Book fair

Marketing in New Zealand has begun. With the publication of Kiwi on the Camino: A Walk that Changed My Life, I have made so many new, wonderful friends. People have been excited to meet ‘a published author’. (I add the caveat, “a self-published author!” I continue to be amazed at, and grateful for, the interest and excitement that Kiwi on the Camino is generating.
With Bruce, I attended the CBANZ book fair in Auckland. The wholesalers and retailers present were so encouraging and supportive of me and Kiwi on the Camino. The feedback was that the book is well written. Every wholesaler present has taken copies of Kiwi on the Camino home with them and have described their promotion plan for the sale of this book.
I have learnt much about the need for a marketing plan. Writing a well-crafted book was challenging. I am so naive. I had no idea I would need to become a marketer of my book. If marketing is about forming relationships, then I am happy to learn how to market my book. I believe in relationships. The heart of life is relationship. I have now spent three days forming new relationships, face to face, with people who run bookshops. I have had serious conversations with these pros – and they have given me so many words of wisdom. Thank you. A few of these generous folk took me aside to give me tips about marketing Kiwi on the Camino. Why did they expend the energy and time to do so? One of them said to me, “it is because you are a good writer.” How humbling to have such positive and encouraging feedback.
For those of you who may be interested in how I thought and approached my writing, I have a blog on BalboaPress, the self-publishing company which helped me turn my dream into becoming a published author, a reality. If you go to http://www.balboapress.com and hit the ‘blog’ button, my blog will come up. In this blog I talk about my publishing journey.
I have not posted photos on this blog site. At the moment I am loading photos onto my facebook site. Please visit my public facebook site – vivianneflintoffbooks

Buen Camino

Home again

John O’Donohue in ‘anam cara’ writes that we obtain most of our knowledge through our senses. The emotional realisation of my home coming came when I stepped out of our car at our breakfast stop at The Corner Cafe on the Hauraki Plains, on the way home from the airport. I smelt the salt air. How invigorating and beautiful it was. I had not yet glimpsed the Hauraki Gulf, but I knew I was home.
August is a busy month with three book launches, two in Hamilton – August 20 after the 9.45 a.m. service at the Cathedral of ST Peter; August 24 at 5 p.m. at the Cathedral of St Peter and August 31 at Christ Church Coromandel also at 5 p.m. There is also the CBANZ book fair August 15-17 at the Indian Christian Centre, East Tamaki. These are all exciting events to be looking forward to and participating in.
My challenge is to hold on to the hope for living my life simply and slowly. The simply is less of a challenge, I think, for our home in the ‘wooden tent’ among the bush overlooking the harbour facilitates living life close to the land and sea. I have just finished reading Erin Loechner’s ‘Chasing Slow’ and that book title resonates with me. I continue to hold close to the principles of pilgrimage in my daily life. Being more mindful of myself in the moment and of where I am in the moment. I think an important aspect of living slowly and simply is of being grateful; to be grateful for each breath and to trust that my needs are being met.
As I think of the events up ahead, of catching up with family and friends and of introducing people to ‘Kiwi on the Camino’, I am grateful for the time I have had to write this book and the many new friends I am making because of the book.
Buen CAmino.

publication of my first book

This is the post excerpt.

This is my first blog since the publication of my book KIWI ON THE CAMINO: A Walk that Changed My Life. It is listed on BalboaPress.com and Amazon.com (also Amazon.ca). An e-book will soon be available.

The book is about the 900 kilometre (500 miles) journey I undertook, with my husband in 2014, along the medieval pilgrimage trails of the Camino de Santiago and the Camino Finisterre. We walked the French route from St -Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, to the sacred site of the cathedral in Santiago where it is reputed that the remains of the martyred apostle St James are laid. We then walked the remaining 100 kilometers (68 miles) to the beach at Finisterre on the Atlantic Coast where it is believed that St James’ disciples brought his de-capitated body to be buried. The journey took us seven weeks and we met interesting people, made new friends, had lots of fun and laughter, and experienced pain, hunger, thirst and distress. The walk took us over mountains and through valleys and across the great Meseta, the breadbasket of Spain. Overall, was it a great experience. Absolutely.

I have tagged the wordpress blog site “Whereisbrianna” for that blog follows our journey along the two Caminos. I came up with the Name ‘Brianna’ as a combination of my husband and my names. I no longer use that blog site, but you may be interested in having a look. My blog entries were the notes I used to create KIWI ON THE CAMINO

 

Below is a short excerpt from near the beginning of KIWI ON THE CAMINO.

“Throughout the Camino, our pace will be set by our wills, our bodies, our mental state and perhaps even by events unanticipated at the start. We will be living for seven weeks without the so called essential trappings of a contemporary western lifestyle: no television, advertising, or purchased entertainment, life stripped down to what is necessary. My life on the Camino has already become simplified to what I carry on my back, the food, shelter and drink we might need and how and where these might be found. While longing for adventure and the spiritual, mental and physical challenge of a long walk, I know I also need to step outside the complexity of contemporary life, to let go of being over-responsible, to slow down to human speed, to notice and enjoy how my five senses respond to my environment. Moving at a human speed will help me remember that it is the small things of life that are important. I need to be more fully engaged in the present moment instead of constantly thinking ahead. In so doing, I will enjoy the gift of life which my normal frenetic activity precludes. I know I want to spend most of the daylight hours outside, among nature, experiencing what is lost to me in my predominantly indoor city life. I am yearning for solitude in a physical and spiritual space where I can hear my own thoughts. I want to be able to relax into each daily decision. My Camino and pilgrimage is about letting go and becoming. In my sixtieth year, on this pilgrimage, I have the time and space to reflect upon my life, to consider what might lie ahead and how I might best live whatever length of life I have remaining to me on this precious Earth. I want to trust and have faith that my journey will unfold in the way it needs to.”

Travel well through your life

Vivianne