UpLife Press representing GK Jurrens is a proud affiliate of IndieBound.org
Catalog:
I’d be honored if you would explore my catalog of books (fifteen published titles, each in both ebook and paperback editions, and two audiobooks). There’s something for anyone. More detail on each book follows the catalog summary below, so, keep browsing!
Consider visiting my Amazon Author Page where you’ll find most of my titles with an opportunity to read a sample of each book (the “Look Inside” feature).
I also publish and distribute most of my titles on most every other major online book retail outlet, reader subscription service, and library support service worldwide. You’ll find those links on this page for each book as it is published and distributed.
Also, check out my podcast, called Relevant Fiction. We’ll explore socially conscientious fiction that’s relevant, thought-provoking, and most importantly, entertaining. We’ll discuss the subtler aspects of such stories buried beneath the surface in select contemporary novels. The debut episode is currently available on the following podcast platforms (choose & click on a link below). Additional episodes are forthcoming. And check out our special September 11th episode:
Try searching your favorite podcast directory for “GK Jurrens.” Also, consider joining the new Relevant Fiction Facebook Group to continue the conversation. See you there!
Gene
Fiction – Eight published titles (and one companion guide):
One steamy summer a few years from now stinks of blood and greed. Crime in the giant Chicago regionplex climbs to an unprecedented high. Homicides top the list.
Cultures collide in a collage of mystery and intrigue, but it’s not what you think. This freshly minted novel is a classic whodunit locked-room murder mystery with lots of misdirection amidst romantic tension between a hard-boiled but attractive police detective and the sophisticated amateur sleuth she reluctantly recruits. They help each other navigate twist after twist until the very last page.
The monstrous but baffling murder of a long-term resident at the ancient Hotel Literati—the famous inaugural poet laureate and Creole activist, Sybil Thibodaux—makes national news. The gruesome murder catches influential eyes who exert pressure for a quick and public disposition.
Detective Chance McQuillan negotiates for the case’s lead. She reluctantly recruits Sir Aubrey Greigh, a Scottish-born civilian with an enigmatic past who also lives at The Lit, to consult when the case stalls. He tolerates cops. She tolerates civilians. But Greigh knows the victim’s world. Against his better judgement, he agrees to just one more case. He has a soft spot for redheads, like his deceased daughter and wife, and like McQ. Immediately, powerful forces sabotage their case. Why?
Greigh, a mystery writer, recognizes this case for what it is—the linch pin to a sordid conspiracy with a goal that eclipses the evidence and their collective imagination. What is going on here?
It’s a gripping story with evolving threads. I thought I knew where the plot was going, and then, BAM, sharp turn! And it all made sense. An engrossing tale.
The book repeatedly ratchets up conflict, suspense, and the number of suspects like a good mystery should.
I felt like I was actually inside Hotel Literati, sensing its smells, appearance, sounds. I like the stratification of the place, too, just like society as a whole.
Excellent character development. Greigh’s analysis reminds me of Sherlock Homes and Hercule Poirot. He thinks like an attorney and a crime writer.
It is almost comical, yet logically suspenseful, how Greigh and McQ compliment and surprise each other. I also like that McQ and Greigh are committed to breaking the law in order to preserve the greater good, and to save lives.
Greigh continues to get more colorful and interesting with layers of pressure and tension. As a reader I can feel it. My interest in him and his investigative abilities, combined with McQ’s earthy tenacity, grab and hold my attention. Together, they increase the excitement of this story.
It is nice that some investigators in the future take their jobs seriously. Fascinating and plausible investigative tools. And nice touches when simple skills defeat advanced technology.
Boy, your bad guys are really nasty people. And I love your humorous English versus American word play.
I really enjoyed “Voodoo Vendetta.” It is very well-written. The legal aspects are authentic, accurate, plausible and pass the lawyer test. I love the varied and unique characters, especially those with a rich ethnic history.
Your writing style and character development kept me turning pages. And the revelation near the end of the book generates real excitement. Well done! Great ending. I loved the book. I hope you will write another.
