My Rite of Passage During the Summer of ‘76 by H. Downing Lane - Book Tour - Exclusive Excerpt - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hello, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host H. Downing Lane and his new book, “My Rite of Passage During the Summer of ‘76”!  For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with H. Downing Lane and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

My Rite of Passage During the Summer of ‘76

by H. Downing Lane

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Memoir

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

MY RITE OF PASSAGE DURING THE SUMMER OF ’76 is a riveting coming-of-age memoir about adventure on the high seas with philosophical musings that add a resonant layer of depth.

In this memoir, H. Downing Lane recalls the 25-day transatlantic sailing trip he took in 1976 as a young man, the details of the journey around Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and other locales, and reflects on its significance as a coming-of-age learning experience.

H. Downing Lane was 26 years old in 1976 when he decided to sign up for a transatlantic sailing trip into the Arctic with an accomplished captain named E. Newbold Smith. In this vivid, often exhilarating memoir, Lane draws from journal entries written during his time at sea to share an account of the remarkable voyage.

The Atlantic crossing was a 25-day affair, from Chesapeake Bay, around Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the coast of Norway. It was undertaken at a point in Lane’s life when he was feeling particularly vulnerable, as he was recovering from an accident in which he had lost an eye. He wished to “prove [his] mettle,” not to the other men aboard the boat, but to himself. As it turned out, Captain Smith was something of a kindred spirit, as he too had survived a devastating accident many years earlier. Lane provides the reader with a realistic vision of what life aboard a sailing vessel is like, from the often freezing temperatures above and below deck, to the many challenges presented by simple bodily necessities. He describes various technical aspects of working on the boat, but his language never devolves into jargon; his account is always perfectly clear and accessible.

Lane seasons the text with literary and philosophical quotes that frequently allow him to consider the greater meaning of his experience, and even of life itself. There are also numerous stunning photographs included of the boat and the various stops along the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

Early one morning at around the change of watches on the second leg of our voyage an intriguing mystery unfolded. A few of the crew noticed numerous drops of blood in the companionway and on the steps near the navigator's table. It was enough blood to raise some concern that someone may really be hurt and may not even be aware of his injury, as no one had said anything.

We took a quick poll of crew, but no one knew anything about how the blood got there. No one had witnessed anyone getting hurt. And no one was showing any visible signs of being disabled or scarred. But of course, it was entirely possible the injured party did not know he had been bleeding. In the flurry to complete a task, sometimes pain does not register right away in men. Especially or when it does, denial sometimes rears its ugly head. Especially with a great deal of machismo, pride, ego and testosterone on board Reindeer, it was even unlikely that any male on board would confess to even a scratch.

Male reluctance to admit to an injury reminds me a little of Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail when the knight protecting a bridge says "It's only a flesh wound." each time another of his arms or legs is severed from his body. Even when the bridge protector is limbless, he fails to admit his disability. Thank god we did not observe any spare limbs floating in the cockpit, on deck or floating along side!

Like a determined detective, I scoured the boat for other evidence, but to no avail. The crew determined there could only be one explanation. Process of elimination and deductive reasoning had only one conclusion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:

H. Downing Lane is a retired educator, tutoring business owner, English teacher, coach and administrator who sails in his spare time. Presently he is writing a series of books that chronicle his sailing adventures.

Born and raised on the eastern shore of Maryland, he has returned home after 40 years to write. Henry taught sailing for eight years on Long Island Sound and sailed competitively on the Chesapeake Bay, crewed transatlantic to Iceland and Norway, been a crew member of a number of Annapolis – Newport and Newport – Bermuda races and sailed much of the Caribbean and Bahamas.

In 1978, he sailed the SORC around Florida.  In 2008, he purchased Mystique, a 40′ leopard catamaran, and in 2013, he sailed it to Santo Domingo, the Turks and Cacaos and eventually to Florida.

In 2016, he sailed solo for 51 days through the Exumas. On another adventure he and Lainie Wrightson had a calamitous time together – losing both rudders – the basis of his second book, Bluewater Mystique.

He has chartered boats to sail the Dalmatian Coast, Belize, Abacos, Eleuthera and the Maine coast. While maintaining his blog www.bluewatermystique.com, he has written numerous blogs about life and sailing.

He is a dedicated learner and loves sharing his experiences and stories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH H. DOWNING LANE:

Website:

https://hdowninglane.com

Blog:

http://www.bluewatermystique.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/HenryDLane

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/hlane4200

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19509453.H_Downing_Lane

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54240426-my-rite-of-passage-during-the-summer-of-76

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/2MZKWVS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/2LVEsGW

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3pmWNdm

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/My-Rite-Passage-During-Summer/dp/0228813638

Amazon CA Hardcover:

https://www.amazon.ca/My-Rite-Passage-During-Summer/dp/0228813646

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-rite-of-passage-during-the-summer-of-76-h-downing-lane/1136878784?ean=2940164182311

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-rite-of-passage-during-the-summer-of-76-h-downing-lane/1136878784?ean=9780228813637

Barnes and Noble Hardcover:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-rite-of-passage-during-the-summer-of-76-h-downing-lane/1136878784?ean=9780228813644

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/My-Rite-Passage-During-Summer-76-H-Downing-Lane/9780228813637

The Book Depository Hardcover:

https://www.bookdepository.com/My-Rite-Passage-During-Summer-76-H-Downing-Lane/9780228813644

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/My-Rite-Passage-During-Summer/H-Downing-Lane/9780228813637

BAM! Books-A-Million Hardcover:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/My-Rite-Passage-During-Summer/H-Downing-Lane/9780228813644

Chapters Indigo CA eBook:

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/my-rite-of-passage-during/9780228813651-item.html

Kobo US eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/my-rite-of-passage-during-the-summer-of-76

Kobo CA eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/my-rite-of-passage-during-the-summer-of-76

Smashwords eBook:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1015994

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

H. Downing Lane will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.