Jackie Parry – author

Tag Archives: living life to the full


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My Mum – My Self Appointed PR Rep

My mum is Brilliant…

…and probably about to be arrested!

Unique PR

I produced some rather snazzy bookmarks, detailing my books/adventures. My mum hands them out to anyone she meets or whoever knocks on her front door. She’s brilliant – my No.1 fan – and quite passionate!

She has just written me a note about accosting someone famous on my behalf! She’s either brilliant or mad – but probably both. She says:

“On the way home Dad went into Sainsbury’s car park to get the papers and a few bits and whilst I sat in the car. You’ll never guess who walked passed, ONLY Paul Young!! I smashed on the window and leapt out of the car and said who I was plus you and ENPC (Enfield Chase Pony Club).  I think he thought I was some mad woman accosting him.  I blurted out your CV and could have kicked myself as I didn’t have any BOOKMARKS to give him. What an absolute chump am I!  Anyway, I mentioned www.jackieandnoelsjourneys.com and think he got it but he was in a hurry and had to get away.”

Mum’s not totally loopy – Paul’s daughter used to be a team member of Enfield Chace Prince Philip Cup Team and my mum and dad used to manage this team – so she did know him (and, I believe, he has sailing on his bucket list).

I was suitably impressed, as the first album I ever purchased was No Parlez. The first time I saw Paul was on daytime TV, after Rainbow, I was off sick from school – I’ve admired his work ever since.

I think Mum deserves a pay-rise, I’ve offered her double what she receives now – I think that’s fair.

ordinary-peopleextraordinary-adventures

I’ve offered Paul an audio, kindle or paperback book – I wonder if he’ll receive my message – perhaps he’s a little scared…..   not from my mum – but selling up and living your dream is a brave step…


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A Christmas Gift

Win a Christmas Gift

If you’d like to win a free audio copy of This Is It – 2 hemispheres, 2 people, and 1 boat, just share this blog post on Twitter or FB and make sure you copy me in:

Twitter @nandjjourneys

FB: Jackie Parry or Noel and Jackies Journeys

On the 11th November I’ll number each share and ask someone to randomly pick a number.

A5 reduced for web

Here’s the blurb:

“We are from Australia, we have cash, and we have jet-lag and a desperate stare in our eye. In short, we are mugs ready to be led down the path of nautical slavery. If you can’t sell us a boat, there is something very wrong.”

The pull of the ocean was too strong to ignore any longer. Four years prior, they’d circumnavigated the globe on their 33-foot boat, Mariah. Now they wanted a new challenge.

So they sold all their belongings and flew to America from New South Wales in search of a boat.

Then Jackie and Noel set sail south, meeting descendants of the Bounty mutineers on Pitcairn, taking in the grand statues of Easter Island (the remotest inhabited island in the world) and making lifelong friends in Suwarrow.

Along the way, they lost a friend and came nail-bitingly close to losing their new boat. But they gained so much more.

This is a story of storms of emotions and oceans, travel, love, and relationships, and two people figuring out life and fulfilling their need to move and be challenged.

©2015 Jackie and Noel Parry (P)2016 New Street Communications, LLC

This Is It - a new cover too!

This Is It – a new cover too!

 

 


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Audio Books – Do you like them?

Big News!

Great news arrived in the Parry house(boat)hold yesterday.

Rouge Corsair - 1920s Dutch Barge

Rouge Corsair – 1920s Dutch Barge

A few weeks back I announced that my publisher is producing This Is It – 2 hemispheres, 2 people, and 1 boat in audio format.

Lake Titicaca

Just one of the fabulous places we visited on Pyewacket – Lake Titicaca (well, I should clarify, we didn’t take the boat to the lake!)

Yesterday, I received the news that A Standard Journey – 5 horses, 2 people, and 1 tent, is also going to be in audio format too.

These things take time, finding the right professional reader and production – it has to be just right.

webpage cover header 15th feb

All my books – aside from Cruisers’ AA (accumulated acumen) (for obvious reasons!) will be available in audio format soon – Of Foreign Build – From Corporate Girl to Sea Gypsy Woman – already is!

Later this year I am sure I will have plenty of giveaways!

Do you like audio books?


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Mid Ocean Drama

Excerpt: This Is It – 2 hemispheres, 2 people, and I boat

Intro: We’re in the middle of the ocean – thousands of miles from land, sailing from Galapagos to Easter Island, the remotest inhabited island in the world….

‘What the f**k!’ I yelled from the galley. My feet were soaking wet. I looked down. Brown, filthy water swirled around my ankles. At that moment, a wave slammed into port side and shoved Pyewacket over and onto her starboard side momentarily. The disgusting water that caused me to pinch my nose gleefully ran to the other side of the galley, washing its mucky trail all over the floor.