I look forward to more in this (Aubrey Greigh) series.
Someone is murdering Windy City Productions movie stars a few summers from now. But a larger story launches from Denmark before carving its bloody path into the American Midwest.
Studio executives & politicians demand answers as the investigation flounders.
At first, Chicago Police Captain Lois Granger believes this is just another nasty serial homicide case complicated by the wild imagination of her pain-in-the-neck suspended Detective Chance McQuillan, a.k.a. McQ, and celebrity Scottish author, a self-styled amateur sleuth, Sir Aubrey Greigh. But later, she’ll risk all herself to unmask a horrifying secret, the first of many.
Then, tough-as-nails police commissioner, Jack Roberts gets a call from Interpol. From that moment, everything changes. But not for the better.
Greigh recruits Chance McQuillan, on compulsory leave, to covertly investigate a series of murders as a civilian. Later, with an erstwhile mob boss and an alphabet soup of agencies, they labor to thwart a plot to incite treason, international mayhem & mass murder. The cost of failure? Unthinkable.
Brilliant Scottish mystery writer, Aubrey Greigh, finds his higher purpose by moonlighting as a civilian Interpol investigator to perform discreet services for friends in high places, to seek inspiration, and altruistically, to battle evil.
Greigh’s wife and six-year-old daughter were once murdered because he foiled a ruthless land developer’s scheme to destroy his home of over a decade—the Hotel Literati in Chicago’s Near Southwest Loop. After that, Greigh had imploded emotionally. But now, years later, he must protect his home again, regardless of his state of mind, by thwarting a cabal of international terrorists.
This is your best yet. Very exciting. I actually gasped when I learned that— (spoiler redacted!). – Julia S.
You really nailed the suspense, especially by including red herrings and plot twists. I like being reacquainted with Greigh and McQ, and became fond of the new characters too. Thought I would like ___, but … big plot twist there. I love Butler (Greigh’s automated apartment security system and confidante), especially that you gave him Sean Connery’s voice. And he could easily be set in present times. – Dawn S.
The novel moved at a good pace, was intriguing and engaging. I truly enjoyed it. – Judy R.
I like the concept, storyline and characters. An excellent read. Dialogue was also excellent as was pace, twists and turns. – Mark M.
All the double agents, various international agencies, and crime bosses were easy to follow, and added depth to the story.
Great job!! Thoroughly enjoyed the book/manuscript. I hope this one reaches the “Best Seller” list. – Tom K.
I have nothing but praise for your writing! – Dave K.
Blown away by your choice of words and character descriptions as well as their interactions with one another. – Judy H.
Based on a true story, a Massachusetts state game warden’s body turns up under a pile of brush in the deep woods. They find a decapitated bear carcass on top of him. Its paws are missing, too.
Captain Larry Jamison’s personal life is a mess. But he is compelled to investigate the murder of one of his own.
Officer Sam Travis, the victim’s longtime partner, wants vengeance. They both get in over their heads to find out what these poachers are after. And why.
These environmental police officers soon discover they have stumbled into something far more insidious than they could have imagined. But that doesn’t stop them from risking everything.
Midwestern small-town America battles crime, a spreading poison, and a virulent Mother Nature. Ordinary folk fight it all. Some survive. The unlikely battlefield? Northwest Iowa farm country where faith and friends battle evil.
Format: paperback edition (5×8″), 348 pages; eBook editions (readable on any smart device with free reader apps for Kindle, Apple Books, Nook by Barnes & Noble, all Kobo devices, all desktops, OverDrive, Scribd, Google Play, Indigo, Thalia, Vivlio, etc); hardcover (6×9″) available soon (6″x9″).
Published: January 18, 2022
Synopsis:
The summer of 1933 feels like Armageddon. Crops are dead, jobs are gone, and hope is dying. Even breathing grows difficult in zero-visibility dust storms called black blizzards. Worse, Lyon County Sheriff Billy Rhett Kershaw finds his young deputy murdered. About the same time, his friends and neighbors begin killing themselves.
