Today is the anniversary of the release of my most successful novel, THE CAMINO CLUB.
I was obsessed with this story when I walked the Camino de Santiago back in May of 2014. I began my pilgrimage on the Camino with the kernel of an idea. I wanted to create an homage to THE BREAKFAST CLUB, but I wanted it to be fresh. Instead of a Saturday in the school library, make it a couple of weeks walking across Spain. Instead of a fully straight white cast, make it gay and diverse. I walked with these 6 characters I created in my head, and I breathed life into them with every footstep.
It was my first time walking the Camino de Santiago. I did not know what to expect, so I went with my good friend, SUE KENNEY. She had, by then, been organizing yearly group pilgrimages on a portion of the Camino. I thought I would try it on for size…to see if the Camino was really my thing.
Spoiler Alert! The Camino, as it turned out, was definitely my thing. It has since become a part of my identity. I actually dream of organizing groups of my own to do a portion of the Camino…but as a group of writers, writing and sharing our words along the way. I can envision this, but I do not, as of yet, have the bandwidth for such an endeavour. Never say never, though.
I walked that first Camino–from Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela–with my characters in mind. I built the story up along the way. This is the first time a novel came to me in this way. I didn’t write anything down, apart from a few point form notes, but I felt like it was forming in stone with every step I took.
I finished The Camino Club circa 2017/18/19…depending on what you call finished. There were tinkerings and rewrites and edits.
It was released on this day in 2020. October 6th! By Duet Books, the YA imprint of the LGBTQ+ publisher Interlude Press. Interlude was later bought by Chicago Review Press…which is why THE CAMINO CLUB‘s home is now Chicago Review Press. It’s been on a journey.
You can pick up a copy of THE CAMINO CLUB wherever books are sold! Or give your local library a shot. At last count, it was in over 3,000 libraries across North America.
I LOVE this book! I know you’re not supposed to have favourites, but of my 9 novels this is my favourite. I think because of the way it evolved…and because of the journey I went on to research it and bring it into being. The Camino de Santiago is a magical place that I want to share with EVERYONE. That’s why I wrote about it. If ONE SINGLE PERSON reads the novel and puts the Camino on their bucketlist, that’s enough for me!
Here’s the synopsis:
THE CAMINO CLUB (Duet Books/Chicago Review Press) – 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.
The Camino Club was a SILVER WINNER in the Teen Fiction category of the 33rd Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Awards!
Happy 6th Anniversary, little book of mine!
