Kevin

The Lies I Told – Geographical Liberties in My Upcoming Novel THE CAMINO CLUB

I’m just gonna come clean BEFORE the book releases, because Camino pilgrims are generally sticklers for details. My novel THE CAMINO CLUB comes out October 6th. It’s a YOUNG ADULT novel, but if other Camino pilgrims are anything like me, we tend to seek out all books on the Camino for reading material. It’s a great way to revisit the Camino from your couch. Just pick up a book set on the Camino, and we’re there again!

I took CERTAIN LIBERTIES with my telling of the journey of six juvenile delinquents, their counselors and the friends they met and collected along The Way. Any seasoned Camino peregrino/peregrina will recognize the inaccuracies as soon as they come to them. So, I’ll admit to doing it now. And I will also point out the 2 major changes I made to the route here and now!

The first liberty I took that I will admit to is the placement of CREEPY JESUS OF CACABELOS. Early on in their journey, Troy and Claire have a secret night out of wandering the town of Cacabelos. They both sneak out of their albergue (hostel) in the middle of the night and find each other in the street. To this point in the story, Claire has been sullen and mostly unapproachable. On this night, she and Troy finally connect in a semi-meaningful way. Claire takes Troy for a walk BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF TOWN where she saw a very creepy statue of Jesus and together they flip out over its sheer scary ugliness.

The thing is, that statue of our lord and savior is found at the END OF TOWN. It’s right near the exit of town on the other side…so Claire wouldn’t yet know of the statue’s existence on the night in question. They don’t pass it until the next morning as they’re leaving town. I had to re-jig the town to make it work for the story. Not only that…the Albergue de Peregrinos de la Augustina de Cacabelos or Albergue Municipal in Cacabelos is on the main road…no stream, no bridge to get there. I made significant changes and I can already hear the diehard peregrinos yelling that I don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s the fun of writing fiction…you can change geographical details to suite your story. And I did! (-:

20190915_124433 — “**Creepy Jesus of Cacabelos!**“

Creepy Jesus is found at the municipal albergue just before you leave the town of Cacabelos. Make it be known that I am the one who gave the statue this name. Mary sits over the threshold of ‘the old church’, holding her uber creepy baby-man Jesus. The albergue surrounds the church and it’s an extremely cheap place for pilgrims to stay on the Camino.

The second (but not the last) liberty I took with geography on the Camino is that of the POINTING PILGRIMS STATUE at Monte de Gozo. Monte de Gozo means HILL OF JOY and it is usually the first place on the Camino where pilgrims can catch a glimpse of the spires of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostella. The cathedral is about an hour’s hike from Monte de Gozo, and on a clear day you can just make out the church that everyone on the Camino walks toward. Monte de Gozo sports a large monument to commemorate Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It’s a bit awkward looking, but definitely worth seeing. It’s rather stunning, if a little weird.

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Off in the distance, away from the Hill of Joy, is a statue of two pilgrims pointing to Santiago de Compostella.

For my story, I physically moved these statues about 1/2 a kilometre or so, so that they were standing directly behind the monument to the Pope. The scene required all the people at the monument to be at the statues at the same time. So I simply re-jigged the geography again. Presto-Magico, the statues appear beside the monument. I know if pilgrims read my book they are going to be all aflutter about the inaccuracies. But in their hearts, I’m betting they think it’s a great idea to move those statues. When you’re racing to get that last hour in before lining up for your compostella, etc, those statues are a good deal out of the way.

They were heavy to move, but move them I did! Figuratively, if not literally. (-;

That’s just two examples of liberties I have taken to write the story the way I wanted to write it. I’m sure some great Camino sleuths will discover a few others. I would never do this if I were writing a non-fiction travel memoir. I promise. But there you have it. These are some of the lies I told in this novel.

PRE-ORDER THE CAMINO CLUB NOW!

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It’s JUST a Pandemic.Why Aren’t You Writing?

People To Everyone Else: Going through a rough patch? Finding it difficult to focus? Give yourself a break…it’s a pandemic out there. We’re all having a hard time in this new upside-down topsy-turvy world reality. There’d be something wrong with us if we weren’t.

People To Writers & Creatives: William Shakespeare wrote a little piece of work called King Lear during his lock-down in the time of the plague. You have no excuse. You have all the time in the world to write.

Anyone else getting really tired with this double standard?

Maybe worrying about catching a virus that has already taken the lives of over 207,000 puts a little stress on creativity. Maybe worrying about the compromised and/or elderly people in your life catching the same virus narrows your predisposition to creativity even a little more than does worrying about catching said virus yourself.

Maybe non-creatives (and even other creatives) need to stay in their own yards and mind their own business. We are in no great race to hand in the next KING LEAR at the end of this lock-down. We are under no obligation to create. And a lot of us also know that there are quiet times in the lives of creative types…and that we are always creating, even when it appears we are not.

Write the next Great American Novel if your heart is in it. Sure! Go ahead. Knock yourself out. But if your heart isn’t in it…just breathe. Breathe until this crisis is over. Hurray for Shakespeare! But we all live by our own rules. We all know there is a time to write and a time to not write. Check in with yourself and ask yourself if you want to put the added pressure of forced creativity into the mix of things you’re currently dealing with.

Be kind.

The Camino Club Cover and Buy Links

The cover of THE CAMINO CLUB was revealed earlier this week and I am 100% in love with it. Not only did CB Messer capture the beauty of the Milky Way in this cover, but they also nailed the Camino vibe with stamps, arrows, shells, backpacks, and footprints. This cover IS the Camino de Santiago! I could not possibly be happier!

You can head over to CB MESSER to see other gorgeous CB Messer covers and illustrations.

See the cover reveal at LGBTQ READS. There’s an excerpt from The Camino Club at the link as well: THE CAMINO CLUB COVER REVEAL AND EXCERPT AT LGBTQ READS!

Before I drop all the purchase links for places you can go to pre-order The Camino Club, I just wanted to add that the stamps in the background of this cover are the actual stamps Michael and I collected on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain last September when we walked the route to Santiago de Compostela. One of the things pilgrims do is carry a stamp book with them on their journey. They get stamps at churches, restaurants, hotels, hostels, albergues, etc…to prove that they have made the journey. Once they get to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, their stamp books are verified prior to them receiving the compostela (certificate) which states that they have walked the pilgrim’s path. MY STAMPS ARE LITERALLY ON THE COVER!!

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Here’s where you can pick up your pre-ordered copy of THE CAMINO CLUB:

THE CAMINO CLUB – After getting in trouble with the law, six wayward teens are given an ultimatum: serve time in juvenile detention for their crimes, or walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route across Spain over the summer holidays with a pair of court-appointed counselor guides. When it becomes clear the long walk isn’t really all that much of an option, they set out on a journey that will either make or break who they are and who they are to become.

USA PRE-ORDER LINK: THE CAMINO CLUB

CANADA PRE-ORDER LINK: THE CAMINO CLUB