There is so much more to Lyon County Sheriff Billy Rhett Kershaw than meets the eye. He battles his demons nightly.
In the midst of all this, when Sheriff Billy, with a few deputized locals, learns that an organized group of career criminals from Chicago threaten a local businessman and his family in the small town of George, Iowa, they look for a connection between these brutal newcomers and the mysterious deaths. Or is something far more sinister going on?
Jake Hardt evolves from penniless inventor posing as a farmer to a reluctant warrior protecting himself and his, especially the love of his life, his new bride, Sophie Bairns.
GK Jurrens thrusts you into the betrayal, faith, sadness and joy in ordinary peoples’ lives as they battle a merciless Mother Nature and man’s treachery that threatens to consume them.
If you love historical crime fiction, or would like to explore it for the first time, get lost in “Black Blizzard!”
I read my first book, Black Blizzard, by author GK Jurrens and absolutely couldn’t put it down. What a page turner. I am looking forward to reading the next Lyon County Mystery, Murder in Purgatory. I definitely recommend this entertaining author’s artistry!
Authentic to the period (American Great Depression), and I just love Sophie Hardt, polio victim and amateur detective – unlikely but entirely plausible, and I just love her spirit! All the characters are incredible!
A circus shows up in their small town and people start dying. What mysteries arrived with the gypsies? How will Sheriff Billy Rhett Kershaw and Deputy Dwight Spooner stop the madness? They’ll seek help from little Sophie Hardt, that’s how. Her undying faith in humanity and God protect her from danger as she limps her way into places a badge can’t enter. “Purgatory” is a heartwarming tale that will restore your own faith in humanity, despite dark horizons.
Format: Paperback edition (6×9″), 379 pages; eBook editions (Kindle edition readable on any smart device with free Kindle reader app, Apple devices from Apple Books, Nook by Barnes & Noble, all Kobo devices, all desktops, OverDrive, Scribd, Google Play, Indigo, Thalia, Vivlio, etc.)
Published June 25, 2022
Synopsis:
The year is 1934. While investigating the murder of a gypsy circus “freak” in small-town Northwest Iowa, Sheriff Billy Rhett Kershaw and his deputy, Dwight Spooner, juggle slippery and tangled biases of their prejudiced constituents.
Tam & Tare, the two-headed girl, are married to Crocodile Man, but their self-image is less beautiful than they really are.
But when bizarre forces trip up their investigation almost immediately, jeopardizing more lives in the process, they must step up their game. Holmes and Watson are imperfectly reincarnated as Billy and Dwight in the Midwestern Dust Bowl during America’s Great Depression.
Amateur sleuth, Sophie Hardt, claims her handicaps only make her stronger. She is a force of nature.
Neither sheriff or deputy are above considering clues beyond scientific or forensic comprehension. Nor are they beyond leveraging the insights of an intuitive but reluctant amateur sleuth—Sophie Hardt—who comes to their aid.
Babbo the Manimal’s cleverness is going to get him killed. He almost has everyone fooled. Almost.
The stunning but tough-as-nails boss lady of the gypsy circus, Madame Perlatelli, catches eyes wherever she goes in her tight trousers, thigh-high boots, and dirty tunic that hides most of her body art.
The show’s fortune teller, Sister Shipton, sees clients in her tent on the midway.
If you love historical crime fiction, and especially murder mysteries, check out “Murder in Purgatory!”Help our amateur sleuth and small-town cops solve a complex series of crimes with twist after twist. You’ll find yourself rushing toward the shocking conclusion of this engrossing tale of intrigue, betrayal, loyalty, love and hate.
Have you ever felt way in over your head? Can you relate to a small-town kid from the wrong side of the tracks who strikes the mother lode of success in the big leagues, and then wonders what he’s doing swimming with murderous sharks? Manhattan is a long way from the corn fields of the Midwestern Bible Belt. But it takes a few decades for a young corporate climber to realize that after he tangles with treasonous murderers. Get lost in this critically acclaimed cautionary tale.
