Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: travel memoir (page 3 of 4)

Author Interview: Liesbet Collaert – Guest Appearance on Dr. Sock Writes Here

January 29, 2021 / / 1 Comment

This week, fellow author, blogger, and educator Jude has me over on her blog Dr. Sock Writes Here, for an interesting Q&A. She is another virtual friend that I had the pleasure meeting (on Vancouver Island) in 2018. I enjoyed answering Jude’s thoughtful, organized, intelligent, and inspiring questions and I think you will enjoy our interaction!

Liesbet, Kali, and Darwin in the Bahamas

Today I am happy to bring you an interview with the writer, Liesbet Collaert. Liesbet has recently published her travel memoir, Plunge. It is a fascinating account of ten years that she spent living on a sailboat and exploring parts of the world that most of us only dream of. 

Jude: 

You have spent most of your adult life travelling throughout the world, and you describe yourself as a nomad. In what ways is your nomadic life different from a typical western lifestyle?

Liesbet: 

The beauty of a typical western lifestyle, in my opinion, is the stability, comfort, and familiarity it offers. You know what to expect, you have neighbors/friends/family/ colleagues around, you easily find products in your grocery store, you have favorite restaurants, trails, outings, hobbies, and your planned activities usually work out.

Life on the road, or the water, as a nomad is insecure, unfamiliar, and rather challenging because of these reasons and others. Yet, the adventure and freedom make it worthwhile. My husband and I love that novel feeling of each new place, have learned to be flexible, and keep our expectations low or non-existent. We are self-contained, fix issues ourselves as much as possible, and don’t rely on people. We figure things out as they come and enjoy discovering unique locations, cultures, foods, …

Another big difference are the amenities everyone takes for granted: running water, unlimited electricity, reliable internet, a washer and a dryer. Each time I stay in a house of relatives, I embrace my hot, pressurized shower, the space in my room (I can walk more than one step before I bump into something), the fact that my computer can stay plugged in, and the real bed. If there’s a comfortable couch, I might never leave! ????

 Jude: 

Your memoir, Plunge: One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary, spans about a decade. Why did you focus your memoir on those ten years in particular?

Liesbet: 

That’s a great question, Jude! I knew so little about writing books that the first time I ever considered this project, I didn’t even know that my kind of story was called a memoir.

Continue reading here.

Chatting with Liesbet about Her #1 Debut Novel – Interview on WordDreams with Jacqui Murray

January 24, 2021 / / 1 Comment

Author, blogger, and educator Jacqui Murray was one of the first people to read and review my travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary on Amazon and Goodreads. Not only that… She also posted her five-star review on her popular, well-researched, and informative blog WordDreams as a birthday gift to me on November 28th. You can read that in-depth review here. It garnered 115 comments!

In short, Jacqui – versatile, busy, and productive as she is – has been an incredible cheerleader and supporter of me, the aspiring author. After reading Plunge, she had three burning questions. Please, check out what they are and how I answered them on her blog.

***

I have rarely enjoyed a memoir as much as I liked Liesbet Collaert’s, Plunge: One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary. Maybe because at my core, I’m nomadic. She does what I wish I would (and don’t). Here is my review if you’d like to read more about this wonderful life story.

No surprise, I had a few more questions she didn’t cover in her book so Liesbet agreed to drop by and answer them.

***

Thank you, Jacqui, for inviting me to your informative, entertaining, and diverse blog WordDreams after you already surprised me with your fantastic and detailed five-star review of Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary on my birthday in November.

  • Do you like wandering on water in a boat or land in a van better?

What a great question. And, not an easy one to answer. I tend to think that there is a good time for everything, based on our circumstances, desires, and fate. Hopping on a sailboat seemed like the perfect adventure at the time and I enjoyed (most) of that eight-year experience in the Caribbean and South Pacific, until there came an end to it and we moved into a 19ft campervan to explore North America and, hopefully, beyond.

What I’m trying to say is that there are advantages to both lifestyles. While adventuring on land is less challenging than on the water (less life-threatening conditions, less maintenance, lower costs, more freedom to go wherever, the weather is less important and all-consuming, more outdoor space, and prepping/planning isn’t an ordeal), there are many factors that I miss about the boat life.

Continue reading here.

Taking the Plunge: Liesbet Travels the Sea – Interview with Marian Beaman on Plain & Fancy

January 22, 2021 / / 1 Comment

Marian Beaman is the author of Mennonite Daughter, a fascinating book about her Mennonite upbringing. Find my 5-star review of her book here. Marian also blogs at Plain & Fancy and has been incredibly supportive of my writing journey and my debut memoir, Plunge. This week, she is featuring me on her website with an author interview in which you are bound to learn a little bit more about me.

