The Railway Carriage

Bertrams, the well-known book wholesaler in the U.K. are also holding some stock of my book so that any orders from other Spanish bookshops can be filled quickly by them.

Haven’t heard back from the Spanish publisher in Barcelona yet as to whether they are interested in translating it into Spanish. Still holding thumbs.

In late May I am going to Spain to introduce Buen Camino to the bookshops along the trail. Hopefully I will get many orders,  as this year they are celebrating a Holy Year along the Camino as St. James’ birthday falls on a Sunday. It is said that if you complete the trail in this Holy Year then all your sins will be forgiven. As you can imagine, the numbers of pilgrims walking the trail are expected to double so perhaps there will interest  in my Camino book. We are also going to hike in the Atlas mountains in Morocco afterwards which should be exciting!

I now have an ending for my new book. I am writing it for my sister who is courageously undergoing her second bout of chemotherapy at the moment; for it is her story. No matter how nail bitingly good the narrative may be, a story without a satisfactory ending is useless. I have been struggling with my ending for a while now and somehow, on the boat, during some interesting brainstorming sessions, everything came together and I have one which I feel will be a good conclusion for all my characters. This genre I am writing in, the supernatural, is not one I have attempted before and my research is taking me into realms I have never before explored. It is all very exciting and I am learning heaps about all sorts of – well, supernatural things, I suppose. This is my third attempt at telling this tale; the previous two faltered and died because I did not have the right balance between the real and the supernatural worlds. The trick I have discovered is that when one has created a world of magic one has to remain entirely in that world and not contaminate it with one’s own reality, or the magic is instantaneously lost. I am finding this quite a challenge but am enjoying the process. I hope this time, especially now that I know to what ending I am progressing, I will get it right. Third time lucky!

I have resolved to write a bit every day come what may so that when my sister has recovered from this round of chemo she will have her story to read.

I was impressed by Carroll’s comment about Ana’s early sexual abuse. She says, ” – it made me wonder if it is ethical to write so candidly about how a father entices his daughter into sex. Making it into a game at first is probably the way most of them do it.”

Unfortunately this is true, which is why so many, many women are sexually abused and are left struggling with the aftermath of such abuse. One of my goals has long been to write this novel for it is meant to inspire women to stop blaming themselves for what happened in the past and be able to find peace and self acceptance. It seems there are many people out there who want to read about what Carroll calls, “A journey for body and soul.”

Below is the review in full.

New Zealand Herald Canvas Book Review 12th December 20

A JOURNEY FOR BODY AND SOUL

What inspires people, usually those well into middle age, to turn into pilgrims prepared to walk for weeks, day after day, rainstorm or sunshine, never knowing for sure where they’re going to stop, eat or sleep? Many of these pilgrims seem to be driven by spiritual rather than religious beliefs.

Many don’t seem to be especially troubled. And hardly any of them are spectacularly fit. So ! What entices them to take precious months off work to walk the 764km Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across Spain? And what do they hope to get out of the experience?
Auckland writer Thea Hughes’ novel, written like a great walk itself, puts an end to all those questions. A first-time novelist, she writes with verve and enough plot to keep you whipping through the pages. You learn that the Camino is no lyrical walk in the countryside. It’s long as hell. Although much
of the route is picturesque, pilgrims frequently share the roads with exhaust belching trucks and buses. Most of their fellow travellers don’t speak the same language. The way ahead entails crowds, mountains, rain storms, hard beds and unexpectedly locked refugios (the pilgrim-style backpacker hotels most rely. on). Sometimes there’s nowhere to buy dinner. Many nights people are so exhausted they can’t eat anyway.
And the secret that makes it all do-able, and worthwhile? Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and let the stress of everyday life melt away.
Thea Hughes lets her travellers explain: “I think el Camino’s greatest gift is to teach pilgrims how to live humbly;” says one. Another chimes in about learning about life’s choices: working out what’s important;
learning to decide to make your life either complex or simple. Alongside the homespun philosophy -;- thankfully not much of it – is the tough counterpoint of this narrative. It is also, I suspect, the core of what’s important about the Camino: most people who do it have a grief or challenge they’re trying to come to grips with. For Ana, our heroine, the dark side is the early sexual abuse that makes her distrust life in general and men in particular.
Her parallel story is told sparsely, yet so believably, it made me wonder if it is ethical to write so candidly about how a father entices his young daughter into sex. Making it into a game at first is probably the way most of them do it.
Poor Ana.
But most of the time Buen Camino meanders on, in many ways resembling the great pilgrimage it describes. Small but significant events occur, people become kinder. They look after each other, overcome their demons and, as the walk continues, get fitter and have more fun. Ana’s relationship with her walking companion is unlikely. She’s 30; he’s much older and his Alzheimer’s disease gets worse as they walk on. The fact that he’s so unsuitable is the only reason she allows herself, little by little, to rely on him. And likewise, Hughes lets the everyday details of life on the Camino build, over its 250-odd pages, into a strangely satisfying novel. Buen Camino: Beyond the Journey not only answers my question: “What on Earth do they get out of it?” but also provides
a fascinating example of why, as Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive’: @ Carroll du Chateau is an Auckland reviewer.

Many books were sold and now there will be so many more people out there in the community who can tell others about Buen Camino.