NCWN

Title:            A Year in the Sun
Author:        Ramona S. (Ronnie) Stone
Publisher:    Bookstand Publishing, Gilroy, CA -- 245pp. Trade Paperback
ISBN #:       978-1-58909-506-9
Price:          $18.95 plus $4.00 postage and handling
Available from: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.bookstandpublishing.com/m/ronniestone,
and major online booksellers

About the Book:

FOR LOVERS OF THE SEA, ARMCHAIR SAILORS, AND INCURABLE DREAMERS
    North Carolina artist Stephen Shoemaker says, "Once in your life, a story comes
your way that touches you like none other. A simple story that takes you to the
core of life and relationships. . . . a journey of truth and love with no
expectations . . . a journey that will last a lifetime."

    Following the devastating loss of an adult son in 1985, Ronnie Stone experiences
the full impact of Carpe dierm -- Sieze the day -- and accepts the invitation of
a caring stranger to share his life for one year. At age fifty-three and with no
prior sailing experience, she moves from her comfortable armchair beside a
glowing fire to the deck of a small Voyager 26 to sail the Atlantic Coast and
the Bahama Islands. During the months aboard, she learns the healing capacity of
sea and sky, solitude and companionship, time and timelessness. The book is a
true account of her journey.
    Readers sharing the experience become a part of a closely-knit, live-aboard
community, absorb the serenity of benign seas and secluded shores, rise to face
immediate and unexpected danger, and share the discoveries of life lived
intimately with nature. Too, they become acquainted with the engaging stranger
who invites Ronnie into his life, offers her the opportunity to fulfill a
lifelong dream, and, ultimately, asks her to be his wife.
    The book tells of their telephone meeting and careful preparation for a year
sailing together. It details both the affirmation and the doubt accompanying the
journey itself, its setbacks and triumphs afloat and ashore. Woven into the
vividly colorful picture of life on the water is an account of the growing
relationship between the two middle-aged strangers, culminating in their
marriage upon returning to shore.