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Patricia Sands

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Tele Aadsen

World Oceans Day … oops, I forgot to click publish!

June 9, 2012 by Patricia Sands 14 Comments

I was caught up in a wonderful graduation day yesterday (Friday) for the daughter of dear friends. She received combined MBA/Law degrees plus an award for top marks in both. It was indeed a day to celebrate! Beginning with a beautiful ceremony at Convocation Hall, in the magnificent grounds of the University of Toronto, we lunched while awards were presented, then rushed home to shower, change and drive back downtown to the terrace of The Fifth for dinner and party-time!

In fact I was having such a great time celebrating, I forgot to move this post out of draft by hitting “Publish”. So here we are … a day late. But, never mind, let’s celebrate World Oceans Day every day and do our part as best we can.

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

The Mediterranean is a sea. A beautiful, historical body of water that has a unique magical aura. In fact, connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltor, the Med (as it is affectionately known) is defined as a sea because it is mainly surrounded by land.

June 8th is World Oceans Day so please click this link take a minute to visit their website. I should have been talking about this weeks ago but, to be honest, in my state of *finish the MS total self-absorption*, I wasn’t aware of it.

In fact, it was my friend Tele Aadsen’s blog that gave me the reminder. As well as a writer, she fishes commercially in Alaska and no one in my world  is in a better  position to speak on this topic than Tele. She also has a video in this post that she shot as five whales accompanied them on one of their outings. If you haven’t already visited her blog, do it now. You’ll be very glad you did.

Tele also introduces us to Roz Savage whose memoir, Rowing The Atlantic, describes her 500 days at sea in a 23-foot rowboat. CAN YOU IMAGINE? I am always fascinated by individuals who take up such challenges and can’t wait to read about it.

Fellow writer/blogger Nancy J. Nicholson and her husband live on their sailboat and are cruising the Caribbean at the moment. Needless to say, they have a strong commitment to doing all they can to support the ongoing work of preserving our oceans. You can find her here.

In Toronto, we live on Lake Ontario and last weekend saw the annual lakeside clean-up by everyone who cares to give a day and help take care of the lake shore. An annual event, the turnout is always impressive – rain or shine!

Late afternoon view from our balcony in Toronto

Last summer we lived in Antibes on the shore of the Mediterranean for almost five months. Living with that awesome view of the Med and the hills and mountains beyond was a very special experience, we’ll never forget.

The view from our terrace in Antibes.

We never tired of the view or of spending as much time as we possibly could hiking the coastal trails, enjoying the catch of the day, or doing beach-time. Here are a few of my favourite Med shots.

Hiking the Cap D’Antibes
Secluded cove – hiking Cap D’Antibes
Overlooking St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat from Eze Village
Sailing class in Antibes
The Med – driving through the hills of Corsica
Breathtaking Corsican landscape
Corsica – Marine Preserve – can it get any more blue than this?
Plage Beau Rivage – our favourite beach in Nice
A calanque near Marseille
Calanques – between Marseille and Cassis
Overlooking Cassis from La Route Des Cretes
Sanary-Sur-Mer
Sanary-Sur-Mer – fishing boats
Plage Des Graniers – St. Tropez
A gem – Plage Mala, Cap D’Ail

Okay, okay … I’ll stop. I had a great time sorting through my photos for those and could go on and on …

How far do you live from the sea or an ocean or any body of water? Let’s make a commitment to do all we can to conserve and protect our rivers, lakes and oceans today and every day.

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Filed Under: Blog, Social issues Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Antibes, Calanques, Corsica, Cote D'Azur, follow your dreams, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, France, French Riviera, living in the south of France, Mediterranean, Nancy J Nicholson, Patricia Sands, Plage Beau Rivage, Plage Mala, south of France, St. Tropez, Tele Aadsen, The Bridge Club, World Ocean Day, writing

Taking a week to breathe …

May 30, 2012 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

I’ve been taking a bit of a break this week to celebrate typing the words “The End” on the last page of the manuscript of my next novel. Wooohoooo! Yippeeeee!  … ahem … sorry for the momentary loss of control …

For those writers in the crowd, you know what I mean. There’s a bittersweet feeling when we begin to cut our ties with the characters and settings that have possessed and taken over  been a big part of our lives since the first word of the story was written. If you aren’t a writer, there have no doubt been similar projects that occupied your time and mind until you finally dragged your sorry a**across crossed that finish line.

