Pilgrimage Towns and Tales: Camino France and Spain

Seventeen-year-old Ming and twenty-four-year-old Yan have very little in common other than studying at the same college. Ming, idealistic and preoccupied, lives in her own world of books, music, and imagination. Yan, by contrast, is sexy but cynical, beautiful but wild, with no sense of home. When the two meet and become friends, Ming's world is forever changed. But their differences in upbringing and ideology ultimately drive them apart, leaving each to face her dark secret alone.

Insightful, sophisticated, and rich with complex characters, February Flowers captures a society torn between tradition and modernity, dogma and freedom. It is a meditation on friendship, family, love, loss, and redemption and how a background shapes a life.

In December 1995 authors Karen and Ray Gilden found themselves on the receiving end of an offer they couldn't resist—a furnished apartment on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey for one year at just $125 a month. So they quit their jobs, sold their house and car, and flew off to Turkey with two bags each, a laptop computer and a camera.

If you've ever dreamed of ditching the rat race and taking a year off, you'll find inspiration in this charming and humorous series of essays and emails. A delightful memoir of a memorable year.

Praise from readers:

 "Having lived in Turkey for 15 of the last 17 years and considering myself a real Turkophile, I must congratulate you on the grasp and depth of insight you have about the Turkish people, their lifestyle, culture, politics, and religion. Clearly you have worked hard to know and understand them and your affection for them comes through in your writing." —Sheila N.

"I like in particular your accounts of simply living in Turkey as outsiders. You don't pretend to be sudden experts on Turkey, act better than your hosts, or play to your audience of well-fed Westerners. Rather, you come to your subject with curiosity, humility, and a sense of humor." —Sandy R.

"I want you to know how wonderful (and often hilarious) your word pictures are. Sometimes I can see the blue and feel the heat, and most importantly, bask in the luxury of having nothing more pressing to do than choose a cafe for lunch."—Deb S.

"This wonderfully written account of a year living in Turkey provides a mixture of humor, history, insight, and education, along with the Gilden's zen-like philosophy of slowing down and takin in the world around them. It was a joy to read." —Joe C.

Funny, touching, and inspiring! A book about REALLY walking the Camino de Santiago!

Perhaps it was the onset of middle-age or just too much diet cola, but in the Spring of 2010, Canadian boy, Randall St. Germain felt called to take on the 800 kilometer, or 500 mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage from St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Seriously, what ensued was a dedication to his mother, a personal challenge, and a journey of cultural and historical enlightenment. A million footsteps, and a few pounds of gauze and tape later, he arrived in Santiago de Compostela, with a better understanding of himself -- and a newfound familiarity with snoring and flatulent pilgrims!

Join St. Germain on his adventure in Camino de Santiago In 20 Days, an irreverently chuckle-inducing look at one man's attempt at the famed walk as he confronts apocalyptic weather, snarling dogs, epic blisters, an exhausted body, and his greatest paranoia in life--bed bugs. Along with his humorous reflections, there is practical insight into how he successfully prepared, packed, and then walked across the entire French Way in 20 days -- and in doing so, pushed far beyond his personal comfort zone.

Never to be included on the final list of Pulitzer Prize nominees, or in Oprah's Book Club, Camino de Santiago in 20 Days is not your granddaddy's Camino book, either. One word of caution: Pilgrim Discretion is Advised.