Calling all Writers! Join me on a Shakespearean Excursion: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by our sun of York.” opening lines of Richard III

Background

Despite my efforts to be creative in promoting the book, I have been discontented these past months with the modest sales of We Ran Away to Sea.  I recently contracted someone in Poland to analyze my efforts with Amazon ads, upon which I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time and money with mediocre results.  I enjoy the creative aspects of promotion, but not the nitty-gritty details or keeping track.

This morning, a serendipitous detour led to some unexpected pleasures as I reflected upon “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by our sun of York,” the brilliant opening lines of Shakespeare’s Richard III. The link below provides an excellent analysis of the entire passage and concludes with a fabulous video of Laurence Olivier delivering the soliloquy.

https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/soliloquies/now-is-the-winter-of-our-discontent

My Polish Mentor

My Polish mentor suggested that the blurb which I revised several times with the dubious “help” of ChatGPT was more a synopsis than an invitation to read the book. So, I tackled revising the blurb, and I invite your suggestions and comments. I uploaded the revised blurb for both the ebook and the paperback onto Amazon last night, but I’m not satisfied with either. This morning, I wrote the following shortened version with no use of AI.

So, channeling Shakespeare again, Ladies and Gentlemen, please “lend me your ears” (Julius Caesar) and your advice.

(1) Revision March 22 (morning)

Frustrated and unhappy with their comfortable lives in mid-America, Kent and Pam sell the family home and all their possessions and run away to live on a sailboat. With no experience of the sea or sailing, they fly to England with their children in search of an affordable boat. Their first sail is across the Atlantic. In the days before GPS, they rely on celestial navigation to get them to the Caribbean. Are they crazy, brave, foolish, or all three? Would you or wouldn’t you do what they did? Told in two voices from different perspectives, Pam and Kent’s accounts of their lives at sea and at home will give you much to think about.

Run away with Pam and Kent and explore the unknown with them and within yourself.

 Or should the opening (continuing the Shakespeare allusion) be: “Discontented with their comfortable lives…”?

(2) Current Kindle version (as of March 22)

Would you voluntarily give up your secure, comfortable life for the unknown?

When Pam and Kent make the audacious decision to sell their house and everything in it and embrace life at sea, they envision a harmonious existence on their sailboat, filled with adventure and togetherness. However, their dreams shatter early on when Pam and the children abandon Kent and their boat in Europe, leaving him disheartened and adrift. Undeterred, he embarks on a solitary journey through the equinoctial gales of the Bay of Biscay, accompanied by a hired crew. Weeks later, Pam has a change of heart and joins him with their ten-year-old son in the Canary Islands for the Atlantic crossing. Using celestial navigation in the days before GPS, they arrive in Antigua as planned. But little do they know that the challenges of their chosen new life are just beginning.

Pam’s vivid letters and Kent’s heartfelt stories document the grand experiment of their years at sea, their risky overland travels, and the struggles that threaten to pull them apart but bring them closer together. The book contains maps, photos, a timeline, and a glossary.

(3) Current Amazon paperback version (as of March 22)

Would you voluntarily relinquish your comfortable life and worldly goods and set out for the unknown?

When Pam and Kent decide to sell their house and embrace a life at sea, they envision a harmonious existence on their sailboat, filled with adventure and togetherness. However, their dreams shatter when Pam and the children abandon Kent and their boat in Europe, leaving him disheartened and adrift. Undeterred, he embarks on a solitary journey through the equinoctial gales of the Bay of Biscay, accompanied by a hired crew. Weeks later, Pam has a change of heart and she and ten-year-old Andy join him in the Canary Islands for the Atlantic crossing. Using celestial navigation in those days before GPS, they reach the Caribbean. Yet, their challenges are just beginning.

Although Kent yearns to sail through the Panama Canal and explore the vast Pacific, Pam harbors deep-seated fears, and fourteen-year-old Jake, who has reluctantly joined them in the Virgin Islands, craves the familiarity of friends back home. Despite memorable family adventures, Kent reluctantly relinquishes his cherished dream.

Nearly a decade later, Pam and Kent sell their home and possessions again, this time venturing through the Great Lakes into the North Atlantic, through the Bahamas to the Caribbean. For over six years, they travel to offbeat destinations and undertake daring overland journeys through Central America, Venezuela, and Colombia—a country then known for its perilous reputation. Kent remains steadfast in his desire to traverse the Panama Canal and sail the Pacific, but equipment failures, storms, illness, financial worries, and family complications often interrupt their idyllic moments.

Will Pam succumb to her fears, or will Kent embark on his grand voyage alone? Share their journey and the difficult, sometimes heart-wrenching decisions involved in living at sea.

So that’s it! Which of these versions or variations of them would entice you to read the book? What would Shakespeare write? Comments?