Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Book Review

Three Years after Publishing “Plunge” – Where Am I with My Book?

March 2, 2024 / / 46 Comments

It’s been a while since I posted an update about the life and sales of my first – and so far, only – travel memoir, Plunge. That post appeared in June 2023; you can read it here.

The idea was to share a bit more news three years in, but I have been extremely busy with our traveling lifestyle and other blog posts, so this one is a few months late. I published Plunge on November 28th, 2020 (on my 45th birthday and in the midst of the Covid pandemic), which is now three years and three months ago.

As you can imagine, not much exciting is happening this far into the shelf life of my (or any) book. Sales are close to non-existent, reviews have pretty much come to a halt, and I am not putting any effort in promotion and marketing anymore. Not because I’m not motivated, but because I have limited time to work and that time is better spent making “real” money.

In July of 2023, the wonderfully supportive and encouraging author Sally Cronin published an excerpt of Plunge on her website Smorgasbord, which gained some traction. I answered the comments and sold a few books as a result.

The leading story on CNN was about us!
Front page article on another news outlet
Our story on CNN
Still on the front page of CNN
Small mention on the home page of CNN

The biggest and most powerful event in 2023 also took place in July of that year. A CNN article about us, written by Francesca Street for the Chance Encounters series, became very popular and successful. Some of you might have read it – or stumbled upon it – before. You can read that “love story” here. As it was big news at the time, I mentioned the article and reactions previously on my blog here.

We have become world news, haha
Many friends unexpectedly saw us pop up on the news channel of their device
Apparently, we showed up in many forms

Upon my request, Francesca included a link to our blog and – more importantly – my memoir, which jumped off the charts as a result.

My book sales kept rising…
… and rising
July 2023 was an awesome month for book sales!
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Two Years after Publishing “Plunge” – Am I Still Selling Books?

December 2, 2022 / / 47 Comments

November 28th, 2022 marked the second book anniversary of my travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary. You can read about its one-year anniversary here. It’s been a while since I posted an update about this first book of mine, because not much is going on with it and I don’t want to bore the non-authors amongst you.

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the less I focus on book promotion, the less I sell. My goal for this past year was to maintain one sale a day. I failed. Because, how do you achieve this result by ignoring the book’s existence for weeks at the time? To this day, I still haven’t spent a dime on ads and it’s no secret that “to make money, you have to spend money.” So, paid promos and ads might be a thing to consider in 2023. Then again, I am the most frugal person I know. 🙂

Social media posts

Once in a while, I join a free Draft2Digital promo with Plunge, post some news, a new five-star review, or an enticing blurb on Facebook, or lower the book’s purchase price. Usually, this amounts to maybe one or two sales. Occasionally, I get it right (no idea how to predict this) by posting in an attentive, interested social media group or by creating an enticing blurb. In those cases, the correlation between effort and sales is obvious.

And, when that happens, my heart skips a beat, my lips curl upward, and an adrenaline rush improves my wellbeing. Like that time one of my posts on the Sailing Women on Yachts Facebook group took off.

Successful post on the Sailing Women on Yachts Facebook group three months ago
Best sales month since releasing Plunge

If enough sales occur in a day, my status on Amazon goes to #1 bestseller in one or more categories, which, I have to imagine, encourages more sales. And that’s the upshot every author dreams of. Until the spiral spins downward again and sales dry up.

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Writing Update October 2021 – Reducing Promotion Efforts and Book Dedication Soon

October 6, 2021 / / 57 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For October, the question is: “In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Jemima Pett, J Lenni Dorner, Cathrina Constantine, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Mary Aalgaard.

My answer to the question – In your writing, where do you draw the line, with topics or language?

This is a toughie, especially with memoir, as the idea is to represent the story as truthfully as possible in this genre, even the dialogue parts. That being said, it is easy to omit curse words or swearing. Yet, when the situation allows it or “asks” for it, I am tempted to and I do leave some of these words in the prose, since they are important to the context of those situations. Finding a balance is the solution, I think. You don’t want to put readers off, but you do want to draw them into these real-life scenes.

An author ready for the road…

My book news

Another month has passed. Can you believe it? Even though I swapped my comfortable “home base” in Massachusetts for the confines of a truck camper mid-September, I still managed to get a lot done, book-wise and otherwise.

The goal was to come to a stopping point with a few promotion tasks I still had in mind for my travel memoir Plunge. Once I moved into our new home on wheels, I knew my focus would (and should and did) shift to a life on the road, driving, figuring out our new set-up, sightseeing, hiking, taking it slower, and not being a slave to the internet and the computer anymore. But all that is for a different blog post. This one touches on what I was up to lately, regarding book stuff.

Facebook banner
Blog banner
  • I finally created a book banner for Facebook and my blog, based on my Yankee Homecoming banner, leaving space for default images in the middle.

These are the quotes I decided to pick excerpts from:

Amazon editorial reviews

Here are a few photos that vied for the background:

San Blas Islands
Barbuda beach
Barbuda
Somewhere in the Caribbean
Island in the San Blas
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My Interview with Travel Tales of Life about Being a Nomad

September 25, 2021 / / 1 Comment

A few years ago, Mark and I met Sue and Dave Slaght in Northern California at a pub serving Belgian beer. They’d arrived for a family visit from Calgary, Alberta, where they live close to the amazing Canadian Rockies. Our then house sit was nearby, so after following their informative, entertaining, and attractive travel blog Travel Tales of Life for many years (it was one of the first blogs I ever subscribed to when starting Roaming About, thanks to my sailing friend Lisa Dorenfest). The four of us had loads in common, became instant friends, stayed in touch, and kept following each other’s travels and adventures.

