And he would if he could but Stu can’t write—at least not romance novels.

For years Stu has paid a “Holy Ghostwriter” on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to craft his manuscripts, but now Hattie May Hall has lost that loving feeling and feels God calling her to write paranormal Amish thrillers with an evangelical message woven into “End Times” sci-fi. With a looming deadline and no hope of learning how to write a novel in two weeks, Stu finds himself falling for Kate Winston, a women’s self-defense rep selling products that repel men.

Kate instantly becomes Stu’s source of inspiration but is his sudden affection for her real or, like everything else about Stu, fake.

As the clock ticks closer to midnight, an unlikely pair of hearts collide, providing a “shocking” climax to a love story that was never meant to be and yet … is.

Summers’ Love will make you laugh, but keep a tissue close by. ~ Eva Marie Everson, Best-selling & Award-winning Author

Fun and clever, with a new twist every few pages that I didn’t see coming. ~ Christy award-winning author, Ann Tatlock

Amazon |

Hard Aground with Eddie Jones 

The year I turned thirty my wife became pregnant with our first child. That was on me; I take full responsibility. I was warned by others–men, mostly–that my wife was about to change.

Wait, what I meant to say is that MY LIFE WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE.

My wife also changed, but I have learned to never comment on my wife’s physical appearance or emotional state, so forget I even mentioned it. The point is (I know there is one here someplace) if I was going to hang onto my dreams and youth and vigor I had to act fast.

So I bought a boat.

It was a small thing, a ComPac 16. Our tiny kitchen was bigger. I found this used ComPac 16 through a classified ad in a boating magazine. This was before Al Gore invented the Internet. I talked my dad into riding with me to Charleston, South Carolina to pick up my boat. I also talked Dad into driving. (He had a car with a trailer hitch.)

I did not tell my wife I was going to buy a boat.

I paid a little under $4000 for my yacht which, at the time, seemed like a good price for such a fine vessel. Thankfully Dad had the good sense to check the wheel bearings on the trailer before we drove off. Turns out that was the first boating lesson I ever learned: always bring along crew who are smarter, stronger, and if possible, have more money than you.

I parked my yacht in the backyard of our home and there it sat until our son was born four months later. I wasn’t about to take my pregnant wife sailing or leave my pregnant wife home while I went sailing.

So . . . the next thirty-some years our family sailed the coastal waters of North Carolina, the Bahamas, and the Keys on a variety of vessels. We sailed out of New Bern until I planted our next “yacht” atop the canoe dock at Camp Don Lee. After “we re-launched” that little Nimble 20 (a bunch of us jumped up and down on the dock until it broke), I limped into Oriental, NC, and pretty much sailed out of there for the rest of my sailing career. Back then Oriental was a colorful, little town with quirky, colorful characters — most of whom suffered from some serious sailing addictions. Once I bought my wife sailing lessons for her birthday. To my knowledge, that was the only time any of our family ever received any formal boating training.

But boy did we learn some stuff on boats.

Not long ago my two boys were invited to go with friends to the BVIs on a week-long sailing charter. Since they were two of four participants who had ever actually raised a sail, they were put in charge of one of the yachts. When they got home they thanked me. Turns out all those sailing mistakes our family suffered due to my navigational ineptness had actually taught them how to do things the right way. (“Don’t do what Dad did, do the opposite.”)

If you buy this book and read even half of it, perhaps you too, can learn from my mistakes, laugh a little, and be thankful you don’t own a boat. But should you find yourself wanting a boat, my advice to you would be: BUY ONE! A boat, no matter its costs, is almost always cheaper than couple’s therapy, marriage counseling, or a horse. Plus, one day you’ll get to sell or sink the sucker and you’ll find that day is another reason to celebrate having once owned a boat.

This is the 1st volume in this series and covers the years when we sailed on small yachts. (A “yacht” is any boat I cannot afford. These stories first appeared in Carolina Cruising Magazine and later Coastal Cruising Magazine. For a time Hard Aground with Eddie was a popular column. But then, Al Gore invented the Internet and that put an end to regional magazines supported by print ads. Hope you enjoy the book. – EJ

Amazon | Booksamillion | Barnes & Noble | Walmart | Bookshop

Hard Aground, Again

Dear POTENTIAL BOAT OWNER: I offer the letter below as a warning. Boat ownership is not nearly as easy as Jimmy Buffett makes it out to be. Beer helps. Money helps more.

