This morning we heard from friends, a couple. She has had a heart-attack. Their life has been turned on its head. Their dream (which they have started) of sailing to a new country to start a business has been thwarted. She is younger than me (I am 43).

It’s moments like these that stop me worrying about how crazy our ideas are and how much money we are spending on our next adventure.

I am sure we all feel this way, a sad, worrisome, thought-provoking piece of news makes us all think. But how do we continue to appreciate what we have, how do we stop taking our health and our short time on this planet for granted.

Do we need constant ‘bad’ news to provide that kick up the backside each day? I hope not, here’s what I try to remember:

1) You will only live the life YOU create for YOURSELF

2) Love yourself; appreciate yourself

3) Accept change as an exciting challenge

4) Choose happiness

5) Aim for the light in everything you do

6) Mistakes aren’t failures – they are lessons learnt, leading you to a better path

7) Live in the moment (my biggest challenge!)

8) Count your blessings – literally!

9) Dream as though you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die tomorrow

10) Life IS short

What mantras do you adopt to keep positive?

Welcome all.

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Rachel Amphlett author of White Gold, Under Fire and Before Nightfall.

If you’d like the chance to WIN one of THREE FREE copies of Before Nightfall – just let me know by leaving a note in the comment section of this blog before Friday 6^th June.

Hi Rachel, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Do you have to travel much concerning your books? 

Not as much as I’d like!  Luckily I’ve travelled around quite a bit so I can always draw on past experience. We did tie in a week’s trip to Malta last year specifically for some research for an idea I’m developing in the background though, and because I’d based some of the scenes from my last novel, Under Fire, in Malta it was nice to walk around and think ‘yes, I got that right!’

While I was writing Under Fire, the most exciting trip I did for research was spending some time on HMAS Onslow, the Oberon-class submarine at the National Maritime Museum in Sydney. I realised I still hate being in submarines – they’re so claustrophobic!

If your writing office was a sailboat or yacht, what would the boat be called?

Gin & Tonic

Where would you anchor in the world to be most inspired?

I keep being told that Costa Rica is worth a visit, so that’d be a start. Or Puglia, in Italy – I saw a photograph of the coast there at the weekend and it definitely ticks a lot of boxes!

Why do you write?

I think my brain would explode if I didn’t – I have so many ideas whizzing around in it! I really don’t understand writers who state they have no idea what to write.

What dreams have been realised as a result of your writing?

Holding a book I’ve written in my hands, as a paperback. I’ve always said I wish I could jump straight to that part sometimes, rather than go through the whole process of writing, editing, etc. But that’s just me being my normal impatient self.

Do you have any writing rituals you like to follow?

My other half laughed when he saw this question, so I guess I do!  If I’m writing longhand, then I always use the Moleskine A5 notebooks and I use a 1.4 blue felt pen – I hate them when they’re new but once you get a couple of thousand words down, the nib goes nice and squishy. These days I mostly write on my laptop on the train going to and from work so I hit my target every day. It’s a really low target so I don’t get too stressed out if the words aren’t flowing that day.

What are you working on at the minute?

A couple of standalone novels. One is a thriller, the other is probably more easily termed a suspense novel. I’ve started the research for the third in my Dan Taylor series of thrillers too so that I can start writing that in the new year before I start getting rude messages in my mailbox from readers wondering where he is!

Are your plots/characters based on someone you know, or events in your own life? 

Most of my plots are inspired by real news events – I’m a news junkie and usually skim through 4-5 news websites every morning and dump interesting bits and pieces into a folder for future reference. Sometimes I’ll see a face or a tic that I build into a character, but more often than not, they pop into my head complete and I just have to get to know them.

How do you stay motivated?

I love what I do – that’s a huge help. I’ve got a great support network of family, friends and peers who help keep me on track if I’m ever in any doubt about what I can do – I think all creative types have those moments of self-doubt and you definitely need a good tribe around you at times like that.

Tell us about the cover and how it came about.

I knew I wanted something striking and sent Derek Murphy at CreativeIndiesome photos as a rough idea, along with the title of the book and he had the first proof to me within a couple of weeks. My jaw hit the floor when I saw it – he’d nailed it straight away. We only made a few tweaks with the font effects and it was done.

Who are your favourite authors?

Too many to list here, but I’ll try. For historical fiction/thrillers I’d rate Ken Follett and Robert Harris – I’ve been rediscovering their work this past year and had forgotten how much I enjoyed their books. I’m a huge fan of people like Robert Crais, Lee Child and Daniel Silva for thrillers, and for romantic suspense I’ll have to give a shout out for my fellow countrywomen Helene Young, Bronwyn Parry and Sandy Curtis. I love the action-packed books of Cherry Adair and Suzanne Brockmann too. (Best thing to do is check out my book lists on Goodreads!)