Genre: Psychological Drama (fictional autobiography/thriller)
Sub-genre: Business, political, covert military adventures
Book One in the “Dream Runners” psychological adventure series.
Format: paperback edition (6×9″), 372 pages.; eBook editions (Kindle edition readable on any smart device with free Kindle reader app, Apple devices from Apple Books, Nook by Barnes & Noble, all Kobo devices, all desktops, OverDrive, Scribd, Google Play, Indigo, Thalia, Vivlio, etc.) 328 pages
Published: 1st edition: November 4, 2017; 2nd edition: March 2020
Part One: Firing a vindictive serial killer is dangerous business, especially when that killer and the boss are also traitors.
Between them, George Janis rides an emotional roller coaster. As an executive of a multinational tech company, this corporate climber evolves from a strong leader to a potential homicide victim, to a reluctant intelligence operative, to an avenging angel.
With the help of his old personal friend, Sam Braxton, a retired executive of America’s intelligence community, they stumble onto a plot of international intrigue. How will they respond? Who will survive?
Part Two: John W. Stevens, President of the United States, recalls Sam Braxton to military service. The mission? Leverage Colonel Braxton’s unique off-the-books network, including George, to root out domestic and international leaders of a massive shadow organization. This organization’s intent? Decimate American democracy for profit.
Under White House direction, a covert military operation aims to neutralize a foreign government’s massive attempts to subvert the American political process with the support of nefarious domestic operatives. Will they succeed? Or even survive?
Sometimes dark eyes share a story more compelling than words. Maybe they scream desperation or declare unbounded joy. Maybe they portend evil intent. Occasionally they whisper of love. But they always tell a story. [Original acrylic painting on canvas by GK Jurrens]Age of the Geek: Have foreign trolls in “Dangerous Dreams” taken control? Not after Colonel Sam Braxton presses his ‘irregulars’ into action. Mission parameter: maximize impact while minimizing casualties. [Image: Anonymous]
“Nasty and nice! Good people in bad situations, and bad people in positions of power make ‘Dangerous Dreams’ an engaging romp. GK nails it.” -Nick Russell, New York Times best-selling author and top-selling Amazon author (editorial review)
“What a ride! Quite the page-turner. The author paints vivid pictures of exotic situations, keeping the reader in a state of suspense. I found the [sky] pirate Calvin of particular interest – one of a number of characters who are so much more than they appear to be. I look forward to the next book and the future adventures of George Janis and Kate. Well done!!” DS on Kobo (5/5 stars)
“Great Book. A fabulous read. I really believed the characters and lived along with them. I also enjoyed watching the complex characters change and grow through the story and the settings were both exotic and hit close to home. I’m hoping to see George, Kate, and a few of the others in the next book too! -MS on Goodreads (5/5 stars)
“A great read that shows imagination. Great use of detail, and indeed thrilling!” -LR on Amazon (5/5 stars)
“I loved hating Dent Canfield. Still, I felt sorry for him as he transformed from a lovable geek to a capable spy to a nasty sociopath, and ultimately to a vulnerable patriot. You nailed your characters so well that I missed them after finishing the book. Can’t wait for the next one.” -LA (editorial review)
“Great reading. Looking forward to his next book.” -BW on Amazon (4/5 stars)
“Can’t wait for the second book and already [pre]ordered a copy. I was delighted when I met the author and got to know something about his journey. I was intrigued. The characters were developed in a progressive fashion. As the pages turned, I learned more and more about what made each of them tick. The plot was very plausible and could have paralleled contemporary headlines.” GH (editorial review 5/5 stars)
Living with a handicap, the result of a traumatic brain injury, doesn’t make it any easier for Geo Janis to hide from powerful people seeking to kill him and his beloved wife. Perpetual motion with life in their motorhome helps. But they can’t run from their duty to help friends escape the same fate. Especially when these friends include an activist ex-US president and his most trusted Secret Service detail. They need a place to hide completely “off the grid” until they can figure out who to trust. Unlikely? Yup. Believable? You decide.
Book 2 of the “Dream Runners” series.
