And do I have a deal for you!

Today, for many Americans, is defined as After-Christmas Sales rife with “big savings.”

The one I’m opening to you is even free.

Smashword’s annual Year-End ebook bonanza is into its second – and final – week, and I’m offering you five of my novels at no cost. Pick one or all or something in-between. They’re all different.

It’s your chance to pick up these ebooks at no risk. If you like the stories, perhaps you’ll leave a brief review and five stars at the website, just to encourage other readers who come along in the future.

The titles are Daffodil Uprising, when youth across the country went freaky; Pit-a-Pat High Jinks, with lovers and friends setting forth in premature adulthood; Subway Visions, with wild rides through the Underground; What’s Left, as a bereft daughter tries to make sense of her bohemian parents and close-knit Greek family; and Yoga Bootcamp, where Asian spirituality sizzles in a back-to-the-earth funky farm not far from the Big Apple.

It’s still a good time to give yourself a present. This one carries my blessing. For details, go to Smashwords.com.

 

As we return to port

the fog’s burned off
but still hazy

with another schooner far off to the left of the Angelique
a sailboat comes between us

another windjammer’s way off on the horizon
while we skirted a sandbar

Camden grows as we approach
the Congregational spire for navigation
perhaps there’s a third behind her

entry into crowded harbor even in shoulder season
a bit tricky
especially when a pleasure boat backs into our path

shouts of “get back!” or “keep moving” finally heard

Coast Guard a bit more astute

the transom of one sailboat ASTARA also the name of our messmate
should they get acquainted sometime

haven’t seen a Kroger product for ages till now
the logo popping above someone’s pack

My messenger bag has a conspicuous stain
its first
remaining as a badge of honor
or oarlock grease

as I’m getting off, “This is all you have?” as in surprised
while I’m realizing how much I overpacked

now to send off a deposit for next year
(which I did)

Accept my free token for an eye-opening ride

Some things are timeless, and subway trains and their tunnels and elevated lines are that for me. They do get my imagination rolling.

That’s how I came to write Subway Visions, my surrealistic novel of adventurous rides through underground culture. Some of it even erupts into verbal graffiti.

The ebook is one of five novels I’m making available for FREE during Smashword’s annual end-of-the-year sale. You can obtain yours in the digital platform of your choice.

Think of this as my Christmas present to you. Now, get rolling and enjoy the trip!

For details, go to the book at Smashwords.com.

Along the tubes to nirvana

Yes, we had a cannon

you’re out of line
you’re out of rope

rock, paper, scissor
last call

3 loons
heard first
and then seen

3 passengers showing the captain
photos of their parents’ and grandparents’ weddings
vintage dresses they thought she could consider
for her upcoming wedding in January
Captain Becky not yet 30

Becky our captain
is very funny
and so is Dylan, the mate

I’ve never done this before

This may seem crazy, but for Smashword’s annual End-of-the-Year sale, I’ve decided to offer five of my novels to you FREE.

It’s your chance to pick up these ebooks at no risk. If you like the stories, perhaps you’ll leave a brief review and five stars at the website, just to encourage other readers who come along in the future.

The titles are Daffodil Uprising, when youth across the country went freaky; Pit-a-Pat High Jinks, with lovers and friends setting forth in premature adulthood; Subway Visions, with wild rides through the Underground; What’s Left, as a bereft daughter tries to make sense of her bohemian parents and close-knit Greek family; and Yoga Bootcamp, where Asian spirituality sizzles in a back-to-the-earth funky farm not far from the Big Apple.

Think of it as my Christmas present to you. I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The sale starts today and ends January first. Please don’t delay! Go to Smashwords.com for more.

Fort Point at Stockton Springs

Having passed Searsport and now at anchor in Stockton Springs

Captain Becky’s reading in the galley
from Lincoln Ross Colcord’s Sailing Days on the Penobscot
of the treacherous trip from here,
where the crooked, tricky Penobscot River is said to begin
and the 24 miles to Bangor and Brewer at the first falls
and all the lumber collected from upstream

even the 18 miles from Bucksport was a terror
in the days of sails

 tidewalkers
broken logs along the shoreline
and river
can sink a ship

60 boats a day at Bangor and Brewer

schooners lashed three abreast
for the Bangor stretch
pulled by a steamboat

Make way!

Pumpkin Isle light

marking entry to Eggemoggin Reach
below Castine

the free lighthouse guide I brought along
2013 edition I see now
newsprint
has no mention of Saddleback Ledge light
not to be confused with Saddleback Island
other than a listing
no photo or description
nor does it list Eastport as a harbor
nor Lubec
though Calais somehow counts

buoys: green have flat tops
red, coneheads