Welcome to our new blog page.
My Blog Posts will be about my Marine Surveying business, but also about my writing. I started out writing books about my Marine Surveying career, such as WORLD TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF A SHIP’S MARINE SURVEYOR (I worked in over 60 countries), and also an Autobiography, telling how I gained the experience to start my inspection and consulting business. You can look on Amazon to see the books I’ve written: Amazon.com : Bob Ojala
My most popular book has been SWEETWATER SAILORS, which is a collection of stories from eighteen Great Lakes sailors. I wanted my readers to know what sailors experience, and I did not want it only in my words. So, I found eighteen sailors, both active and retired, to tell me their stories. Five of those sailors are women, including the only woman Captain on an American flag, Great Lakes ore carrier. The stories are both serious and humorous, and the book includes over 160 descriptive photos of their lives.
I had some stories about my acquaintances and experiences in the marine business which had to be told in a fiction format, to protect the innocent, and maybe the guilty! So, I decided to write a series of stand-alone novels, called Blue-Collar Romances; Real Life, Real People Novels.
Each novel uses real-life drama, accidents, rescues, and other interesting details about the maritime industry, based around a fictitious marine construction company, based in Michigan. Most of the characters and events are real, and the stories have a good smattering of ROMANCE included, but this author knows when to fade to black, and let your imagination fill in the details.
My first novel is A Tugboater’s Life. It stands alone, so does NOT leave you hanging at the end.
Coming in September is The Tugboater Family, with many of the characters, some new ones, and again, the story has a proper ending, which does NOT leave you hanging:
The third novel is on the way by Christmas, called CREW’S SHIP AFFAIRS. This one has some unusual stories told by a Marine Surveyor, who strangely resembles this Author! They are also based upon real-life experiences, which I know you will enjoy!
Please check back for updates!