“Fractured Dreams,” the second in the Dream Runners series
Genre: Psychological Drama (fictional autobiography/thriller)
Format: eBook edition (readable on any smart device with free reader apps for Kindle, AppleBooks, etc); or paperback edition (6×9″), 378 pages.
Synopsis:
Geo Janis hides in plain sight to avoid a bullet to the brain. He finds he can ask the dead for advice, some of which is quite good, when forthcoming, that is.
Geo’s most daunting challenge? Culling out which conspiracies are real, and which are conjured by the traumatic brain injury he manages with some success, the injury he acquired in the service of his country.
As a veteran, a retired business executive, a best-selling author, and now a notorious podcaster, Geo fights the same battle every minute of every day. But nights are far worse. No more so than in the blast furnace of the Arizona desert.
Eight years ago, pulling a trigger to take a life in the tropics altered Geo’s mind. At the same time, a near-lethal blow to the base of his skull changed his body. Now he and his wife fear discovery by the Patriot Brotherhood—a death sentence. But there is more at stake than their safety.
Janis awakens swinging at his wife Kate with clenched fists and hates himself for it. He pretends arthritis causes his back pain, his limp, the headaches… and the nightmares.
Regardless, friends in high places need his help—again—to defeat the Brotherhood and to defend democracy. He will serve once more, the risks be damned.
Editorial:
After reading your blogs, then Fractured Dreams, I wonder where reality ends and fiction begins!
You lead an adventurous life, Gene! Good read!
I enjoyed Mayhem: Underground as well! Thank you!
THE MAYHEM TRILOGY
Genre: Paranormal Futuristic Mystery/Thriller
Sub-genre: Romance
Format: eBookedition(readable on any smart device with free reader apps for Kindle, AppleBooks, etc); orpaperback edition (5×8″).
What does our future look like? “Underground” may be a prophetic cautionary tale, or just a fun way to escape for a few hours. This mystery is also a love story that will warm your heart.
As the 2150 Podcaster of the Year turns investigative journalist, Zaya French tackles his most challenging case and publishes the wildest story of his life. There is treachery afoot on a frightening scale.
Zaya lives in a home that flies as he squeaks out a meager income by leveraging irreverent curiosity that so often gets him into trouble.
His current caper sounds like a bad joke: an ex-Jesuit priest, a nun, a Chicago detective, a goggled and hooded telepathic girl who lives in a tunnel all partner with a storyteller who lives in a flying bus to solve a string of murders meant to look like accidents or suicides.
This is no joke, and this tale is all too plausible. Why are these people dying?
Zaya and his new friends reveal a conspiracy of shocking proportions as they unravel this mystery. They will not be silenced. But will they survive? Will anyone?
“Escapism raised to an art form, but completely unpretentious at the same time!”
“A refreshing romp through the skies, tunnels, and streets of 2150 United Westican Territories.”
“Fun read of an all too plausible tale with epic ramifications, especially with all that’s going on these days.”
“You have done an excellent job of creating this future of chaos while tying it to our present (2020) political realities. “Your writing is a welcome gift in the busy-ness of 2021. Keep up the great work. Five stars!”
“Mean Streets” is a cautionary tale. What could happen if a “cold civil war” breaks out, or politics and governments become obsolete? Is the alternative anarchy? Not necessarily. But all of that is just a backdrop to a delightful tale of friendship, love, loyalty and profound human interaction in the midst of turmoil and drama. These characters will endear themselves to you in unexpected ways. Take a risk. That’s where you’ll find the rewards,
In the summer of 2163—during the advent of a cold civil war as a backdrop in Westica (once known as America)—a reluctant visionary must influence three obscure events or risk planetary extinction.
Journalist Zaya French and his wife Sierra partner once again with ex-priest Lamatte Foliére and the CED Chief of Detectives, their old friend, Lionel Smith, aka Smitty.
Zaya, Sierra and Lamatte are thriving in a subterranean sanctuary called The Digs beneath the regionplex of Chicago, Williana, under the leadership of an enigmatic seer known only as Birdman.