What do you do to get book reviews?

Write the book and keep my fingers crossed!

Seriously, I wish more readers would write reviews because we authors are so dependent on them to pass the word around, but I can never bring myself to use one of those paid review services – it just seems wrong. I’d rather have a handful of great reviews rather than anything that might seem fake.

What is the very best tip you have for aspiring writers?

Don’t give up! And an extra one: don’t be afraid to contact other authors for help or advice.

Will you be adapting any of your stories for the screen?

I’d really like to, yes. I’ve just completed a screenwriting course with the Australian Film & Television School in Sydney so if anyone fancies collaborating, drop me a line!

What really irritates you?

Procrastination. Get on with it – life’s too short!

How do you take time out?

Eh? What’s that?!

I love to travel – I’ve still got a wish list into double figures of countries I’d like to visit so that’s definitely my ultimate ‘time out’.

Otherwise, a good meal with friends or family; sitting at a bar having a drink with my other half and just watching the world go by; or finding a quiet corner to lose myself in a book – can’t beat that for relaxation!

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? 

Just a huge thank you – I really couldn’t imagine that my writing would take me where I am right now when I started three years ago. Can’t wait to see what the next three years bring!

How can readers discover more about you and you work?

Website:http://www.rachelamphlett.com/
Blog:http://www.rachelamphlett.com/blog
Facebook:https://en-gb.facebook.com/rachelamphlett.author
Twitter:https://twitter.com/RachelAmphlett
Pinterest:http://www.pinterest.com/RachelAmphlett
Amazon Author Page:http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Amphlett/e/B005EK7TRI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Where to buy: http://www.rachelamphlett.com/where-to-buy.html

Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5070038.Rachel_Amphlett

Bio

Rachel Amphlett previously worked in the UK publishing industry, played lead guitar in rock bands, and worked with BBC radio before relocating from England to Australia in 2005.
After returning to writing, Rachel enjoyed publication success both in Australia and the United Kingdom with her short stories.
Rachel’s Dan Taylor thrillers WHITE GOLD and UNDER FIRE reached Amazon’s bestseller lists in January 2014 for both Technothriller and Action & Adventure categories.
A new standalone suspense novel, BEFORE NIGHTFALL is due for release on 5 June 2014, while two further independent projects and a third Dan Taylor thriller are currently being researched.

We’ve been living out of suitcases since the beginning of March.

After travelling the length and breadth of The Netherlands, in April we signed a contract and paid the deposit for a dutch barge – a week later the deal was off after we found some problems.

Now we’ve just signed another contract and are about to pay another deposit – please keep everything crossed for us. I daren’t reveal any more . . . not after last time. It’s going to take a few weeks . . . a few more weeks of living out of bags then finally FINALLY we may have our own home, a boat . . . a new chapter . . . (in France . . .shhhhhhh!)

In the meantime . . . if you like Thrillers that come with a warning “you’ll not be able to put it down!” then keep an eye on this blog, some great freebies coming soon from a rather special author.

Okay, so I am supposed to be cutting down the words of my next book, Of Foreign Build, from 110K to 100K.

Why oh why do I now have 113K! I’ve GOT to stop having ideas!

Here’s a sneak peek of the beginning of chapter three:

Losing control and almost smashing up a $55,000, ten tonne boat is quite exhausting. At the time, Noel and I had owned Mariah, our new home, for just 48 hours.

Pic

Please note that I do not usually carry this many chins and I do not just have one large boob in the middle of my chest!

I apologise for the scant information yesterday. We had just moved off, what we thought, was our home and moved into another (friends’) home and that was all I could manage last night.

Please note we are not technical experts. The following information is what we have learned/seen over many years of being around boats (commercial and recreational), reading, teaching maritime and talking to shipping surveyors, master mariners, brokers and many cruisers/sailors etc.

The boat is steel with concrete poured in the engine room as ballast. Under the bathroom, hallway and part of the galley cement has been laid up to the depth of 25 mm (it is also under the holding tank). We could cope with the concrete in the engine room as we had access to it and therefore we could remove it.

Our concerns with concrete (cement and aggregate (or gravel) makes up concrete), it is strong in compression but weak in tension that is why additives such as aggregate (gravel) is used to make concrete and in building/structural work, the additional use of reinforced steel is used.

On boats concrete was primarily used as a cheap form of ballast – however in Europe (for new builds) the use of cement based products in steel boats HAS BEEN BANNED. There is a reason for this.

