Noteworthy mentions

Problogger – 20 Bloggers to Watch in 2012

Torre will be one of the writers that will really stand out over the coming years.

National Geographic Traveller UK – Show me the money

Like many travellers, Torre DeRoche started her blog as a modern-day equivalent of the postcard home. She’d decided to sail across the Pacific with an Argentinean boyfriend her parents had never met and figured a regularly updated blog would put their minds — at least partially — at ease.

Publications

The Atlantic – Facing Your Fears: One Woman Sails Around the World for Love
An excerpt from Swept: Love with a Chance of Drowning. 

Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine – Surviving the Worst Case Scenario
Learning to deal with nightmare scenarios in the Wilderness First Responder Course.

Book Reviews

Please note: these reviews are for the self-published version of my book released in 2011, titled Swept: Love with a Chance of Drowning. This book is no longer available. It was purchased by publishers and it will be rereleased in 2013 by Hyperion, Penguin and Summersdale under the new title Love with a Change of Drowning. Read more here: My Journey: Self-Published To Big Publishing Deal

sailing.about.com / Tom Lochhaas – Book Review

It’s hard to believe this is DeRoche’s first book, as she has all the feel of an accomplished, seasoned writer – yet with the freshness and energy of a young novelist committed to her craft.

GoNomad – The Perils of Loving a Free Spirit

Swept is for dreamers, free spirits, lovers, travelers and those with fears to conquer. It reminds us that sometimes we must dare to lose sight of the shore.

Essential Travel – Swept up in Swept

DeRoche is charming, frank, philosophical and utterly hilarious in equal measure. With her writing, she does what countless new authors fail to do – make it appear effortless.

Women and Cruising – Book review

Decades ago, sailing sagas were told by weathered men sailing solo on distant seas; today they are told by the women convinced to go along.

Normandie Ward Fischer, Executive Editor at Wayside Press – A book I wish I had published

Torre DeRoche had me grinning and laughing and disrupting Michael’s peace with a, “Listen to this,” repeated more times than he liked. The woman can write. Her sense of the ridiculous bridges the generations. I caught myself thinking, Oh, glory, but I’ve been there, even when Torre’s stories involved coping with terra firma.

What’s Dave Doing – Review: Swept – Love with a Chance of Drowning

Turning the pages felt like nothing so much as sitting in a cafe having a chat about life with a hilarious, slightly off-beat friend.  I swear I could almost taste the salt spray on my lips as Amazing Grace battled through the swells, and feel the elation as a whale danced alongside the boat in a deserted bay.

Denis Pulis of The Art of Slow Travel – Swept: Love with a Chance of Drowning – An intimate review for an intimate book

Torre DeRoche’s book is the best travel memoir I have ever read, hands down, and in my humble opinion, it deserves to become the next big book in the travel writing community. I wish I could wipe my memory clean just so I could start reading the book again with a fresh mind.

Nick O’Kelly, Author of Get Her On Board – A review

Swept is a testament to the rewards that await even the most trepidatious sailor, and may send you untying the dock lines whether you’re “ready” or not. When you’re finished, you’ll understand why the salty sailors say, ‘just go.’

Danny Bent, Author of You’ve Gone Too Far This Time, Sir! – A review

Torre DeRoche is a lady who never grew out of her childhood fears. Faced with the monsters that constantly torment the inner sanctuaries of her mind, her natural reaction is to dive under the duvet, and hide. 

The Rhythm Method – Swept: Love with a Chance of Drowning (Review)

Swept reads like a film: it’s strong on visuals, and fast-paced. This should come as no surprise, as DeRoche is the daughter of Californian born, Australian script writer, Everett DeRoche. It would seem storytelling runs in the family. 

Interviews

Podcast with Natalie Sisson of The Suitcase Entrepreneur – Falling in love, sailing the world, and becoming an in-demand author.

Dina Santorelli – Meet Torre DeRoche

Essential Travel – Interview with the author of Swept

Down-to-earth, friendly and exuberant in true Aussie fashion, Torre shows travellers what it takes to leave a comfortable life behind in favour of living the adventure and sea sickness. Get to know this talented writer, graphic designer, fearful sailor and reluctant romantic by reading on…

So Many Places – Interview

I first discovered Torre DeRoche when she left a comment on this blog referring to a trip she took sailing the Pacific with a handsome man she met in a bar (okay, maybe I added the handsome part, check out the photos!).

Alexis Grant – Q&A: Overcoming Your Fears with Torre DeRoche

We talk a lot on this blog about following dreams, and that’s exactly what Torre DeRoche blogs about at The Fearful Adventurer. The Aussie also writes about facing her fears and the process of publishing her first book, which makes her a pretty perfect fit for an author Q&A here.”