Almost exactly one year ago this week, Liesbet, Mark, and Maya visited our home, via their RV Zesty. I wrote about our 4-hour visit HERE.

Liesbet and I spent part of the time discussing her work-in-progress memoir, PLUNGE, here just a manuscript on her Tablet

* * *

PLUNGE has made a big splash in the memoir world, and I’m pleased to feature Liesbet’s splendid memoir/travelogue here. Let’s start with a Q & A.

Three fun facts about yourself

  • I don’t have a phone
  • I never took any writing or English literature classes
  • I’ve been writing a diary every day since I was fourteen

You have been a writer for a long time, journaling and writing numerous articles for travel magazines. When did you realize you wanted to write a memoir?

Continue reading here.

Writing Update January 2021 – One Month after Publishing “Plunge”

January 6, 2021 / / 105 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 January, the question is: ““Being a writer, what frustrates you most when reading other people’s books?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Ronel Janse van Vuuren , J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner, Sandra Cox, and Louise – Fundy Blue.

My answer to the question

I have little free time to read books, so I am pretty picky about the ones I start and have every intention to finish them. I am also a tad stubborn and hate giving up. So, I never actually dismiss a book. What bugs me most are typos. I find them in every book, even bestsellers, and for some reason (my A-type personality, my background as a teacher?), they annoy me. My eyes are always drawn to them and I have an inexplicable need to fix them. It’s hard to be a perfectionist! ????

But here’s the rub… The irony… The contradiction… The frustration… I produce typos and grammatical inaccuracies myself! Yet, I don’t find those, because I’m too familiar with the content. If there’s one thing I learned from publishing my own book, it’s that EVERYONE makes those mistakes. And that they are difficult to find, even by professionals. After many rounds of editing and proofreading, Plunge, as it stands right now, published and all, still has three typos in it! Anyone up for a game? One is in the epilogue… It’s so hard to be a perfectionist!

Familiar winter writing surroundings

My book news

Since my travel memoir, Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary, has been published (see last month’s post), I had to change the heading of this section from “My book progress” to “My book news.”

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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?

Continue reading

Writing Update December 2020 – “Plunge” Has Been Published!

December 2, 2020 / / 126 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 December, the question is: “Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, and yours truly (Liesbet @ Roaming About)!

My answer to the question

Talk about a coincidence…

In the beginning of this year, I wondered: “Are there times of the year that writers are more productive than other months? Why would that be?” I emailed Alex, the founder of the IWSG, suggesting he’d pose this question to the group. He replied that it would be the perfect December prompt. So, now I get to – have to, really – answer my own question! ????

If I’d live in a house or settled environment, I expect winter would be my most productive writing month as it’s colder out and I wouldn’t feel guilty sitting behind the computer all day. But, as you might now, my husband, Mark, our dog, Maya, and I are nomads (and have been for over a decade), so no “settlement” for us. This means I only manage to write whenever it fits the schedule, the situation, the location, and, mostly, the logistics (internet, electricity, no dramas). Which – if you’ve read any of my previous IWSG blogs – is darn sporadic. I write when I can; when I’m not driving, hiking with Maya, sightseeing, working, running errands, fixing the van, catching up on diaries or my inbox, or sleeping…

Our favorite free campsite this year, in Arkansas

Cold and rainy days would be perfect to write, but they cause other issues with all of us cooped up in a 19ft van. By the way, I keep track of our current location in the right column of this blog.

My book progress

After a long road to completion (five years!), my travel memoir Plunge has been published. I announced that feat here, a few days ago.

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Plunge Release & Happy Birthday to Me

November 28, 2020 / / 68 Comments

Today is the day. It’s the moment I have been anticipating for a few years. I decided to pick a special date for this special occasion: my 45th birthday.

Mark and I did it! We finalized the work on my travel memoir, Plunge, and it is now available on Amazon as an eBook and paperback. Wider distribution will follow in December.

Plunge blurb:

Tropical waters turn tumultuous in this travel memoir as a free-spirited woman jumps headfirst into a sailing adventure with a new man and his two dogs.

Join Liesbet as she faces a decision that sends her into a whirlwind of love, loss, and living in the moment. When she swaps life as she knows it for an uncertain future on a sailboat, she succumbs to seasickness and a growing desire to be alone.

Guided by impulsiveness and the joys of an alternative lifestyle, she must navigate personal storms, trouble with US immigration, adverse weather conditions, and doubts about her newfound love.

Does Liesbet find happiness? Will the dogs outlast the man? Or is this just another reality check on a dream to live at sea?

To read early impressions of Plunge, have a look here. These 5-star reviews for my writing and my story delight me!