1. The inside of the hull cannot be maintained against corrosion.

2. The slightest crack allows water ingress. Corrosion occurs with moisture between the steel and the cement.

3. The problem is compounded with cement coverings as whenever the hull is deformed e.g. during haul out or the vessel takes the ground. The deformation of plates creates tension in the cement, which it cannot withstand and it cracks, allowing even more moisture to become trapped between the cement and the hull (more water and oxygen = more corrosion).

Cement is relatively easy to remove compared to concrete, however you have to gain access to it if it is underneath a floor and/or holding tanks and/walls etc. Then it is a major problem.

What should be used is hull plating grease as it protects the steel from corrosion, penetrates any gaps between the ribs and plates and it is flexible.

What also happens with the older boats, the rivets can start to weep, allow more water in, which is tolerable if the moisture can be removed. Condensation is water, causing corrosion.

The problem is you cannot see it and cannot get to it and you do not know what is going on there – it is a silent killer on a hull.

Someone asked if we are talking about ballast or just cement/concrete in the bilge that doesn’t matter. The point is that cement/concrete is on the steel, creating the above problems.

The Technical Expert at a well known insurance company was very helpful in our concerns. We telephoned him to discuss the situation and he said:

• You should avoid concrete in the bilge, we recommend that loose ballast is used.
• Without the grease on the inside of the hull, there is always a problem with rusting between the ribs and hull plating.
• Grease is the best thing to use, it is much better than paint. It should be used on all boats of this type as it seals between the ribs and the plating and it is flexible whereas cement is not and it cracks when the boat is lifted or the boat is on the ground.
• With older hulls there is the problem with rivets popping out (becoming loose).

We are aware that some people use cement/concrete and do not have problems – in our humble opinion, they are lucky.

We welcome other people’s comments/views/knowledge – boats are a personal thing and this is just why cement/concrete doesn’t work for us.

We liked the boat very much – there is other work that needs doing, but that had already been taken into account with our offer.

(Pic – just an example of what corrosion can lead to).

Regrettably, frustratingly, annoyingly, upsettingly . . . .  and, and . . . many other adverbs . . . we have pulled out of the deal.

What happened? We found concrete in the bilge – a big NO NO for us. Fortunately, we had this stipulation in writing.

Why didn’t we see this before? The floor is completely sealed, which did put us right off initially. However, good relationships developed between vendors/buyers and they drilled a hole in the floor for us to view the bilge and check for concrete. (After they categorically denied that any concrete existed).

So what happened? We paid the deposit and they very kindly let us move on board, prior to the survey. This was reassuring – there couldn’t be anything wrong with the boat if they let us move in, so we announced our ‘new boat’ to the world.

Searching for the right holding tank valve one evening, we found concrete remnants. At midnight we were pulling up/out whatever we could (without causing damage) to investigate. There is concrete under the bathroom, under the holding tank, under the galley (completely athwartships – where they didn’t drill). With heavy hearts the following day we rang the owners.

What commenced then can only be described as bloody awful. In short, they don’t find concrete a problem and ‘didn’t realise that we were that worried about it’ (that’s not quite true, why would we ask them to drill a hole though there floor, stipulate it in writing . . .  etc etc . . )

Anyhow, we and the technical experts at the surveying company (that we talked to on the phone) ARE concerned about it and that is what matters. As I say, luckily, we had it in writing and now with deposit back in our account we are heading back to our wonderful (and supportive) friends in Petten.

What next? Who knows? Who cares? . . . right now wine’s more important.

Picture of us on happier days!

Drum roll if you please . . . .

We move on to our new boat tomorrow!

Krek Wek Wou (‘Just What I Want’) is a Luxe Motor Katwijker 23m, built 1929.

She is enormous but very lovely. She needs some modernising to our taste inside, which will keep us quiet for a while. Apart from that, she is ready to go.

We’ve done all pertinent research on safety standards (TRIWV), licences etc and are very comfortable in what needs to be done.

Draft: 0.95 m

Air draft: 3.05 m

Length: 23 m

More (better) pictures soon-ish.

More soon.

*Please note the lack of the words ‘probably’, ‘maybe’, ‘possibly’ or ‘yikes’.

We have JUST shaken hands on a deal on a boat . . .

Woohoo

It is one, big, bad-ar*se boat (I only say that as I have had a wine – it is actually just big . . . and rather nice).

Woohoo

Pictures and more information soon!

*hic*

Dear friends, followers & everyone else . . . Just to confirm your doubts of our sanity . . . we have just changed our minds again (on a boat) . . . probably . . .perhaps . . . ! YIKES!