Denis Pulis of The Art of Slow Travel – An intimate review for an intimate book

And when I finished the book, I couldn’t help myself. I asked Torre if she’d give an interview here on The Art of Slow Travel, and she agreed. Here it is …

Guest posts

Beyond Limits Magazine – Crazy Made Me Crazy: one woman sails off into the sunset for love
When I tell people that I sailed for two years on a small boat across the Pacific ocean, they assume I’m some kind of fearless adventurer. I must scoff at storms, laugh at seasickness, and eat cans of spinach for breakfast.  

Daniel Martine Extreme – Where I’d Rather Be On Monday: Toau
Torre DeRoche is the author of a memoir, Swept-Love With A Chance Of Drowning, about how, at 26, she traded her city life of friends, career and fashion for a world of seasickness, storms and terror. Petrified of the ocean, she didn’t do it for love of adventure, but love had something to do with it…

Mentions

101 Holidays Blog – 15 Best Travel Blogs to Follow in 2012
Torre is open about her nervousness and this gives her blog a unique theme and perspective. She’s an engaging writer who knows how to be funny but doesn’t let humour detract from her point about the place she’s describing.

My Destination – #TAFTA: Epic Ocean Explorer
Set sail with us as we go fishing for a first-rate sea-bound adventurer whose love of the ocean simply can’t be breached and have a whale of a time as we whistle aboard our brand new winner… The Fearful Adventurer.

Non-conformity seeker – Write-up on Offbeat Girl
“Torre DeRoche claims that she is a fearful girl. Her phobias include heights, water, the dark, and the list goes on. While she is still frightened of many things, her life is nowhere near boring. Her story is one that combines love and overcoming her fears. It sounds like a fairytale, and that what makes her so unconventional.”

Washington Flyer –  Best Travel Blogs of 2011
“Read about Torre DeRoche as she conquers her fear of, well, everything, as she travels to different far-reaching locations in this refreshingly honest travel blog. Our favorite post: “Stung By Sea Urchins” a humorous story of some painful stings.”

Cordelia Calls it Quits – Love Links
Every Friday, I share my favorite reads from around the blogosphere over the past week. Enjoy!

The Art of Audacity – It All Changes In An Instant (or Why I’m Riding a Motorcycle Across Asia)
So, I take inspiration from these shining examples of spontaneous adventure: Torre was spontaneous when she decided to sail across the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious man she just met in a bar, despite having a mortal fear of water.

Alexis Grant – Writers’ Roundup: July 8
Loved this post enough to subscribe to Torre DeRoche’s blog: What happens when your once-in-a-lifetime adventure is over? (Me chiming in: You figure out how to have another!)

Katie Going Global – Blogs that I’m loving right now
Torre writes about facing fears and following dreams. I just found her blog through Twitter, but I am totally hooked.

20 Something Travel – Best of the Blogosphere: July 2011
What Happens When Your Once in a Lifetime Adventure is Over?- The Fearful Adventurer- So you plan this great big trip and you have an amazing time and then you come home and… now what?

Dangerous Business – Best Blogs of the Week & What in the World?
Normally, I only profile single posts in this section. But Torre over at Fearful Adventurer had a great idea over the past week or so, and posted a series of stories by guest writers about some of their scariest travel moments (Kate’s story would fit right in!). All of these stories were great, and well-worth a read. Some were funny (like “Saved by Hulk Hogan”), while others were pretty terrifying (like “Wave Goodbye”). Check them out.

Never Niche – Jiffy Snippets
Fearful Adventurer – The Trouble with Blogging – I read (and enjoy) a lot of blogs but rarely does my facial expression change when I’m reading. This post made me smile from ear to ear, and I don’t even like the Black Eyed Peas! I feel the same way.

La Vie Toni – Good reads
I was thrilled to discover The Fearful Adventurer since I, too, am “rife with phobias, fears, and anxieties”. This piece about a mother’s love and support of her daughter is beautiful though.

The Epic Adventurer – Holy sh*t I’m Going To Die
Torre over at The Fearful Adventurer (clearly, my soulmate) has an awesome series titled “Holy Shit, I’m Going to Die!”  It’s a collection of people’s travel stories where they, well, thought they were going to die.  Long story short, I am featured up there with my stressful night on Sinai last year… check it out (and the rest of Torre’s posts, because it’s an awesome resource) at The Fearful Adventurer!

Working Traveller – The Twitter 10: August 2011
What Happens When Your Once-in-a-Lifetime Adventure is Over? Have sex with midgets but don’t get married to a sweaty faced drunkard is Torre’s advice.

Travel Bloggy Awards – Best Newcomer to Travel Blogging
Travel Blogging is relatively easy to enter, yet rather hard to do well. These are the finalist for Best Newcomer to Travel Blogging, as voted for by the community. Check them out, there are some great blogs!

Musings of an Abstract Aucklander – Link Love
Fantastic stuff. Fearful Adventurer on what to do when people don’t support your dreams, plus some awesome graphics.

Alexis Grant – How Bartering Can Help Your Business
I reached out to online friend Torre DeRoche … A damn good designer, it turns out.