Turmoil topside reaches abysmal proportions. Global political governance has failed. Something must be done, and normal citizens are called upon to take action.
But how can they prevail against armed paramilitary groups roaming the streets who constantly collide with soldiers trained in urban warfare?
The worst is yet to come. And then…
Editorial review: “I finished book one and can’t put down book two! Five stars!” -Patsy S.
This heartrending story will both warm your heart and challenge your perceptions. Surprise after surprise will continue to challenge you. Sometimes, different isn’t good or bad. It’s just different. Like so much in life. Daniel Morrissee must struggle with that from the day he was born until the day he is reborn.
At sixteen, Daniel Morrissee joins the United Americas Corporate Security Service, “the Corps,” and is thrown into combat during the Corporate Wars of the 2160s. Governments are obsolete. Three weeks into his tour he loses both legs, but that’s not the worst of it.
Morrissee, aka SeeMore, sees everyone’s immediate future, all at the same time, and it is too much. Others call it a gift. To him it’s a curse that threatens to steal what’s left of his ragged sanity.
Fourteen torturous years later, he invents a technology that enables him to live in a new world of his own invention—a cyber-world, “the c-dub.”
Then SeeMore meets Mysty Brass and everything changes. Again. But bad people seek to destroy their new life. Why?
To complicate matters, their planet is dying, and the c-dub SeeMore is inventing just might become a sanctuary for all of humanity, even for those who seek to destroy him. But will he and his band of friends survive long enough to complete it? And if they do, can they succeed in saving humanity, if not the world itself?
The New Wash, Maryginia regionplex spans 97,000 square miles in 2178. [Image by michaellam]
In the year 2178, you only venture out if you have no choice and then, not without a mask with an integrated oxygen trickler. [Original digital drawing by GK Jurrens]
Daylight in Detroit, Michio, 2172. Significant reconstruction progress after the 2160s Corporate Wars.[Image: Susan Chamberlain]
House of Pofine outside Metagama in the Scablands. Exiled or not, violent conflict is coming to this sleepy community of lovable ‘monsters.’ [Image: darijus]
Format: eBookedition(readable on any smart device with free reader apps for Kindle, AppleBooks, etc); orpaperback edition (5×8″); 58 pages; paperback 60 pages.
Synopsis:
A useful resource to deepen any reader’s insights into the people of the United Westican Territories—aka Westica—of the late twenty-second century (Old America resurrected from ashes of the Phoenix).
This brief but info-packed ebook offers you:
A broad overview of the entire Mayhem trilogy, spanning three decades of Westican history from 2148 to 2178 AD, and how the world got to that point in our future,
The cast of all major characters that spans all three books in the trilogy,
A glossary of late twenty-second century terms… the language of Westica.
The relationships between characters and across story lines. Below is an example of one relationship map, a useful tool for the reader who takes every advantage to understand Westica and her people, from coast to coast, and from tundra to cape:
Non-Fiction:
This book unpacks a complicated writing and publishing process so you can harness your imagination, turn that into inspiration, and from that, create a professional publication of your own. This does not need to be complicated!
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of independent writing, editing, formatting, publishing, marketing and selling. This book simplifies an otherwise daunting process.
Are you an aspiring author? Or a published author looking for more control over your work? Either way, this book comprises a comprehensive self-guided seminar that starts shallow and dives deeper as we progress, but at your own pace, unlike most seminars.
Are you struggling to spark your inspiration for the book you know is inside of you somewhere? This book’s initial chapters will jump start your creative journey.
Do you wonder how to efficiently begin and sustain progress on your writing journey? I will ask you: why should you write, and where should you start? Then what? Find specific answers in this book that will streamline your own efficient and effective writing and publishing process, including a valuable survey of free or cheap software tools, cheat sheets and pointers to an efficient treasure trove of resources for authors and independent publishers.
Why should you spend your precious time and creative energy on all the other stuff that comprises the business of being an author and a publisher? Or should you even bother? I’ll point you toward the condensed wisdom of dozens of my favorite industry experts who will answer the why and how. Fast.
