“Life aboard a sailboat is a lesson in resilience, a journey through calm waters and wild seas alike, where the only certainty is the thrill of not knowing what the next dawn will bring.”
Life on a sailboat…what is it like? There’s nothing that can prepare you for it, other than simply living it. Before my husband and I sold everything we owned to sail around the world, I spent my entire life raising horses. In my wildest dreams, I thought no lifestyle could be more unpredictable than that of a horse owner. My day job as a teacher was the easiest part of my life.
Horses are notorious for raising chaos at the most inconvenient times. They’ll break through fences in the middle of the night. I can’t count the number of phone calls we received from neighbors—or the number of times police knocked on our door—to let us know our horses were roaming the neighborhood. Horses know when you leave, and they plan to cause chaos as soon as you’re gone. Just when things seem calm, one will develop an injury, requiring emergency treatment and an after-hours call to the vet.
And traveling with horses? We logged thousands of miles with our truck and trailer, driving across the country to equestrian competitions and polo matches (my husband played polo). The challenges we faced along the way toughened us, training us to expect the unexpected and preparing us to solve crises on the fly. Unfortunately, life at sea brings a set of challenges no one can ever fully prepare for. When things go wrong on the sea, there’s no shoulder to pull over on, no tow truck to call, and no neighbor to lend a hand. Unlike problems on land, crises at sea often carry life-or-death consequences.
So, how has my life on a boat fueled my writing? Since casting off seven years ago, traveling around the world has changed me deeply. Imagine climbing the steepest hill you’ve ever faced, clawing your way up. Then, looking up, you realize an entire mountain still lies ahead. That’s the closest analogy I can make to my life on our boat.
As a new author, I wrote my first novel, Blue Ridge, about a girl growing up in the mountains of North Carolina—my old stomping grounds. I used the Blue Ridge Mountains’ visual beauty as a backdrop to weave a tale about childhood trauma, adversity, and a strong female character’s journey for redemption. Naturally, horses were part of the story.
My second book was nonfiction, inspired by a harrowing experience with one of our horses. Our draft horse, a thousand-pound giant, let himself out on a freezing February morning and wandered onto a neighboring farm where he fell through the ice on a pond. His rescue was a major event, involving emergency responders, a hundred onlookers onshore, and three news helicopters hovering above. The following media circus included daily updates on Channel 6 News, appearances on Good Day Philadelphia, and coverage by The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. That book was an easy one to write.
Then came my first children’s book, Julia’s Vaulting Dream. After my third child was born, my quiet riding program took a wild turn into equestrian vaulting, thanks to my sister, who had seen the sport in California. Vaulting, essentially gymnastics on horseback, originated in ancient Greece and Rome. Over the years, I trained children and horses, and eventually competed at the national, international, and world championship levels. My daughter, who started at age three, placed 8th in the world at the 2018 World Equestrian Games. Since I had become deeply involved in vaulting, I wrote Julia’s Vaulting Dream to introduce this unique sport to children.
Then my life took a 180 degree turn. I traded my land ponies for our sea pony, our sailing vessel Equus. Over the last seven years, Equus has carried us more than 20,000 miles and to 43 countries and four continents. If I multiply my land adventures by 100, I might capture a fraction of what we’ve experienced at sea. Life on the ocean fills my mind with endless visuals, insights into new cultures, and life-altering encounters—all fuel for my writing.
Of course, I had to describe the first five years of this beautiful and sometimes terrifying voyage in my book, Riding the Waves of Turmoil: Tales of Turmoil and Triumph. The title says it all.
With so many experiences swirling in my mind, I knew I needed to channel them into stories. That’s when I began The Seven, a saga that follows seven individuals from different parts of the world. Each character has a unique encounter with a horse. The seven horses are tasked with judging whether humanity has strayed too far from its roots. Through their interactions, the fate of humankind will be determined.
While working to publish The Seven with a traditional publisher, I felt a long-held project tugging at me—a story about mermaids.
Mermaids have always captivated me. I even named our daughter Kathryn Ariel after The Little Mermaid. During our travels, I’m always on the lookout for mermaid-inspired stores, which do pop up in surprising places worldwide. What’s missing, though, are mermaid books for children. So, I set my heart on writing one.
In one such store, while I was searching for books, Dan tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You need to come see this.”
At the back of the store, he showed me a framed painting of the most beautiful young mermaid I’d ever seen. I was in awe. Since we couldn’t take a painting on board, and the $4,000 price tag was far beyond our budget, I asked, “I wonder if they have prints?” A voice behind me answered, “Why yes, we do!” And for $20, I bought a rolled-up print of the mermaid by artist Will Cormier.
As we left the shop, I already had a name in mind for the mermaid character who would inspire my first mermaid book: Seanna.
Within hours, Seanna’s story poured out of me. It simply needed to be written down. Yet, for years, Seanna sat on the shelf waiting for the right time. Self-publishing her story never felt like the right choice—it was too important to me.
Then, two remarkable things happened. First, I contacted a friend on Facebook, a fellow sailor named Barbara, asking if she’d illustrate Seanna. She loved the story and agreed. I soon learned, however, that she was not the Barbara we had met in Tangier, Africa. It was a different Barbara and a seven-time international award-winning illustrator! She only takes on a few children’s stories. I had to book her four months in advance and sent a hefty deposit, but I couldn’t help thinking, If this isn’t fate, what is?
The second surprise came when I submitted The Seven to several publishers. Defiance Press responded. In a phone conference, as we discussed the publishing process, I mentioned my mermaid story. Defiance had been on the lookout for children’s chapter books. After reading Seanna and loving it, we decided to publish it first.
Now, Seanna will finally be brought to life through descriptive words and gorgeous illustrations. She won’t look like the print that now hangs in my daughter Kathryn Ariel’s home, but she has a story that will captivate and inspire mermaid lovers young and old.
In this chaotic, ever-evolving life, the world is a daily mystery. Some days are breathtaking, others wild and frightening. But each day brings opportunities to experience life on a level I’d never imagined. Yet amidst the chaos, there’s a clear path leading us exactly where we need to be. Thanks to Defiance Press, Seanna will come to life. As for the rest of the stories within me…well, those are tales still waiting to be written.