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Plunge, check out this universal link or go to one of the specific Amazon sites for your country:

To buy Plunge in the US, click here.

To buy Plunge in Canada, click here. 

To buy Plunge in the UK, click here.

To buy Plunge in Germany, click here. 

To buy Plunge in Australia, click here (I don’t see the paperback yet, but hope that will appear soon).

To buy Plunge in Belgium and the Netherlands, click here (only the eBook is available on this site; for the paperback, please go to the German website). 

Thank you for purchasing Plunge and spreading the word.

Happy reading!

My sincere appreciation goes to all of you, my readers and blog followers. You have encouraged me along the way; your enthusiasm and support led to this special day!

Here is where I am celebrating my birthday and the launch of my debut travel memoir in the company of a small bubble of friends…

Socially distanced campers in the desert
Ironwood National Monument in Arizona
Zesty – and all of us – at peace and ready to celebrate

Plunge on Pre-order & A Special Dedication

November 15, 2020 / / 73 Comments

Today, November 15th, 2020, would have been my dear oma‘s 100th birthday. Mark and I planned a trip to Belgium to celebrate that special event. Covid or not, we’d do the effort and make the commitment. Unfortunately, she passed away in the spring of 2017, at age 97. I wrote about my relationship with her here and posted a Dutch poem about her here.

Oma and Liesbet in 2014

I think about my oma a lot. She played an important role in my life – when I was a toddler, a teenager, and, especially, an adult. I often said she was my best friend and savored every chance I had to visit her when in Belgium. My travel memoir, Plunge, is dedicated to her (and one other person). While she wouldn’t have been able to read the book – she didn’t speak English – she would have been immensely proud of her “favorite” grandchild!

It was my intention to launch Plunge today, but that timing was too tight. If Mark, Maya, and I would have remained in “our room above the garage” in Newburyport, Massachusetts, it might have been possible. Working full-time from the road is tricky. But… the next best thing to commemorate my dear oma on the day she would have become a centenarian is by putting Plunge (the eBook anyway; it wasn’t possible for the paperback) on pre-sale.

Yes!!! The digital version of my book is ready for pre-order on Amazon as of today, for the special price of US$4.99. This will go up to US$5.99 on the date of the actual release, which is set for November 28th. On that day – if Amazon cooperates ???? – both the eBook and the paperback of Plunge will be available. Leaving reviews are possible on Amazon starting that day and on Goodreads any time.

Plunge available for eReaders

Thank you, everyone, for following my journey – on the blog and in the book – and for sharing in the excitement!

To pre-order Plunge in the US: click here.

To pre-order Plunge in Canada: click here.

To pre-order Plunge in the UK: click here.

To pre-order Plunge in Germany: click here.

To pre-order Plunge in Australia: click here.

To pre-order Plunge in Belgium and the Netherlands: click here.

Writing Update November 2020 – The Final Push to Publication

November 4, 2020 / / 58 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 November, the question is: “Why do you write what you write?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria.

My answer to the question

Why do I write what I write? The easiest and “best” answer is: because I enjoy it. But there are nuances to this answer, as I constantly write. Pretty much as long as I’m not exploring or sleeping, I write – diaries for myself to look back at in the future and to potentially refer to; my blog to keep family and friends abreast of our adventures; articles to share fascinating destinations and experiences with readers and to make money; emails to stay in touch with loved ones; blog comments to show support and interest in the lifestyle and work of others; comment replies because I appreciate conversations with readers and learning more about them; and my book to follow a passion, inspire, encourage people to think outside the box, and feel a sense of accomplishment.

My book progress

In case you don’t know yet, my husband, dog, and I are back on the road indefinitely. We left our “home base” in Massachusetts about three weeks ago and took our camper van south through a few states and then west through some more. We are currently in Arkansas. I always keep track of our current location in the right column of this blog, if you’re curious about our whereabouts.

As expected, it has been incredibly difficult – insane, really – to keep up progress towards the forthcoming publication of my travel memoir, Plunge. Besides the driving (often on windy, secondary roads), research for fuel and free camping, exercising the dog, running our usual errands (dump station, gas station, laundromat, grocery stores, fixing stuff that breaks, picking up packages,…), emails, blogs, volunteer work for others (a translation for a family member; proofreading for a friend), and my normal jobs, there was/is still heaps to do on my book. I usually work at night and go to bed exhausted, especially after long driving days or short excursions. The chaos surrounding the US election, the approach of the pandemic, and the sudden passing of my aunt haven’t helped my emotional state.

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Cover Reveal of “Plunge”, My First Travel Memoir

October 21, 2020 / / 79 Comments

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