Three difficult weeks at sea, living on a tilting vessel!

Three difficult weeks at sea, living on a tilting vessel!

‘What the effing-hell is going on!’ I looked in the sink. Another shot of water came up and over the sink’s edge as we lurched back onto our port side, my feet desperately trying to grip the sloping, slimy floor.

I peered through the window that led to the cockpit and watched Noel merrily chirping a pretty song with a hose in his hand.

‘Whatever you’re doing, STOP!’ I yelled.

I knew we weren’t sinking; the brown muck had come via an internal system.

‘What’s going on?’ Noel sauntered into the galley and sharply stopped. ‘Oh dear.’

‘Oh dear! Oh bloody dear,’ I screeched as the foul water sloshed around the gyrating floor, and I tried to sponge it into a sliding bucket. I skidded on my hands and knees within the quagmire as if on ice, cursing as each bump on Pyewacket’s bow caused the odorous water to leap up and splash the cupboards.

‘It’s from the cockpit drain,’ Noel explained sheepishly.

‘Never mind, help me clean up.’

Water constantly splashed over the entire boat - coating the everything in a fine salt

Water constantly splashed over the entire boat – coating the everything in a fine salt

In the galley floor were four boards that lifted. Beneath the floor were large bilge cupboards, where we stowed items in plastic containers in case water came in. While scooping and sponging up the marsh-like water, we hauled out cartons of pasta and rice and tried to find an alternative place to stow them in the tilting, squirming boat.

Half an hour later, we were drying out; the smell eased back to a wafty pong, and we sat in the cockpit, unaware of the jarring boat, glad to relax for a minute.

‘The rain wasn’t draining from the cockpit, so I connected up the deck wash hose to flush out the drains.’

‘Hmm.’ I allowed myself a small grin.

‘The pressure must have forced all that shit up through the kitchen sink. What a stupid way to arrange the plumbing…  I should have looked at that before we left,’ he admitted.

I wasn’t upset or angry any more. Noel was simply trying to make a repair; he didn’t intend to cause such mayhem. We don’t blame or hold grudges – we’re both working to achieve the same thing: a safe passage. Recrimination is such a damaging emotion; it can follow you around like a shadow, sit with you at dinner, and cast a depressing grey over all you do. We had no room for that in our lives.

We made it! But it wasn't easy - the plumbing problem was minor to the other events en route.

We made it! But it wasn’t easy – the plumbing problem was minor to the other events en route.

Find out what we are up to currently on a 1920s Dutch barge in Europe – here.

Would you like to take a look around our boat – look here.

Author blog: www.jackieparry.com

Travel blog: www.noelandjackiesjourneys.com

Horse: http://helpinghandforhorses.weebly.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackie.parry.7543

Travels: https://www.facebook.com/NoelAndJackiesJourneys

Horses: https://www.facebook.com/pages/For-the-love-of-horses/1048526295173146

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00OT9CWV8

Amazon book links

A Standard Journey: viewBook.at/astandardjourney

Of Foreign Build:  viewBook.at/OfForeignBuild

Cruisers’ AA (accumulated acumen): viewBook.at/cruisersaa

This Is It: viewBook.at/thisisit

Audio Excerpt Of Foreign Build: http://goo.gl/AnsKRr

Twitter

https://twitter.com/NandJJourneys

https://twitter.com/StandardJourney

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7157763.Jackie_Sarah_Parry?from_search=true

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jackieparry7543

Linkedin https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jackieparry

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/113148478675680852619/posts/p/pub

Photo album of A Standard Journey: http://goo.gl/1QgMp2

Photo album of Of Foreign Build: https://jackieparry.com/of-foreign-build-photo-album/

Photo album of Cruisers’AA: https://jackieparry.com/pics/

Photo album of This Is It: https://jackieparry.com/photos-this-is-it/

A Standard Journey FB Page: https://goo.gl/uV7NGY

Cruisers’ AA FB Page:  https://goo.gl/2vEnkB

Of Foreign Build FB Page: https://goo.gl/VvLT3M

Listen to me chat to Carol Graham (Never Ever Give Up) about sailing, pirates, adopting horses, and surviving life! http://app.stitcher.com/splayer/f/69073/41215218


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A Standard Journey

I would like to introduce you to a beautiful story. Some of you may have already had the pleasure of discovering 
“A Standard Journey” 
by author Jackie Parry 
but for those of you who haven’t, here it is. 
Even if you have experienced this, maybe it’s been a while since you visited with 
5 horses, 2 people and 1 tent! 
Available in eBook & Paperback Format
About The Book
They rescued five horses from an unknown fate.They sold everything they had.

With daring inspiration, Jackie and Noel trained the lost and confused horses, and forced their own unfit bodies to meld into one team.Life became horses, trail, endurance, and camping: all seven reliant on one another as they trekked along part of Australia’s majestic Bicentennial National Trail.

