Pretty Please...Review My Book

If you've read my book, Salt Water In My Veins, I would love it if you would review it on Amazon or on Good Reads. If you haven't read it, feel free to buy it and then review it. :)) 
In return, I will review anything you have created: a meal, a game, a book, a painting, music, jewelry, your husband... ;) Also, I will add a link to your website on mine.
Thank you!

Be My Patron On Patreon

My name is Barbara Molin, and I need your help. 
I am a writer. I am the author of "Salt Water In My Veins," as well as countless articles in sailing magazines such as Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Sail, 48 North, Latitudes and Attitudes, and Living Aboard. I even won a couple of prizes for my articles. From 2010 to 2014, I was the founding publisher and managing editor of a print magazine in Greece. Oh, yeah, I live on my sailboat in Greece, and my next book is due to come out in May of this year. 

Here is the problem though. I don't have a real job anymore. I am retired on a small pension which doesn't begin to pay all the bills for moorage, repairs, maintenance, fuel, insurance, and food. 

I love writing but it takes time to complete a book and publishing articles is not a means to a living wage. And a big confession - I suck at self-promotion. I am not very good at marketing and selling - it stresses me out big time. I suppose you could call me an introvert who comes out of her shell now and then and pretends to be an extrovert. Not a good personality characteristic for a sales job and that's what a writer needs to do once they've finished writing. That's why eventually my magazine folded - I couldn't do the business part of it and got ill from the stress.

I feel discouraged right now. I wish I could hire someone to do the marketing for me so that I could focus on writing. 

So, what do I want? I want the support of a community of friends. 
Here are some of the things that I'd like to accomplish in the foreseeable future: 
- Maintain my floating home in a seaworthy condition. Specifically at the moment, get a new exhaust pipe made, some awning for shelter from the sun in summer and rain in winter, get the mast and rigging checked and updated, antifoul the bottom and replace worn out cushions in the cabin. I'm sure more jobs will come along since Eidos is almost 40 years old.
- Finish "Salt Water In My Veins II" by the end of April of this year and get help with publishing and marketing it.
- Write a few more articles for magazines.
- Finish at least two or three more books that I have in draft form over the next couple of years.
- Offer Creative Non-fiction Workshops online.
- Support beginning writers as a mentor.
- Offer my boat for a summer retreat afloat to other writers.

To do all this, I need about $1,000 per month extra income. Why specifically $1,000? 
- A new exhaust pipe for the engine is 500 Euros (or $600 U.S.) plus installation.
- Sun awning will be about the same, so will the mast and rigging work - it's at least 15 years old. 
- I also need to antifoul the hull which will be about $300.  

As you can see it's a never-ending battle, and as you know, boating means throwing 100 dollar bills in the ocean. But this is my home and has been for the past 15 years.  

The rest such as moorage, food, fuel, medical expenses, boat insurance, and so on, I think I can cover with my pension income. 

So, this is why I signed up with Patreon. It's a membership platform that makes it easy for writers, artists, composers and other creators to get paid for their work.

In return for your patronage, I will provide content by posting the third draft of chapters of my latest book as well as updates on my progress on the writers' workshop and retreat. I will also keep you up to date on work being done on my boat and post photos and videos. 

So, what else do you get?
-All patrons from $5/month level up will get a signed copy of my first book, "Salt Water In My Veins." and copies of my future books plus access to some extra benefits.

Want to contribute more than $5/month? Great! I am adding even more benefits that will be exclusive for people who participate at higher levels, discounts for workshops, videos and invitations to sail. 

I'd really like to be able to focus on my writing career and not have to worry about my home falling apart underneath me, so I hope you will sponsor me for a dollar or more.
So, please be my patron. Thank you in advance for your support!

News Flash: I just got my first patron! Thank you!

Become a Patron!

Happy New Year - Workshop and Retreat offer

To begin 2019 on the right foot, I am offering an online, creative non-fiction workshop as well as one-on-one consultation via Skype or WhatsApp and email to help beginning writers with their goals this winter. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I received a very nice gift for Christmas this year - the doctor took off my cast! I'm still using crutches but slowly starting to walk again.  

Writing A Memoir

Everyone should write a memoir. It doesn’t matter if you have led an interesting (in the world’s opinion) life or not. Write it as a story to pass on to your children and grandchildren if you have any and if not, to add to the world’s history (or herstory), especially if you are a woman.

