When I plotted my blogging course, I decided I should stay focused on the themes of my novel Dance of the Hummingbirds. But, after a good deal of reconsidering -- this is after all my musings, my journey, although indeed I have invited you along -- I must turn again to my passion for the sea.

But “aha,” you say. “The sea is a theme in your novel.”

I’m glad to see you’re paying attention. Yes, Thorynn shares my passion for the sea and I will continue to explore his passion in the sequel to Dance. It’s currently in its formative period.

My passion for sailing is purely romantic. Being elbow deep in engine parts, sanding and staining brightwork, or fiddling with navigation equipment really isn’t my cup of tea. As a certified bareboat sailor I do know my way around the technical side of a vessel, and wouldn’t be worth my salt if I wasn’t prudent about safety and maintenance, but my reveries have never indulged much in the way of bilge water, burping engines, and GPS (God please save us) devices. I plot my course on a paper chart; love the physicality of manually raising the main and cranking in the headsail to catch just the right breath of wind. My prayer to Neptune usually goes “please watch over the holding tank and keep it holding.”

It’s the moment when the sails are set, the winds are fair, and the seas are following, when I just become… It’s the majesty and the power and the awe of the sea that tugs at my soul.

This is the sea that tempted Thorynn, and lured him on an odyssey to lands unknown.

I wonder why?