My Life in Books

Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?

MY FAMILY AND OTHER WRITERS, FRIENDS

How much sleep do you need to be your best?

A SOLID, UNINTERRUPTED EIGHT HOURS… BUT WITH TWO DOGS…

Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?

MY FIFTH GRADE TEACHER POESY BARLOW.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

GOOD, SOLID SALES

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?

MY LATEST BOOK WHICH HAS JUST BEEN TURNED OVER TO MY AGENT IS CALLED “THE REACH” (WORKING TITLE). IT’S A REWRITE OF A BOOK I DID ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO. I USED TO WORK ON BOATS AS PROFESSIONAL CREW. I SAILED BOATS ALL OVER THE GLOBE. DURING THE TIMES OFF-SHORE MANY, MANY SPOOKY THINGS WOULD OCCUR. SO MANY SO THAT AT ONE POINT I THOUGHT, “IF GHOSTS CAN HAUNT HOUSES, WHY NOT THE OCEAN, ESPECIALLY THE OCEAN?”

If you could have a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive, who would you ask?

E.B. WHITE, GREGORY PECK, KATHERINE HEPBURN, THE BEATLES, KATHERINE DENEUVE, FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT

When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?

READING, OUTSIDE WATCHING NATURE, CLASSIS MOVIES

Do you have any tips on how writers can relax?

GO FOR LONG WALKS IN THE COUNTRY. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THAT THAT’S LARGER THAN YOU AND YOUR TROUBLES. PLAY WITH CHILDREN AND PUPPIES.

How often do you write? And when do you write?

I TRY TO WRITE EVERY DAY STARTING AROUND 10:30 IN THE MORNING UNTIL AROUND 1:00 P.M. NOTICE I SAID “TRY”.

Do you have an organized process or tips for writing well? Do you have a writing schedule?

GO FULL BORE ON THE FIRST DRAFT. DON’T ANALYZE, DON’T EDIT IN YOUR MIND, DON’T LISTEN TO THAT LITTLE DEVIL ON YOUR LEFT SHOULDER TELLING YOU THAT YOU HAVE NO TALENT AND THAT OTHER PROFESSION BECKON.

Have you met any people in the industry who have really helped you?

NOT FACT TO FACE AS MUCH AS THINGS LIKE THIS; READING ABOUT WHAT OTHER WRITERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THEIR LIVES AND STRUGGLES.

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?

I PRAY THAT MY WORDS REACH NEVER BEFORE FELT FEELINGS. I AM ALSO A DOCUMENTARIAN AND MY GOAL EVERY TIME I PRODUCE A FILM IS TO HAVE THE AUDIENCE SIT IN THEIR SEATS FOR A FEW MINUTES AFTER THE FILM HAS ENDED SAYING QUIETLY, “I NEVER KNEW THAT.’

( TO WATCH THE OFFICIAL HD TEASER FOR “The Other Side of The Ice” [book and documentary] PLEASE GO TO: VIMEO.COM/45526226)

A sailor and his family’s harrowing and inspiring story of their attempt to sail the treacherous Northwest Passage.

Sprague Theobald, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and expert sailor with over 40,000 offshore miles under his belt, always considered the Northwest Passage–the sea route connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific–the ultimate uncharted territory. Since Roald Amundsen completed the first successful crossing of the fabled Northwest Passage in 1906, only twenty-four pleasure craft have followed in his wake. Many more people have gone into space than have traversed the Passage, and a staggering number have died trying. From his home port of Newport, Rhode Island, through the Passage and around Alaska to Seattle, it would be an 8,500-mile trek filled with constant danger from ice, polar bears, and severe weather.

What Theobald couldn’t have known was just how life-changing his journey through the Passage would be. Reuniting his children and stepchildren after a bad divorce more than fifteen years earlier, the family embarks with unanswered questions, untold hurts, and unspoken mistrusts hanging over their heads. Unrelenting cold, hungry polar bears, and a haunting landscape littered with sobering artifacts from the tragic Franklin Expedition of 1845, as well as personality clashes that threaten to tear the crew apart, make The Other Side of the Ice a harrowing story of survival, adventure, and, ultimately, redemption.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Memoir, adventure, family, climate

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Sprague Theobald on Facebook & Twitter

Website www.spraguetheobald.com

After the much-needed bath, Dantes puts on his dressing gown and lies down on his old bed, which he finds deeply comforting. He has played and traveled hard over the past few busy years, and he knows it has worn on him; there is more silver in his hair than before. He hopes to slow down soon, for he loves his new home with his family close by and misses them terribly. The sweet, baby faces of his daughters loom in the darkness of his closed eyes. How blessed he is! He resolves to enjoy Paris while he is here, though. He wants to go to the opera while he is in town and also visit a few of his favorite haunts. Finally, he falls fast asleep, only to awaken to a servant telling him the meal is nearly ready.

The servant helps Dantes dress and leads him to the dining room.

“The table looks divine,” Dantes says, thinking how nice it is to be out of his traveling clothes and into something more refined. He looks at the spread before him—fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as two huge pheasants with mint jelly. The yeasty smell of homemade bread fills the air and makes his mouth water.

“I hope this pleases you, sir,” Valentine tells him. “I know the food in America is quite different. Perhaps you have become too accustomed to their fare to appreciate ours.”

“Oh, nothing can compare to a good French meal, although American food has its own charms. When the baby is old enough to travel, you will all have to visit my estate in Georgia. It’s a different world, but one I believe you will enjoy,” Dantes tells them.
Just then, he hears the creak of a wheelchair. In comes M. Noirtier. Dantes rushes over to him and bids him hello.

“My old friend!” he says. “My heart fills with joy to see you—let us enjoy this magnificent feast as well as one another’s company.”

The next morning, Dantes plans to visit more of his old friends, at least those who still reside in Paris. A carriage awaits him in the hazy light of dawn, and he is flooded with memories as he drives through the streets. He wishes Mercedes and Haydee could be at his side, but knows his daughters are far too young for such travel; it would exhaust them.