The Idea of a Book

I have always – jokingly – said “One day, I will write a book”. When people suggested “You should write a book,” I laughed it off with a “suuuure!”  People say a lot of things. Everyone who travels frequently or extensively has friends suggesting the book idea. And, a lot of people do write books! If you want to dive into a book project, you have to at least like to write, and, ideally, you are good at it as well…

When I started traveling in earnest as a twenty-year-old, I sent letters and email reports off to friends and family about my adventures and experiences. “You write well,” some would say, “I feel like I am there when I read your stories”.  Yes, I have loved writing – almost as much as traveling – since I was a child. But, I never really thought much about it. I mostly wrote for fun and, more recently,  maintained a blog to keep friends and family up-to-date about our whereabouts and whatabouts.

After our one year overland adventure in Mexico and Central America in 2005, I seriously thought about writing a compelling book showcasing that experience and even started an attempt for a book proposal. Being the impulsive and restless couple that we are, we only “sat still” for three months, before diving head first into another venture. That was barely enough time to create one chapter! Soon, the new sailing experiences erased the truck camper memories and, for eight years, I was too busy living adventures to be able to extensively write about them. My travel itch was satisfied by all our island and country hopping and my writing itch produced many articles for international sailing magazines.

Now that our challenging and all-consuming cruising life has come to an end, however, the every day excuses for not committing to a book have dissipated with it. I am currently “semi-settled”, have an abundance of electricity, internet and time, and am inspired and motivated to sit down and write that masterpiece that I just might have in me! But, I better get started now, before the next open-ended adventure presents itself!