Dave and Sue have traveled pretty much everywhere, are avid bicyclists, and come up with fascinating angles for their blog content. Sue has an engaging writing style, great sense of humor, and an adventurous, can-do spirit, which is reflected in the inspiring and insightful questions she asked me in our interview. Check it out!

Nomadic Living Tips and Truth From an Expert

My sea sickness has finally subsided after being in the middle of the ocean, hanging over the side of the boat next to author Liesbet Collaert. Plunge left me ‘feeling all the feels’ of nomadic living. 

Through 2020, I could not settle my mind to actually read a book. Call it anxiety or being unsettled by a global pandemic, my mind refused to still itself enough to concentrate on more than a page or two.

That is until I began reading Plunge. So intriguing and honest in its telling, for the first time in 10 months I enjoyed reading again.

Looking at the glorious photo cover of turquoise water, white sand beaches and the author swimming blissfully with her dogs, one might assume the book will tell tales of paradise woven together like a mural of travel ecstasy. Instead Liesbet vividly shares the challenges of her insatiable quest for adventure along with the joy and freedom of nomadic life.

I invited Liesbet to tell readers more about the ups and downs of nomadic living.

San Blas Islands

In your book Plunge you are refreshingly honest about relationship challenges while at sea. What suggestions do you have for partners considering a nomadic way of life?

My husband, Mark, and I are in the unique situation of having been together 24/7 pretty much since the moment we chose each other in 2004, because of our lifestyle – sailing, house and pet sitting, camping. Sometimes, I think our partnership comes naturally but other times, the desire for me-time and the curiosity about how we’d do in a settled situation gets the better of me.

To answer your question, there are certainly factors that are important if you want to share a small space and a relatively challenging lifestyle with someone full-time. Compatibility is one of them, but if you have been a pair for years already, I assume that has been figured out. At least in a general sense. While you don’t have to be on the same page with everything, sharing similar interests when on the go is important. This includes agreeing on your travel style, means, duration, and comfort levels.

Liesbet and Mark on board their boat Irie in the Bahamas

Being patient and respectful about your partner’s feelings, thoughts, moods, and priorities, being grateful for his/her abilities, and being flexible when it comes to plans and ideas are other qualities that will make your relationship last. Communicating about each other’s needs is important. Even when you know your partner really well, do not always assume the next step. Talk about your differences and make sure there is enough me-time.

Each month you publish your living expenses which often are under $1,300.00 USD. What are your top five tips for inexpensive nomadic living?

Over the last eighteen years of my nomadic existence, costs have gone up, which I blame on inflation, technology, and the need for more comfort. Our biggest expense has always been maintenance on our floating and rolling homes, which partially contributes to our safety as well. Ever since my husband and I moved aboard in 2007 – and then on the road – our yearly average expenses for two adults and one or two large rescue dogs have been between US$12,000 and USD$20,000 with a steady US$ 16,000 average on land.

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Continue reading the interview here. And if you’re not subscribed to Travel Tales of Life yet, I highly recommend following along with Dave and Sue’s travels and stories.

Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Author Liesbet Collaert and ‘Plunge’

December 6, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Check out my interview with fellow memoir author and blogger Debby Gies, who is one of the most generous, caring, supportive, knowledgeable, and honest people I “virtually” know!

Source: Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Author Liesbet Collaert and ‘Plunge’

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I don’t think there was much of a realization, but more of an “easing into” writing for me. It came naturally. As a child in Belgium, I enjoyed writing, which was done in cursive, in the form of letters to friends and essays at school. In fourth grade, one of our daily assignments was to create a journal. Half of the page in this notebook was filled with words, the other half with a drawing that accompanied the text. This journaling task was my favorite part of the day and I picked up the writing portion again when I was a teenager. Ever since I was fourteen, I’ve written a daily diary!

As I traveled throughout my twenties, I stated: “One day I will write a book.” But who hasn’t said that at some point in their lives? I wrote weekly travel reports to family and friends, first by hand, then via group emails. After a year-long RV journey in Mexico and Central America, I actually started drafting my first book. But, three months after that trip, we dove into the next adventure, and those plans were shelved. No time! New experiences to document!

In 2007, when we changed gears from overland travel to sailing the world, I started blogging. For eight years, I kept up my www.itsirie.com blog about our cruising journey in the Caribbean and the Pacific. During that time, I published articles in magazines and I could finally call myself a writer!

I guess, at some point, I had aspirations to be become a travel writer, but I quickly realized this would take away pleasure from writing and from traveling. It’s hard work, there’s a deadline and a format, your travels have a purpose other than enrichment or excitement. In my opinion, both should be done independently to produce the best results and find the most enjoyment and focus.

D.G. – Love your story about slowly becoming a blossoming writer. And I agree with you, writing about travels is exciting and a great way to document your life, but travel writing specifically, is another ballgame altogether.

Where do your book ideas grow from?

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IWSG Writing Update October 2017 – One Book Review; No Book Progress

October 4, 2017 / / 55 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For October, the question is “Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the accomplished co-hosts are Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Jennifer Hawes, and Tamara Narayan. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they are up to.

As a non-fiction writer, my answer to this month’s IWSG question is easy: all the time, and on purpose. 🙂 Unfortunately, none of this has happened recently, since writing my memoir has temporarily come to a halt. Let alone writing articles. In September, just like in August, my help was needed with our business. Because of this, I have reached the “danger point” of two months of inactivity, after which it is easy to think “Why bother anymore? I have enough other projects going on.” Continue reading

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