Schiffsmotiv (Ship motif), oil painting by Alfred Jensen (Danish, 1859–1935)
Becalmed for weeks, Marine Café Blog is sailing again. I had to leave the old ship temporarily to focus on book writing—something I had always wanted to do but kept putting off. While blogging gives one the pleasure of expressing oneself spontaneously, it is ephemeral by nature. Blogs come and go, but books stay.
Writing books, however, is a lot harder than I could have imagined. It requires the writer to be as dogged as a sailor, to keep moving forward, through calm or stormy sea, until he catches sight of the land.
Thankfully, I have finished writing the second edition of ‘Close Encounters in Maritime Manila’. The book, which details my interactions with real life maritime characters and casts light on society and culture, will be out soon in audiobook and e-book formats. I will be working on a few other books, including one about seafarers’ rights in the 21st century.
What drives me is not the thought of money or fame. It is my love for words and for connecting with others—the same love that has kept Marine Café Blog from being dead in the water.
~ Barista Uno