This week I have a lot of catching up to do. First of all I have to show my ever-supportive husband I remember how to have a long, focused conversation with him. We even went to a movie this afternoon and I made it all the way through without being distracted 50% of the time. I need to have a few GNOs and answer a backlog of voicemail messages. I have a lot of blogs to read and support to return to my superfantabulous peers in the online writing community. There’s a long list of social stuff to plan and enjoy. I may even start cooking again! Most of all, it’s time to celebrate … for at least a week or two … before the editing and revisions begin.

Ahhhhh – the joys of being a writer! I’ll get back to my normal blogging next week. Thanks for understanding!

How do you recognize the completion of a project? Do you take time off before diving into the next challenge? What’s your favourite way to celebrate? Do you quietly put your head down and sleep for a few days or do you kick up your heels?

And now for your viewing pleasure, check these out:

Amber West’s hilarious post that reminds us we can all be awesome and that there is never a day when someone somewhere doesn’t understand us. Even it’s our couch!

Jenny Hansen shares important health reminders for every woman.

Jane Friedman and the pros and cons of an author platform

Tele Aadsen provides a fascinating look into the joys and challenges of living the fishing/writing life in Alaska.

Sexy, smart Marcia Richards writes from the heart and shares 12 rules of writing from famous authors.

 

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Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Amber West, follow your dreams, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, Hooked, Jane Friedman, Jenny Hansen, Marcia Richards, Patricia Sands, Tele Aadsen, The Bridge Club, WIP, writing

Get “Hooked” Right Here!

April 24, 2012 by Patricia Sands 26 Comments

As you all know by now, sharing stories is something I love to do. Whether it’s talking about truly worthwhile causes like the new fund-raising idea for breast cancer begun by Donna Sheehan in Toronto or introducing you to one of the many wonderful writers or reviewers in our online community, it’s always a pleasure for me … a real buzz … truly!

Today I would like you to meet Tele Aadsen from Sitka, Alaska, who is not only a gifted writer and blogger on her website Hooked, but whose day (and night) job in the summer is one of the most interesting I’ve ever come across. I know you are going to agree.

I stumbled across Tele’s blog by accident last year and have been an avid subscriber ever since. An online connection grew and I’m proud to consider her a friend. After getting to know her here, I have no doubt you are going to want to check out her posts on Hooked and her partner Cap’n J’s spectacular photography on his website.

Nerka with Mt. Fairweather

Tele, you bring your days at sea to life so vividly we can almost feel the motion of the Nerka as she rides the waves. What is the average schedule of the Nerka in a year? What is your schedule like during the “season”? Are you able to do much writing while at sea or do you wait until you are back in safe harbour? Do you return every evening? How do you spend your off-season?
For 6 months a year, the Nerka is home to me, my partner Joel, and Bear the Boat Cat – our 43-foot universe. Sitka, Alaska, is our home port, and we move aboard in March to do boat maintenance and some small salmon openings. I hop on a friend’s boat in May to crew for halibut and black cod, then return to the Nerka for our primary salmon season, July-September.
Joel and I fling ourselves into a silver-scaled marathon, determined to spend as much time with our hooks in the water as conditions allow. Sometimes we’re trolling 40 miles off-shore, unable to see land, sleeping in the waves’ embrace. Other times we’re nestled against the Southeast Alaskan coastline, anchoring in protected coves, air heavy with the songs of Swainson’s thrush and the scent of the Tongass National Forest. We process and blast-freeze our salmon to be market-ready, which means we stay out until the Nerka is full – up to several weeks at a time.
This intense pace isn’t very conducive to writing. I prioritize getting a blog post up when we come back to land, but that’s a 1-2 day whirlwind of delivering fish, getting groceries, showers, doing laundry, any emergent boat projects. My best writing opportunities are in the off-season, when we’re ashore in Washington State. Our goal is to catch enough salmon that we can devote our winter to our respective passions – writing for me, landscape photography for him.
I love how you refer to Bear the Boat Cat as the Chief Morale Officer! Do you know how old she is? Have you ever had any other executive crew on board before Bear?
Growing up fishing with my mom, I always had a boat cat. Joel had never had a pet on board. We got together in 2004; he began running the Nerka the following year. I initially refused to work for him – had my own identity as a deckhand, and didn’t want to be “the girlfriend” onboard. But being on separate boats, waving to each other across the water for weeks on end, was a bit of a bummer, and negotiations took place… I said I’d be his crew if we got a boat cat!
Bear joined our crew in 2006. She’s remarkably adaptable, very forgiving of our transient lifestyle. She came from the Sitka Animal Shelter, and we think she’s about 9. Bear’s adoption is a fabulously Alaskan story that I plan to post in July – stay tuned!

