Camino Chronicle Articles and Press Releases:

OVERVIEW: Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago by Susan Alcorn

Shepherd Canyon Books
 25 Southwood Ct. Oakland, CA 94611
e-mail: backpack45 at yahoo dot com
www.backpack45.com
(510) 339-3441/(866) 219-8260

Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago weaves together the background information – the rich history and the cultural setting – of Spain with the modern experience of hiking the Camino. In September 2001, the author and her husband Ralph set out to walk across Northern Spain on an ancient trail called the Camino de Santiago.

Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago transports readers along the Camino on this historic route. Five hundred miles stretches before them as they set out from Roncesvalles, a small village in the Pyrenees; travel through the rolling hills of Navarre and Rioja, covered with sweet grapes; hike across the flat, stark, and hot meseta, described as "nine months of winter, and three months of Hell"; travel over the Cantabrian mountain ranges; and enter the verdant, oft-rainy ridges and valleys of Galicia.

There the pilgrims reach their final destination, the holy city of Compostela de Santiago, where the remains of the disciple St. James are buried. In so doing, they have followed in the footsteps of such historic figures as Charlemagne, St. Francis of Assisi, Dante, Chaucer, and King Fernando and Queen Isabel as well as millions of lesser-known pilgrims.

"Susan Alcorn’s engaging and well-written narrative carries readers along the Camino with her and her husband, Ralph, on their adventure. Also rich in the history and mythology of the Camino, the book leaves armchair readers longing to pop right through the page into Spain to take the trip themselves!"

Susan generously shares her experience with … long treks; the book is a valuable source of information for anyone contemplating such a trip." –Kathy Morey, author or co-author, Sierra North; Sierra South; Hot Showers, Soft Beds, and Day Hikes in the Sierra; Guide to the John Muir Trail, and four guides to each of the four major Hawaiian Islands (Wilderness Press, Berkeley, Calif.)

"Put on a good pair of shoes and join Susan Alcorn on the Camino de Santiago. Susan’s wonderful mix of narrative, journal entries, and travelogue are marvelous reading…and will have you thinking, ‘Hmm, I wonder if I could do this." Melanie Rigney, "editor for you."

Author Interviews:

http://contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_6001369

http://www.trailcast.org/programs/56

Press Releases:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susan Alcorn @ Shepherd Canyon Books
25 Southwood Ct., Oakland, CA 94611
e-mail:backpack45 (at) yahoo.com
(510) 339-3441/(866) 219-8260
www.backpack45.com

Finalist Benjamin Franklin Award
Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago by Susan Alcorn

Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago Named as Finalist in the 22nd Benjamin Franklin Award™ from PMA, the Independent Books Publishers Association, in Recognition of Excellence in Independent Publishing.

PMA recently honored the best books and marketing programs in 53 categories at the annual Benjamin Franklin Awards handed out in New York City on May 31, 2007, one day prior to the annual Books Expo America conference.

Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago, (ISBN 978-0-936034-03-4, $14.95, May 2006) was named one of three finalists in the category of "Best Travel Essay." Camino Chronicle focuses on the ancient pilgrimage trail across northern Spain known as the Camino de Santiago. As one reviewer wrote about Camino Chronicle:

"This highly personal account is interwoven with a sketch of the bloodstained history of the Camino from the beheading of St. James and his miraculous appearance to lead the Christian Reconquest of Spain from the Muslim's, earning him the ignominious title - 'Slayer of the Moors'. In between we have glimpses of yet more massacres of Charlemagne and Roland, the Inquisition, the Spanish civil war, Guernica, the ETA, the Madrid train bombing. Midway through the pilgrimage comes 9/11 and the agony of this American struggling to come to terms with this latest atrocity and the seemingly endless cycle of violence." John Brierley, author of A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago.

In September 2001, when the author and her husband set out on their own pilgrimage, they followed in the footsteps of such historic figures as Charlemagne, St. Francis of Assisi, King Fernando and Queen Isabel as well as millions of lesser-known pilgrims.

Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago combines the author's account of her nearly 500-mile walk with glimpses of contemporary culture and with legends from ancient times. Line drawings of regions, 24 b & w photos, bibliography, charts with pilgrim statistics, trip-planning lists are included.

About the Benjamin Franklin Awards™: Judged by a panel of book industry experts including buyers at wholesale and retail levels, librarians, book critics, design experts and independent publishing consultants, these books have been scrutinized by individuals involved in the very markets in which the books are competing.

About PMA: PMA with more than 4,200 members, is the largest non-profit trade association representing independent publishers. For a complete listing of finalists and to view the award winners, check out the PMA website at www.pma-online.org

How to order Camino Chronicle:

Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago by Susan Alcorn can be ordered from: Shepherd Canyon Books (866-219-8260).

ISBN #10: 0-936034-03-3/ISBN #13: 978-0-936034-03-4

256 pages, 24 b & w photos, appendix, 5-page index, bibliography, regional outline maps.

Publication date: June 15, 2006 $14.95 retail (dealer rate sheet upon request).

Media Kit with cover photos, author bio, etc at www.backpack45.com/presskit.html

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