Here’s an interview with author Wendy Hinman about her amusing, award-winning book Tightwads on the Loose on KSER FM Sound Living.

This interview shares her signature humor that helped her navigate over 34,000 miles around the Pacific Ocean with her husband over their seven-year voyage. Hear the stories behind the person who wrote the best-selling book.

Tightwads on the Loose tells the story of Wendy and Garth, lured to sea by the promise of adventure. They buy a 31-foot boat that fits their budget better than it fits Garth’s large frame and set sail for an open-ended voyage, never imagining they’d be gone seven years, or cover 34,000 miles at the pace of a fast walk. They live without most “necessities” and learn that teamwork and a sense of humor matter most as they face endless “character-building opportunities.” They make a long-anticipated visit to the island where Garth had been shipwrecked as a teenager, only to find it had become a penal colony. An electronic catastrophe in the Solomon Islands leaves them without navigation equipment, which forces them to trade their free-wheeling lifestyle for one that seems straight out of a ’60s sitcom: jobs at a U.S. Army base in the Marshall Islands. In Asia, they dodge typhoons and ships that threaten to turn their home into kindling. Finally they endure a grueling 49-day nonstop ocean crossing. None of this prepares them for their arrival “home” to a post-9/11 America which leaves them wondering what had changed more, them or the world. Tightwads on the Loose offers a fun read to the armchair adventurer — or anyone afflicted with wanderlust.

Wendy and Garth with Kastam villagers in Vanuatu

Listen to this lighthearted interview with thoughtful questions about living differently by host Ed Bremer.

Interview with KSER’s Ed Bremer on Sound Living about the adventurous woman behind the book Tightwads on the Loose: A Seven-year Pacific Odyssey.

Read Tightwads on the Loose: A Seven-year Pacific Odyssey today.

Wendy Hinman is the author of two books: Sea Trials: Around the World with Duct Tape and Bailing Wire and Tightwads on the Loose: A Seven Year Pacific Odyssey. Sea Trials focuses on her husband’s family’s experiences, while Tightwads on the Loose looks at her and her husband’s travels. Both are now available as audiobooks. Hinman reviews books for Foreword Reviews.

Q: How did writing Sea Trials, about your husband’s family, differ from writing Tightwads on the Loose, a memoir about the adventures you and your husband had in the Pacific?

A: I wrote Tightwads on the Loose first. In some ways it was easier because I was there and didn’t have to do any research.

Initially I started writing scenes that I most wanted to capture—events that stood out during our seven-year journey around the Pacific. I wrote each scene as a stand-alone and in no particular order.

Once I had crafted scenes that highlighted the journey I shaped them as a whole into a cohesive story arc that linked everything together. I think my lighthearted style built on scenes let the reader feel as though they were experiencing the journey for themselves.

One key thing I realized when I began writing was that for any series of events, it’s possible to shape them into various different stories. With an extended adventure such as this, I had to make a lot of decisions about what to include and what not to include.

There were many places where we had encounters with ships or storms that threatened to turn our floating home into kindling and thrilling experiences with nature or foreign cultures.

I kept asking myself “What is the story am I trying to tell?” From there I made choices that supported my themes and the pace of the story. I also figured if it was fun to write, then it’d be fun to read.

The writing of Sea Trials went faster, probably because I had more experience by then and it had a dramatic, clearly defined story arc. While there’s humor in the story, I didn’t feel as free to joke about someone else’s hardships as I was about my own as I did in Tightwads on the Loose so the voice is more serious.

Q: Of the various experiences you’ve written about, do any of them particularly stand out in your mind?

A: The many intimate moments in nature—frolicking in waterfalls, playing in the rain, enjoying a sunset—remind me that nature puts on an amazing show every day if only we stop to appreciate it.

We visited islands so tiny that maps rarely featured them and met native people who live much as they did thousands of years ago—people content with a simple way of life surrounded by family and community. That left a strong impression on me and changed the way I approach life.

I am glad that I wrote Tightwads on the Loose first because the events in Sea Trials were so dramatic, I might otherwise have considered my own sailing adventure less worthy of sharing.

In hindsight, what I realize both books show is how important one’s attitude is in defining one’s experiences and the outcome. That’s a life lesson that sticks with me.

A couple of events come to mind that demonstrate that attitude is key are an incident when I spilled spaghetti marinara all over the interior of our boat; and then a miserable, wet passage from New Zealand to Fiji during a storm. In both circumstances, when I stopped to consider the absurdity of the situations and saw the humor in them, it made everything more bearable and enjoyable.

Likewise, I think it was humor and optimism among the family members that pulled them through challenging times when they were shipwrecked, sinking, or suffering from scurvy. I don’t think any of us realize what we are capable of achieving until we push ourselves and that’s what makes life exciting.

Whenever I feel dissatisfied with life, I find I need to ask myself whether I just need to readjust my attitude to embrace a challenge. I think of a friend and fellow writer who jokes “Plot twist!” whenever life gets hard.

Read more about Wendy’s inpiration and writing process here as well as discover other great books and authors:
https://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/2022/09/q-with-wendy-hinman.html

#books #libraries #authorconfession #authors #goodreads

http://wendyhinman.com/

Wendy Hinman is an adventurer, speaker, and the award-winning author of two books: Tightwads on the Loose and Sea Trials: Around the World with Duct Tape and Bailing Wire.
Tightwads on the Loose tells the story of her 34,000-mile voyage aboard a 31-foot sailboat with her husband. It has been called a “cult classic,” admired for its unaffected style and refreshing humor, and named a Readers Favorite. Sea Trials details the harrowing round-the-world voyage of a family who must overcome a shipwreck, gun boats, mines, thieves, scurvy, and hunger to achieve their dream. It is a timeless story of grit and resilience. Sea Trials was named a Kirkus best book as well as a Foreword Review best book. As the Kirkus starred review describes, “her engaging narrative succeeds in capturing the thrills and frustrations of this intrepid family. Taking in remarkably far-flung destinations such as Christmas Island and the New Hebrides, this exhilarating book should appeal to any would-be explorer. Highly readable and sufficiently evocative to sense the scent of sea air in the pages.” Read the full Kirkus review here: (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/wendy-hinman/sea-trials1/)
Hinman is a sought-after speaker who gives entertaining presentations throughout the country at libraries, community centers, and private clubs (as well as online). She writes articles for a variety of publications and reviews books for Foreword Reviews Magazine. She is currently at work on a historical novel. You can find her books at the library and at Eagle Harbor Book Company. For more information, please visit: www.wendyhinman.com.

Other local authors’ profiles are on the library’s web page

Wendy Hinman has won the Readers Favorite award for Sea Trials: Around the World with Duct Tape and Bailing Wire and Tightwads on the Loose: A Seven Year Pacific Odyssey. She accepted both awards during the Miami Book Fair. Read the reviews of her award-winning books.

#awardwinning #books #authors #award-winners #miamibookfair #readersfavorites

“This book is the next best thing to going on a seven-year odyssey itself!”

Read the review here: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/tightwads-on-the-loose.

Stand by for more news on the audio version of this popular travel adventure.

It’s an honor to be among the select few authors invited to participate in this event honoring, books, authors, and libraries.

For more details, visit: http://www.lib.washington.edu/support/events/librariesunbound

Readers’ Favorite Awards ceremony Saturday, November 17 at 6pm at the Regency Hotel in Miami.