When did you begin writing and what has been your experience so far? Do you plan to publish your work? Was it difficult to organize the writers’ group during the winter? There appear to be some very talented folks in it.
I’m an awkward, word-fumbling introvert in person. Writing has always been my safety net, the best way for me to process and connect. For much of my 20’s, though, I was more lapsed writer than practicing! I dreamed of the fishing memoir I’d write “someday,” but allowed fear and laziness to hold me back. In November 2010, I reconnected with my former colleague Cami Ostman, author of an inspiring memoir. Endlessly encouraging, she made me believe that I could write my book – if I was willing to do the work.
That was a turning point. So often, when we take an audacious “here goes” leap and truly give ourselves to our dreams, the pieces fall into place. I was so hungry for a writing community; Red Wheelbarrow Writers provided inspiring teachers, mentors, and gifted friends. I lacked discipline and accountability; my blog readers created a dialogue that makes me eager to engage. They’ve all infused me with a confidence and commitment that I didn’t have on my own. So yes, publication is a goal, and I’m preparing to shop that long-dreamed memoir.

Tele writing on anchor 2011

An important aspect of your blog is the way you help the rest of us gain an understanding of the delicate balance of nature viewed from your perspective, as well as important environmental issues. What are your major concerns in this regard?
Pop culture often presents commercial fishing as a catch-all-you-can, man-against-nature fury. But for me, fishing isn’t just about making a living on the water – I’m making a life, and want it to reflect values of sustainability, quality over quantity, connection with each fish and our surroundings. As a writer, I want others to experience the joys and challenges of this stunning region. A key point is that Hooked is – as you said – from my perspective. I’m not a scientist or a journalist. I’m a tree hugging, tofu eating fisherman, a woman in a male-dominated industry, sharing my experiences at sea, in a small island community, working/living in a very small space with my sweetheart.

Your partner, Joel (aka Cap’n J) is a talented photographer. Is his work published anywhere or does he sell it privately?

T and J with big glazed kings

Thanks for asking! Photography is to Joel what writing is to me; he gets his soul food being amongst mountains and forests. This is a relatively new passion – he’s been doing landscape photography for less than 2 years, and is currently building his website to market his work. Please watch for www.joelbradypower.com in the fall; until then, you can view some of his work here.

Patricia, one of the things I love about your blog is the community you’ve created around you, people coming together from such diverse life experiences, appreciating each other’s unique stories. I’m honored to be included – thank you for having me!

The pleasure was mine and my dear readers. The unique story of every single person is what makes every day such an adventure. I feel fortunate to have a platform to share these stories.

Good luck with the fishing season! We will all be looking forward to following your continuing journey both on and off the seas.

How cool is this? What’s one of the most interesting careers you have come across amongst your friends? For the writers reading this, can you imagine including settings in your work such as the ones Tele encounters? Have you ever written about the sea?

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Alaska landscape photography, Cami Ostman, Canadian Breast Cancer Support Fund, Cap'n J, Donna Sheehan, follow your dreams, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, friendship, Nerka, Patricia Sands, Red Wheelbarrow Writes, salmon fishing, Tele Aadsen, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, Women, writing

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