotions ranging from joy to absolute terror, and a determination not to give up hope when all seems lost.” Read full review…
Réanne Hemingway-Douglass is a sailor, writer, cyclist and language teacher. Here articles have appeared in numerous outdoor magazines. Her best-selling book, Cape Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s Nightmare, has been published in French and Italian and is being translated into Spanish. In the 1980s, Réanne led the first women’s bicycling team to cross Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”#f8fafb” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”4px” bordercolor=”#4687bf” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Home on the Waves by Patrick Hill
“Family, love, and adventure are all tied together in Patrick Hill’s alluring travel memoir “Home on the Waves.” It’s a story set in the 1970’s that provides remarkable insight into the lives of a family exploring the open ocean and discovering new cultures and people.
Hill’s memoir is an excellent read for everyone interested in reading about out-of-the-ordinary lifestyles and family adventures, even if they have never set foot on a boat.
“Home on the Waves” brings life to exotic cultures, sailing, and family life in 1970’s America. It’s a true story that will inspire readers to seek their own adventures and find ways of making dreams come true.”Read the full review…
Patrick Hill, with wife Heather and family, have been sailing out of Vancouver, B.C. for years. They’ve owned nine sailboats from a 17′ to a 42′ boat, Sky OneHundred which they built. They have cruised extensively, written articles for magazines, made presentations to yacht clubs, libraries, the Vancouver Aquarium, and a major Alaskan cruise line[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Prepare to Come About by Christine Wallace
“Christine struggles with her loss of identity as a successful professional, a role model, a caring mother, and a supportive spouse while she battles with the economic recession, personal depression, and, worst of all, her own loss of trust in herself and her capabilities.
Her fractured family makes an unorthodox choice that pivots them all into unfamiliar waters. Their lifeline comes in the form of a tall ship named Zodiac and its enigmatic captain. Life or death challenges and unforeseen moments of wonder and awe await Christine and her family. As they venture forth together in this new venture, the family members reconnect and rebuild their lives.” Read full review…
Christine Wallace is the author of two books including The Pocket Doula and Prepare to Come About. Her work has appeared in the literary journal Clover (vol. 3, 2012, vol. 6, 2014). Christine was founder and CEO of “Gracewinds Perinatal”, a nationally award winning business. Christine currently resides in the Pacific Northwest onboard an ex-forestry boat with her husband, youngest daughter and a seaworthy tabby named Lucky Jack. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”#f8fafb” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”4px” bordercolor=”#4687bf” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Tightwads on the Loose by Wendy Hinman
“Tightwads on the Loose – A Seven Year Pacific Odyssey” opens with a map of the Pacific Ocean that showed the voyage of the sailing vessel Velella starting and ending in Seattle. Soon the reader is immersed in the plans of Wendy and her husband, Garth, to set sail on their open-ended adventure. And we wonder how long an introvert, whose motto is “always be prepared,” can live in tight quarters with an extrovert whose motto is “just wing it.”
This book will definitely appeal to those who are curious about sea voyaging. Armchair travelers will find a diversity of cultural experiences, historical details, and adventures for their entertainment and education. Come on board and sail away with the intrepid Wendy Hinman and her humorous and ingenious insights about life at sea.” Read full review…
Wendy Hinman, author, editor, and speaker, has shared her sailing adventures through emails and her blog. She is a regular contributor to the Magazines 48 North and Latitude 38. Wendy’s also been featured in Sail, Cruising World, Sailing, CYC Leadline, Hebe Jebees (Hong Kong) and Kazi Magazine (Japan).[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Enjoy getting to know these intrepid souls by visiting their websites for more information and the latest updates on their adventures.
“More faster backwards,” she yells to the boat captain. Christine Smith’s angst makes her words tumble out scrambled. These words, now the book title, summarize how obstacles pushed Christine and her husband Jeffrey “more faster backwards” during their boat’s reconstruction.
They race against time, money, and natural elements to save the David B—the vessel that they bet all of their resources on in hopes of making their dream of owning and operating a small expedition cruise boat in the Pacific Northwest come true.
The adventure begins when Christine and Jeffrey Smith, searching for an old boat to transform into a small passenger vessel, examine a sixty-five foot 1929 work-boat, precariously moored on Lopez Island—the neglected wooden vessel that hovers near death is the David B. However, Jeffrey sees the elegant beauty of a three cylinder antique engine and the strength of the hull made from Northwest timber. Christine saw the look in Jeffrey’s eyes and knew that this was the boat.
In the opening pages, we learn they’ve accomplished part of their dream and we’re ready to climb aboard. The author seamlessly carries us from her present experiences and joy during the sea voyage, back into her memories, where she re-lives the enormous hurdles of the rebuild process. The flashbacks work well because we want to know. Need to know.
With hearts captivated by the David B, the couple gambles everything. Looming bankruptcy lurks alongside the other huge challenges. Anxiety heightens because their cherished family and friends (without whom they couldn’t have succeeded) share the risk. Readers will think, “This can’t be done” and then ask themselves, “How did they do it?” Intrigued from beginning to end, we peek into the lives of the author, her husband, the crew, family, and friends. We yearn for their success and their safety.
More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B seamlessly mixes nautical terms with natural elements and boat builder’s craft. Those who enjoy cooking and baking will also discover it a delightful read. Seafaring people will sail through the narrative like soul mates, but landlubbers might appreciate a glossary of boating terms. The map provides great references and the photo albums heighten the pleasure.
A sample of Smith’s fluid writing style: “Jeffrey worked the boat with the skill of a lover. Every movement she made, he watched carefully, to see how she responded to his commands, the light breeze, and the incoming tide.”
When the literary boat trip ends, readers might sense an inner torch quicken along with the call to embrace their dreams anew. As for Christine and Jeffrey, the restoration of the David B is just the beginning.
More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B by Christine Smith won the Grand Prize of the Journey Awards for Narrative Non-fiction, a division of Chanticleer Book Reviews Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.
FREE! Local Authors and Artists Event featuring Gifts for Palentine’s and Valentine’s Day:
