What inspired you to write your memoir?
In 2011, at age sixty-one, I took my first long walk, The Camino de Santiago. This 500-mile pilgrimage in northern Spain is a European Cultural Itinerary known as The Way or The Way of Saint James. As I walked, I talked with other female pilgrims (hikers). Their stories were amazing. My book is about my journey and the conversations I had with these incredible women.
About your Book:
Women of the Way: Embracing the Camino is a heartfelt and personal recounting of Jane
Blanchard’s 500- mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. Learn how she prepared for the trek, the daily rituals in long-distance walking, the camaraderie and conversations with women she met along the way, the personal changes, and the beauty and appeal of the most popular of all the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino Francés.
How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
One day early on the Camino, I had a conversation with a French woman and realized that hers, like many other female pilgrims, was an amazing story that others might want to hear. That evening, I tried to write up the conversation and realized that my interpretation of her French and my impressions of what she said was clouding what she actually said. I then recorded the conversations and transcribed in my book.
As a new writer, I did not even consider traditional publishing. I first published the book on CreateSpace on June 25, 2011, and then on Amazon. It is now available on most online book outlets
How do you see writing a Memoir as different from writing other genres of books?
Memoir writers have to be gutsy when revealing personal stories and impressions of life’s incidents. Writers of other genres can mask their personal stories and commentaries on life through characters in the book; they do not need to be as daring in exposing themselves as is the memoir writer.
Author Bio:
I am an author, public speaker, and blogger. I was born in Hartford, Connecticut, lived in Hampstead, New Hampshire, twenty-three years before moving to Sarasota, Florida, where I now reside. In Florida, I became active in several organizations benefiting women and hosted a weekly radio talk show, Women Matters.
I love the outdoors. I climbed my first mountain, Mount Washington, in 1974. Since that initial ascent, I have climbed twenty of the forty 4,000-foot mountains in New England. I started mountain bike racing at age 50; in 2002, I won second place in the Masters Division EFTA (Eastern Fat Tire Association) Championship Series.
In September and October 2011 and at 60 years old, I took my first long walk–the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain. As I walked, I talked with women from different nations. The book, Women of the Way, weaves these conversations with my journey.
This is my first non-technical book, combining my skills as a technical writer with my passion for women and women matters.
When I married Dennis in 1974, we joked about creating a lifetime of memories to chat about when sitting in our rockers in old age. At 61 years old, we are still creating memories, experiencing life as fully as possible, and looking forward to a long future.
Website(s)
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Link To Book On Amazon
Link to Book on Barnes and Noble
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Your Social Media Links
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15732486-women-of-the-way
http://www.facebook.com/womenoftheway
https://twitter.com/JaneVBlanchard
http://pinterest.com/janevblanchard/