Leg fracture at six weeks

I've been back on my boat for three weeks now and it's six weeks since I broke my leg. Most of the time, I've been staying on board, only getting down the ladder three or four times. I've had groceries delivered and I have Internet onboard so can manage. Inside the cabin, there is not much space for walking with crutches, so I've been using the furniture to move around. I'm able to cook and generally look after myself.

I've been knitting, making sauerkraut, baking bread. I've even put a few coats of varnish on the trim outside and have started writing and editing again.

At night, I've been unwrapping the tensor bandage from the cast so that I can gently massage part of my leg and stimulate blood flow for healing. 

I've not used the anticoagulant injections since my flight. 

The fractured fibula saga - continued

Original fracture

On Friday, I went back to the hospital for another x-ray and a follow-up visit with a specialist. He said that he couldn't see any change from the initial x-ray but it was too early. However, the fracture was still closed and stable.
"So how much longer do I need to have this cast on," I asked.
"Six to ten weeks in total before you can put your weight on," he said. 
"In that case, I will go back to Greece." 
"That's fine, I will open the cast  so that you can fly."

Week two and three

After one week on crutches, lifting my weight with my arms and shoulders and placing it on one foot, I feel achy. This is not good. My muscles should strengthen but instead, my joints are taking a beating. 
So, I am taking it easy and hobbling only when absolutely necessary to the kitchen for breakfast, then to the living room where I stay most of the day on the couch supported by pillows. It also doesn't help that the cast presses on my ankle and rubs the top of my shin bone from inside - making it painful to walk. But I am able to wiggle my toes, which means blood circulation is good.

Broken leg and Writer's Retreat on Ibiza

Portinatx Club Hotel

After a busy summer sailing and working on Eidos, I hauled her out for the winter and decided to do some traveling in search of sun, sand, and sea. 
At the end of October, I flew to Ibiza for the annual, week-long, Ibiza Tantra Festival and with about 350 other people, did a lot of yoga, also chanted, meditated, danced suntanned and swam in the sea in the nude. I also attended seminars, ate a huge amount and slept like a log. It was an extremely busy, exciting week. I plan to write an article about it.
But on Sunday, the last day of the festival, I slipped on a wet path heading towards the beach and hurt my right ankle.

Winter on Ibiza Island

After hauling out Eidos for the winter, I decided to take a week off to travel to Ibiza for a Tantra Festival. Unfortunately (or fortunately as you will soon see), I hurt my ankle on the last day of the festival and moved into the Ibiza Yoga retreat to rest and recover. Soon it became apparent that I actually had a closed fracture in the right fibia (the smaller bone) and my leg was put in a cast at the Ibiza hospital. So, now I am in the perfect situation to update my blogs, catch up on emails and do some more writing. The guests and volunteers here keep me company in their free time, help out with making tea and fetch and carry that I can't do while hobbling on crutches and it's nice to have a community of people around me while I recover.
The retreat is also a place that I would love to invest in if it was in Greece and facing south! So, I am observing how it is run and organized for future reference.

Taking The Plunge

My story, Taking the Plunge, won the Confession of the month in the September 2018 issue of Yachting Monthly and my prize is a floating handheld VHF radio and a copy of the drawing by Bill Caldwell. I'm happy that the editor liked my story but even more so, I'm ecstatic that I survived the mishap. It could have had a sad ending. Be careful out there!

If It's Nine O'clock, Then I Must Be In Spain

One of my stories, "If it's nine o'clock, then I must be in Spain," has been published in the August issue of Practical Boat Owner.
Also, I won a portable VHF radio for another story that will be published in the September issue of Yachting Monthly.
And thirdly, I made the news by donating a copy of Salt Water In My Veins.
So, it's been a good month.

My Writing Assistant: Scrivener

Thanks to Kevin and Sandy Chilvers from s/v Tiger Bay who were moored in Vathi Marina for a few days, I am now the proud user of Scrivener writing program. The only thing I wish more than this is having had discovered it many years ago. 
Kevin is also a writer, who is working on his next crime adventure thriller and he was so enthusiastically gushing about it, I was initially taken aback. I am a bit of a conservative cynic (ok a lot) and so was a bit reluctant to try it. 
But after the second visit to Tiger Bay and another pitch by Kevin, I decided to give it a try. Free for 30 days, what have I got to lose, right? Besides, my writing had come to a stop for the past several months and I couldn't get myself motivated. 
So, today is the fourth day that I have been writing and copying old drafts of forgotten manuscripts to Scrivener and I just paid my 46 Euros for the license to use it forever.  I highly (enthusiastically, gushingly) recommend it. 

