I’m diverging from my usual writing-related posts to share a little Zen. Some of you may know that my husband and I are quitting our day jobs in December 2019 and heading out for a six-month beach sailing trip to the Bahamas. For him, it’s the culmination of years of dreaming of living aboard a sailboat. For me, it’s an opportunity to find my Zen and to write without interruption. Don’t get me wrong–I love my day job. But how often do you have an opportunity to explore the world and explore your muse in the most inspirational of settings? We’re not getting any younger, and sailing does require being in decent physical shape. So when people ask why I’m retiring early, that’s the first reason I usually

give for heading out now rather than later. It’s also the easiest reason, and it’s a good one. But the most important reason? Life is short and opportunities like this are truly once-in-a-lifetime. For a writer, this is an opportunity to find inspiration and the time to write.

I’m keeping this short and sweet, because the pictures I’m including with this post tell just about all the story without any help from me, the woman-of-too-many-words. Prelude (yes, named after my book and the boat in that book from the Blue Notes Series), is an amazing boat. I’m

more than blessed. She survived Hurricane Florence with only superficial damage (water, mold, some cracked wood). I’m also very lucky.

Fair winds. -Shira