Chronicles of a Shipwreck in Jamaica

The book is released! Less than a week ago I published the compilation of my entire Jamaica story starting from my discovery to my obsession to my move and what happened with it all. This blog post is a recap of how the book came together and why.

In July of 2010 I wrote three paragraphs in a document called “my book”. Those three paragraphs are the first three paragraphs in the actual book, they’ve never changed. The document then sat on my computer for almost nine months and was never looked at again. I felt like I couldn’t write any more because I didn’t know what direction to go with the story. I didn’t know if I wanted the book to be a guide book, a life story, a Jamaica tourism book, or what! At the time I started the document I had no idea I’d be quitting life less than a year later to attempt moving to Jamaica.

After I attempted it and lived it out and ended back up where I started I knew what direction the story was going to take and I picked back up and finished the book in 4 months. I was ready to publish, submitted it to an editor and then backed out because I had more to write. The challenge for me was to shut up, stop typing and come up with a conclusion. I could write for days, months, etc. Finding an ending point was a big ordeal because even now, I know the end is not the end, but for the sake of the book there is a half-assed conclusion.

In the few days that it’s been released I’ve received feedback that I never expected and it’s a little overwhelming to say the least. I’m touched by those who are now sharing their stories with me! I’m finding that there are so many similarities between random people from all over the place, it’s funny how the world connects. We have all discovered the same place and we share a common bond. Some people have commented how I really put myself out there in the book and shared things that maybe others wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing. That’s just me…I’ve been blogging about it for years so why hide it now?

There are two purposes for creating this post.

#1 – Of course to promote the book and encourage others to download it! If you’ve been to Jamaica, never been there, want to move there…whatever your purpose, you’ll be able to relate.

#2 – Because I want to encourage your comments and discussion on how you felt about the book. Did you enjoy it or not? Reasons why. General thoughts and comments, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, I would still LOVE to hear from you!

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY and PLEASE come back to this post to share your comments.  Feedback is what drives me to keep doing what I do.  It would be no fun to write just for myself!  Enjoy the read and I look forward to your comments!