What started as a dream adventure turned out to be more than they had ever imagined. The beauty of the trail didn’t lessen its dangers; with minimal support and all their worldly possessions on horseback, Jackie and Noel made mistakes and with humour learned the hard way.

They were amateur horse-handlers, tackling an epic challenge, but they created something special, unique, and incredibly endearing.

Fears were faced, healed, and conquered. Bonds were forged.

But did the team of seven that started together, finish together?

Saddle up and take a ride along life’s natural trail of trauma, fear, pain, and loyalty.


————————————-
The Standardbred is a horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing at a trot or pace.
———————————————

Read What People Are Saying About This Book
‘A story that will resonate with any animal lover, any adventurer, and anyone who enjoys reading about ordinary people achieving truly extraordinary things.’ 

‘A hauntingly beautiful book.’‘A story that shows how two people continue to discover new strengths in each other through the most dire circumstances.’

‘The humour and humbleness makes this such an enjoyable read.’

‘She conveys her story with searing honesty.’

‘This will stick with readers for a long time.’

 
How About an excerpt from “A Standard Journey”?
We Won’t Even Have A Sink! 

Galloping down the mountain to find a gun to shoot one of our horses, I realised that I had bitten off more than I could chew.

My borrowed horse sensed my fear as we plunged down the trail. My mind focused on the gun, a necessity to terminate excruciating pain. There was a broken horse on the ridge. He had released a knowing groan as his fetlock snapped.

Plunge, jump, ford – I squeezed my aching legs around my brave mount. We both expelled urgent breaths from our flared nostrils. I had to find a gun!

Sweat and tears mingled, running clean streaks along my grubby face, my eyes stinging. My heart banged in my chest, while the horse’s heart thrummed beneath my calf muscles. Time slowed as if we hurtled through syrup.

I cursed Noel – it was his idea. Not to shoot the horse, but living with horses twenty-four seven while trekking along the Bicentennial National Trail (BNT). We had rescued five lost beasts that could have been destined for dog meat. Over many months of struggle, we had transformed the seven of us into a team.

 
Who Is Jackie Parry?

Currently Jackie is exploring the French canals on a Dutch barge with her Australian husband.

Originally she was from the UK, Jackie is now an adopted

Australian. She grew up with horses in the UK until her world was shattered with a heart-breaking bereavement. Disillusioned with life she ran away to Australia and met and married Noel. They decided to buy a boat and set sail. So within her first year living in a foreign land, she was getting used to a foreign husband, and a foreign life on board!

Mariah II took Jackie & Noel around the world. Pyewacket II (purchased in San Francisco) took them across the Pacific Ocean for a second time on a more southerly route. Adventures include The Great Loop in the USA plus Canada’s Great Lakes and the French Canals.

As a commercial skipper Jackie has worked internationally, and has been a Marine Rescue skipper. She has also taught commercial maritime. She co-wrote a pilot book (in America) and several hundred magazine articles worldwide. Cruisers’ AA (accumulated acumen) was Jackie (and Noel’s) first self-published book.

 
Jackie Parry is also a blogger, and she’s a natural!
You won’t be disappointed by what you find on either of these blogs. You may even get a chuckle or two!
Check out her blogs and follow her here:

At www.jackieparry.com &
At www.noelandjackiesjourneys.com

 
You can also find her on social media channels! 
Follow Jackie Parry

Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Linkedin
Amazon

 
Thank you for stopping by and visiting with us! We hope you enjoyed our What’s Inside Wednesday post with “A Standard Journey” 
by author Jackie Parry!
Please take a moment to leave us a comment, and please don’t pass this book up, you will love it!
Get Your Copy Here
 
 
Leave A Review For The Author, Just A Few Words Of Encouragement Are All It Takes!
Thank You Again!
Enjoy Your Night!
Margaret
 


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The Midi, perhaps once isn’t enough…

The two days that inspired my last blog, were just two days. Rude visitors on hire boats made the busy stretch an arduous journey. Our patience was tested to the extreme, but it was just two days!

Shower of autumn golden leaves.

Shower of autumn golden leaves.

In the last two days since, we’ve only seen two hire boats on the move and no other boats whatsoever. The tie ups near the locks are easy, quiet and safe.

The autumn leaves shower down on us as we putter through, burnt oranges, flame reds and deep purples. The ducks still laugh at us as we pass by, the Herons flap lazily across our bow and the otters paddle beneath the dappled light.

Dappled light - stunning

Dappled light – stunning

With great tie up places and crisp, blue days of low humidity; no bumper boats (hire boats) and perfect countryside views, the days are a joy.

Helpful lock-keepers together with helpful public that push the buttons on the automatic locks or catch our lines have made  the last few days perfect.

Perfect days

Perfect days