CAUTION: It's Distracted Driving Season!

It's graduation and prom season and the start of summer--lots going on, and lots of young drivers on the road (not that they're the only ones who can be distracted while driving!)--so a good time to share some info on distracted driving and encourage your loved ones to keep their eyes and attention on the road!

[[[[[Here's an infographic from ////website link removed at the request of the host, Insurance Quotes. Org////]]] on some of the more common and dangerous things we've all been distracted by while driving at one time or another! Click on the images of the various distractions and scroll down to read how they can impact our driving and our insurance rates!

Everyone enjoy your summer and be safe out on the roads!

////THE FOLLOWING INFOGRAGPHIC HAS BEEN REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF THE HOST SITE.////
Please include attribution to Insurance Quotes. org with this graphic.

Hurray! My First 1-Star Review on Amazon

Today I'm celebrating! Marina Melee received its first 1-star review on Amazon. You may ask, "Why would anyone celebrate a bad review?" It's a good question and one I've given a lot of thought. A one-star review means there's someone out there who read my book and felt strongly enough to take time out of their life to tell the world what they thought about it. Pretty heady stuff!

 

Click HERE to go to Marina Melee on Amazon

Similar to "there's no such thing as bad publicity," I can't imagine what's bad about someone reading my book and being compelled to further consider it long enough to write something about it--aside from the ego-pounding, soul-crushing part, of course.

 

For most writers, our first readers are people we know: family, friends, critique group members (who become acquaintances, if not friends), and people who know the author personally. When they read our stories, they aren't reading "a story," they're reading "Lynne's story." That has to color their perceptions (hopefully in a good way) to some degree. Those first readers tell their family and friends about our book and word spreads. We get readers who only know us indirectly. Still, there's a connection. It isn't until you get to total strangers that you run the risk of receiving a really bad review.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for bad reviews. I don't want Marina Melee to get panned. I put years of my life, and a lot of my heart into writing my story--George's story--because it's important to me. There's deeper meaning than what's at the surface of the fictional tale and the fictional island. There is a São Jorge and George Marshall, a Kenny, LaQuisha, Jim Tudor, Albie, and all the rest exist, some of them in real life and some in my imagination, a compilation of many people I've met along the way. I want the reader to be transported to my island and get to know my friends, to share in and enjoy their madcap misadventures! I don't just want family and friends to read, either.

Once we're published and we put our work out there for the whole world to read, we're taking the risk that some won't like it. That means you've reached beyond the borders of those you know. As I've told other writers who've shared their angst over bad reviews, "Congratulations! You've moved out of the circle of family and friends."

 

The other part of that is to not respond to bad reviews. Don't defend or explain your work. Either the readers "get it" or they don't. Not every story is everyone's cup of tea. For now, I'll say "Hurray!" again. This critiquer got it! He fully understood what my novel is about! Clearly, I achieved what I intended. Is Marina Melee similar to Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival? You bet! I started with the working title, "Carnival Ain't Stop Yet," fully intending my novel to be an homage to Wouk's wonderful story. I set out to write the updated version of a man in mid-life crisis looking for answers in a bottle of rum on a tropical island. George's journey parallels Norman's in many ways, but with some distinct differences...particularly the ending (you'll have to read them both to find out how they end!) Whether it's Amerigo, São Jorge, St. Thomas, or any other Caribbean island, the message, the story, is the same: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

Post Card of Charlotte Amalie Harbor, probably from around
the time Herman Wouk wrote Don't Stop the Carnival.
(postcard courtesy of Ronnie Lockhart)

Don't Stop the Carnival was written "decades ago": 1965 to be exact. Almost a half century ago. As George hears over and over again throughout Marina Melee, "it [Don't Stop the Carnival] is the Bible for expats in the Caribbean." That novel can tell you all you need to know about island life, then and now. Technology has improved. Cell phones, The Weather Channel, and mega-cruise ships have changed the landscape some, but the charm, the insanity, and the warmth of the people remains the same.

 

Charlotte Amalie today. (Photo courtesy of M. Drobnik)

Is my story really an homage, or just a cheap rip-off? I'll let the readers decide. If a one-star review gets people to read Carnival and Marina Melee to compare and see for themselves, that's fine by me. The stories are similar, but that's because the experience of anyone running away to the islands to escape their life today is similar to what Norman Paperman faced 50-years ago. If I'd wanted to avoid comparisons, I certainly wouldn't have mentioned Norman Paperman and Carnival as often as I did. I hope those references lead to a new generation of Wouk-readers! And I couldn't leave out my favorite characters from Carnival, the Sea Witches. They represent an entire group of young islanders with a zest for life that remains unchanged through the decades, from Wouk's time in St. Thomas, to my own at that age in the 80s, to my generation's kids today. A group similar to the Witches lived there when Wouk was in St. Thomas (his Amerigo) and they're there today, enjoying their own crazy adventures. On São Jorge, I morphed them into the Sand Witches because I like the pun. I didn't try to pull a fast one. The trio acknowledges that their moniker, the Sand Witches, comes from Wouk's Sea Witches. Again, it's paying respect to the timelessness of Wouk's Amerigo and its inhabitants.