Get started now writing and publishing just one book, or embark on a fulfilling career. Sip or gulp. The choice is yours.
Format: paperback edition (5×8″), 194 pages; eBook editions (readable on any smart device with free reader apps for Kindle; soon on Apple Books, Nook by Barnes & Noble, all Kobo devices, all desktops, OverDrive, Scribd, Google Play, Indigo, Thalia, Vivlio, etc)
Genre: Literary poetry with mixed prose and essays; educational reference:
How to “decode” the “secret messages” of poetry like a detective.
Poetry (collection of original images, poems & essays).
Published August 7, 2022
Synopsis:
Does poetry interest you, but you just don’t “get it?” Or does it intimidate you? Do you love “word puzzles” and “word paintings” but find them mystifying? Perfect!
Become a confident “poetic detective!”
Short chapters of straight talk in Part One of this tight volume expose poetry’s sexy anatomy, including high-impact case studies.
Part Two offers a provocative select collection of GK’s own poems he calls “one-minute stories,” further illustrating the powerful principles revealed in Part One of the book.
Format: 7.75″ x 9.75″; 238 pages; softcover; hardcover with dust jacket; hardcover image wrap
Published: December 29, 2008
Settings: Mississippi River, Ohio River, Cumberland River, Kentucky Lakes, Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Black Warrior River, Mobile Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Florida’s West Coast, SW Florida.
Synopsis:
From boat preparation in Minnesota to battling salt, wind, and waves on the Gulf of Mexico, to running with dolphins in Florida, we steam or motor-sail almost 2,100 miles, mostly on the Eastern U.S. river system. The rest of the voyage included crossing an angry Gulf of Mexico in Autumn, that confusing time between Hurricane season and the advent of Winter.
The author’s digital painting of his beloved Sojourn “hanging on the hook” in a protected anchorage.
Every spicy moment, whether fulfilling, frightening, or both, is a treasured series of personal adventures that will be forever ours, and now shared with you.
Every character we met, some we grew to know, and even dearly love, adds deep and delightfully delicious texture to what evolved from just a long slow trip to a micro-brew of dumb, scared, smart, quirky, gritty, and tasty bits. Please, indulge!
We humbly delight in sharing these special memories with you. And you may be surprised to find useful nuggets for making or considering such a trip yourself. We screwed up many for you so you don’t have to!
Now it’s time to get underway with us. Done talkin’. So let’s go...
Format: 7.75″ x 9.75″; 232 pages; softcover; hardcover with dust jacket; hardcover image wrap
Published: June 23, 2010
Setting: SW Florida
Synopsis:
Our last adventure aboard Sojourn had taken its toll. We had motored more than sailed her over two thousand nautical miles through flooded and debris-laden river systems.
We had transited forty grumpy locks in blustery Autumn winds and torrential rains. Marooned in one place for over three weeks, where the Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers converged, became a choke point for debris and turbulent flood waters, and were officially closed down by the U.S. Coast Guard.
For more than a week during that time, we feared an official order to abandon our boat and a total loss as the marina where we were stranded was about to float off its pilings and drift downstream, dashing it onto an angry dam.
Sojourn was tired after busting through forty locks on the US river system and a spanking storm as we crossed the Gulf of Mexico. She deserved a ton of TLC (twenty tons, to be precise).
This book is dedicated to restoring the battle-weary Sojourn, our forty-foot Island Trader motorsailer, a length-overall of fifty-one feet with a displacement of twenty tons, to her former glory. We vowed to make her better than new, and did so.
Some might consider this a how-to book even though much of Sojourn’s year-long restoration was achieved by accomplished professionals, along with more than a modicum of sweat equity invested by her captain, as this author spares no detail in the telling.
This book describes an occasionally entertaining chronological record of arduous physical, financial, and emotional transformations from a nice solid old boat and aging crew to a boat in Bristol condition, belying her age and that of her captain to once again take her proud place as a member of this motley little family of sailors who eagerly anticipate their first tropical cruise in paradise.