“Thank you for your recent inquiry as to the availability of the Fit 2B Untied. I’ll be honest: I had no idea anyone would ever be interested in this boat. Especially in this economy. But knowing how a man in your position would hate to pass up a good deal, I charged ahead and drafted your checking account the full asking price for this perfect yacht. I’ve texted you a picture. As you can see, she’s a classic. Or was. (More on this, later.)

“I originally thought $39,000 sounded a little high for a 27-foot boat in this condition, but the man at the salvage yard assured me that was a fair price. The fact they don’t make this model anymore concerned me at first. I thought maybe the design had fallen out of favor, but my contact explained that it had something to do with lawsuits and actuaries. Anyway, when I heard that, I began to feel better.

“Now, knowing how a person of your stature likes to have things done right, you’ll be interested in the information I managed to gather about the engine.

“First, you’ll be pleased to know we were able to knock the rust off the engine block and find the serial number. We traced it back and found that it WAS NOT originally a diesel engine. I must say I was surprised. It sure smelled and leaked oil like a diesel engine. My contact at the salvage yard said the engine could probably be converted back to gasoline, if you like, making it as good as new. Knowing how important it is to move fast with these projects, I went ahead and drafted your account the $8900 fee so the men on the yard could get started.

“About the boat itself. Who would have thought that for that price it would have a big hole in it?

“It sure caught me by surprise, I’ll tell you that. I didn’t even notice how low she rode in the water until we did the sea trial. The two of us barely escaped before she sank.

“By the way, after the sea trial, the man working on the engine restoration project must have gotten sick or something because I haven’t seen him since I gave him the money I drafted out of your account.

“Oh, here’s some more good news. I ran into an engineer from Ukraine who said he could refit your boat for $22,500. He said he used to work for the Russian Navy before he retired to the States. His last retrofit was that submarine, the Kursk. That’s the one that blew up and sank. But Yuri — that’s his name — said he stands behind his work. “Way behind,” I think were his exact words.

“I drafted your account for half the renovation fee because I knew, based on the sparse amenities on your yacht before it sank, that you’d want any improvements done before you saw it. I’m sure Yuri is down there in the water right now looking for your boat because I haven’t seen him since.

“One final thing.

“The salvage yard owner threw in a 5-gallon bucket of something called “boat rot” that he said would come in handy. I thought it tasted a little like Pabst, but a guy at the ship’s store said it made wood much stronger and that all wooden boats, especially ones as old as yours, kept buckets of this stuff aboard.

“P.S. There is an alternative to raising your boat if we can ever find it. I know a gal who offered to give your family scuba lessons for the low price of $7,500. If you went that route your family could enjoy your new boat right where it is. Of course, you wouldn’t be seen by as many of your yachting friends, so that’s something to keep in mind.

“I wanted to keep your options open, so I drafted another $3000 from your account for the scuba class. – Al, your yacht broker, where my motto is, ‘You’re broker today than you were yesterday.’”

2nd volume in this series and covers the years on larger boats I could not afford. – EJ

Amazon | Booksamillion | Barnes & Noble | Walmart | Bookshop

Hard Aground . . . Again: for the Navigationally Challenged and Spiritually Stuck

Noah had a hundred years to plan his first cruise and he still ran aground at the end of the passage. The Apostle Paul dreamed of harbor-hopping the coast of Italy but wrecked on a reef and had to swim ashore. Even the great and powerful Moses got stuck in the weeds of the Nile.

Running aground is nothing to be ashamed of, but staying stuck is. In Hard Aground . . . Again, boating columnist Eddie Jones turns his unique way of looking at the sailing lifestyle towards family, God, and serving others. For anyone who feels their hopes have been sitting high and dry or their dreams are all washed up, these brief meditations will help turn the tide.

With over 32 humorous essays, this book brings spiritual insight and humor into the trials and disappointments of boating, relationships and living in general. Hard Aground… Again is about getting your life unstuck and your dreams soaring again.

“A satisfying large dose of Eddie’s down-to-earth humor… along with a goodly supply of advice—some of it actually useful!” – Ted Brewer

Amazon | Booksamillion | Barnes & Noble | Walmart | Bookshop