 

Click HERE to go to Don't Stop the Carnival on Amazon.

Yes, Marina Melee is similar to Don't Stop the Carnival. As I was writing it, I hoped readers would see the similarities, would see the underlying message, the more things change the more they stay the same, and would recognize this as my tip-of-hat to Wouk for his masterpiece that is still considered "the bible for expats in the Caribbean."

Given my reviewer's comments, I think succeeded.

 

 

FLASHBACK: Homecoming in the VI

CARNIVAL SPECIAL!!

 

In honor of St. Thomas Carnival 2013, I'll be giving away a copy  Marina Melee to a random commentor to this site (leave a comment below to enter to win!) AND electronic versions of Marina Melee are FREE to download from April 20-27, 2013!!

Leave a comment below to enter for a chance to win a copy of Marina Melee

or
Go to www.swashwords.com to download your free electronic copy!
Offer valid April 20-27, 2013

Drawing for the winner of the print version of Marina Melee will be on Sunday 4/28/13

April 2013

I've disappeared for a few weeks--sorry about that! Things here are hectic, what with the semester winding down, book signings at the boat show (which I'll blog about in Waterblogged later this week), agility, and my own studies as I complete an online TESOL certification class (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

This week in the TESOL class, one of my assignments is to write an essay about an experience (something pleasurable, having difficulty liking someone, or a sad event) using a variety of words to describe the emotions involved, and being careful to select words with the most accurate nuances to reflect how I felt.

After much thought--really, nothing really inspiring in the assignment--I decided on the first option, something pleasurable. The word pleasurable, to me, reflects a calm, soothing, enjoyable experience. Something pleasing. Nothing pleases me more than going home to St. Thomas. I always feel better when that plane lands and I see Brewers Bay, UVI, and step out of the plane into that lovely blast of hot tropical air. (I'm deliberately omiting the smell of the ever-malfunctioning airport wastewater treatment plant...I'll just pretent the wind is blowing offshore when I arrive.)

To help me recall the emotions of my homecomings, I reread my blog post from our last visit in June 2011 (has it been that long? Yikes! Time for another visit!) The words and memories brought on a wave of nostalgia and I decided that was worthy of a repost. So, here it is...a walk down memory lane to St. Thomas and homecoming.

My "Alma Mater by the Sea," the University of the Virgin Islands

June 2011

Matt and I are having a great time catching up with old friends and meeting new ones as we get ready for Monday's book signing. Whenever I've been away from my adopted home for too long, I worry that people will have forgotten me, I'll have forgetten people, and it will all be different - I'll be a tourist.

Within minutes of arriving, I knew I'd worried needlessly. Something happens to my heart and mind when I see the western tip of St. Thomas from the plane, my soul breathes a sigh of contentment. (Yes, that sounds corny, but it's true. I can feel a sense of peace wash over me.) By the time the wheels touch down on the end of the runway, and I'm looking at the familiar and comfortable sights of the Willie Mac, the UVI dock, and then the MacLean Marine Science Center, I know I'm home.

The first thing I do when I arrive home, is say hello to my "adopted" father, Patrick - the father of Donna, my "twin" - as our professors called us during our college days. No matter how long I'm away or how many times I change hair length or color, Patrick recognizes me immediately and greets me with a hug. Welcome home.

Catching up with the Sabinos and Roy on our first night in, I felt like I'd been away on vacation for five years, and was now back where I've always been meant to be. Chatting with Sean and Carol at the "new" Pirate's Chest was like continuing an ongoing conversation without skipping a beat in the intervening years, and entering the Radio One studios for the VI Charter Yacht League's radion show, "On the Water" with Erik Ackerson had me flashing back to the old Radio One over the Marianne store, hosting EAST's "Naturally Speaking" show with Julie on Tuesday mornings while Tex, Nicky, and Leo watching from the booth, and sitting in with Fatty's "Marine Scene" show early on Saturday mornings, shivering in the tundra-like new studio in Frenchtown.

Later, we "crashed" a beach wedding to spend time with Geoffrey--just another day in St. Thomas. Driving down to the Marine Science building and visiting with Steve was like returning to my "real" life, the time since I left just a tangent I ran off onto. I'll get back on my true path soon.

I can't express what a relief it is to me to know that, no matter how much things change in my home, the fact that it is still home doesn't change. The book signings are an exciting event that I'm looking forward to, and I'm thrilled with the interest and support of friends old and new. Nicole kicked into her ever-efficient PR mode and hooked me up with the right people to get some short-notice publicity, thus the radio show with Erik, event notices in the Island Trader, and the fabulous article that appeared in this morning's St. Croix Source (thanks, Lynda!).

http://stcroixsource.com/content/arts-entertainment/showcase/2011/06/26/st-thomian-returns-first-novel

With a welcoming embrace like that, how could anyone NOT think that the Virgin Isands are the most warm, friendly, and accepting place in the world? As George learns upon his arrival in Sao Jorge, saying "good morning" goes a long way toward becoming part of the fabric of island life. Once you're woven into it, you may not be from here, but you're here now. Stay a while and you're one of us, forever more.

Welcome home.