Writer's Retreat on Ikaria Island?

One day, as I was browsing online, I found a one acre property for sale near the village of Karkinagri on Ikaria island. It had a small house on it. I fell in love with it, contacted the broker, Eleni Mazari and a week later flew from Rhodes to Ikaria with a one day layover in Athens because my connecting flight was cancelled due to force 11 winds over Ikaria. Flight and ferry cancellations due to weather seem to be the normal and accepted conditions of life in Greece.

Landing on Ikaria

Yiorgos

Yiorgos, a handsome man with a beard and smiling eyes, who was referred to me by Matina Tsamoudaki, the owner of the Karkinagri Studios where I would be staying, met me at the airport and drove me to Agios Kirikos where I had already stayed for a month in March of 2017. 

Agios Kirikos harbour

From there, I boarded the small, coastal ferry that luckily was running and two hours later we arrived in a small harbour of Karkinagri. 

Arriving in Karkinagri. The harbour is to the left side of the centre of the photo.

The harbour of Karkinagri is quite small with a concrete ferry quay that also acts as an additional breakwater protecting it from the west and an inner harbour for small fishing boats.

Karkinagri inner harbour.

I checked the depth and it looks like Eidos at 10 m. LOA and 2.5 m. draft could fit in without much problem. A few days later, there was a force 9 wind from the south with large breaking waves over the rock breakwater, but the next day the fishing boats were still there undamaged. The harbour is also safe during north winds. It is quite small though and I wouldn't recommend it for big yachts.

Karkinagri harbour during a southerly gale.

Karkinagri hard standing.

Just outside of the harbour, there is a small hard standing for fishing boats which are hauled out on logs. However, it doesn't look suitable for yachts.



Eleni, the manager of Karkinagri Studios and Apartments got me settled in and then I went to the only restaurant that is open in winter for some fried smelts with greens and a glass of wine. It had been a busy day.
We had rain on Saturday but on Sunday, Eleni, the manager told me that Nikos, the owner of the property that I was interested in, could show it to me. I was entranced by the beauty of the land and the surrounding area and didn't want to leave. I tried to play it cool, but when we returned to town, immediately  emailed Eleni with my offer. 
On Wednesday, she took me back to see it again and to answer my many questions before finally agreeing to call Nikos with my offer.

***

The land is located near the mountain hamlet above Karkinagri. It is where people used to live to avoid pirate attacks - their houses made of stone and sometimes even built under a big stone, to blend into the rocky background.
 

Road from Karkinagri to property.

Road from Karkinagri to Trapalo. Turn left in front of the motorcycle to go to Karkinagri Pano.

From Karkinagri we take the road that heads east in the direction of Trapalo and after crossing a culvert over a rushing creek, turn left and head uphill following the creek. 

Road to abandoned hamlet.

It is a rough road, best navigated with a 4WD vehicle, on a donkey or by walking. Eleni's car manages quite well for most of the way, but due to the recent rain, the road developed ruts from flowing water and in one place on a corner, we encounter a huge boulder that recently crashed from the mountain above. Eleni however is a skillful driver and manages to drive around it and is able to make it almost to the end of the road at which point she turns it around to point downhill.
"The battery is old, I need to get the car going on a hill," she says.
 

Eleni's car gets stuck in a rut. Good thing it's on a slope.

However, before she can move the car to the side of the road, it gets stuck in a deep rut and so we leave it where it is.
Within shouting distance, there are a dozen or so other stone houses, the last one marking the end of the road with rusted road equipment parked on the side of the road.

A stone house in Karkinagri Pano.

Another house in the hamlet.

Road building equipment on the side of the dirt road.

From here, we will have to walk.

The Ionian Magazine - visit to the past

Almost eight years ago, in winter of 2010, I needed a job and decided to create one instead. Thanks to a generous angel seed money from my younger son, Justin, The Ionian magazine was born.For the next five years, the magazine hit the streets of the Ionian islands and neighbouring coastal mainland every month for the six or sometimes seven months between April and October.

However, in 2014, I became ill and after recovering, decided to change my priorities - it was time to go sailing again and focus on my own writing. My older son, Ryan took over the publication in 2014 and the October issue of that year was the last one published.

Enjoy reading.