From today for five days my latest novel SANTIAGO TALES is available FREE on kindle.  Why don't all you ebook lovers download a copy and enjoy following Beth as she walks the Camino de Santiago.  Beth has come to believe that her life is no longer worth living so she sets off to travel 800 kilometres in all weathers, looking for a solution to her problems.  On the way she meets many interesting characters and makes new friends, each one seeking their own solutions.  A modern-day take on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the novel explores the challenges that confront people today.

So, does Beth regain her will to live?  You will have to read the book to find out.

For your free kindle download go to  amazon.com

Back in October I blogged about how I came to write my latest novel SANTIAGO TALES and where the idea had come from.  Now, at last, I have published it as a Kindle ebook.  

Writing a novel is the easiest part for me.  The hard work comes when your work has to be edited, and repeatedly proof read.  Luckily I have a few kind friends who are always willing to help with the proof reading but it never ceases to amaze me how easily simple typos and spelling mistakes are overlooked.  Most of my books get read a dozen times before they are ready to publish.  

A fellow author and member of Costa Women, Karen McCann, also kindly gave me an endorsement for the book.  You can read it below:

‘Joan Fallon's new book, Santiago Tales, lets you walk 790 kilometres in the shoes of a modern-day pilgrim on the ancient Way of St. James across northern Spain. Her book illuminates the entire experience, from bedbugs and blisters to the camaraderie of the hostels and long days of solitude and contemplation. A must read for anyone considering walking the Camino, or for armchair travellers who want to immerse themselves in the 1000-year-old traditions of this spiritual journey.’   Karen McCann, author of ‘Dancing in the Fountain’

I will be publishing a paperback edition of SANTIAGO TALES at the end of the month.  This will be available on Amazon and in bookshops.

So many thanks to all my friends and acquaintances who made this book possible and I hope they are looking forward to the next one.

English language book clubs are springing up all over Spain these days.  The English are still, on the whole, great readers.  They will drive miles, sometimes, as in the case of the Rosilla Book Club in Solano, along windy, narrow mountain roads with spectacular views of the Sierra of Tejeda  and precipitous drops into the valley of the Rio Benamargosa.  They will brave rain and heat waves to join their friends and discuss the merits and demerits of their latest read.  I am fortunate enough to be invited to join some of the local book clubs when they are reviewing one of my books.  It is a most rewarding experience to get feedback directly from your readers and to get the opportunity to discuss the characters and why you made them as they are.

Book clubs are often 'single-title', where the whole group reads the same book but the composition and structure of these book clubs can vary according to the tastes and preferences of the members.  Some, for example, are merely excuses to get together and have a pleasant afternoon with friends, chatting about their latest books.  There is usually tea and home made cakes provided by whoever is hosting the event and sometimes, depending on the hour, wine and tapas.  I have a friend who belongs to one book club where they always kick off with a glass of cava.  Some are informal and the conversation meanders from book to book as the participants express their opinions.  Others are more structured.  Sometimes each person is given a category and must elect a book for the group to read from that category: foreign authors, crime fiction, romance, historical novel.  In that way the group covers a wide range of literary genres.  Some are designed to broaden the members' reading experience and chick-lit and crime novels are banned.  There are groups where the members are not expected to all read the same books, 'multi-title book clubs'.  Each member can summarise the book they have chosen, giving their opinion and then let those that wish to, buy  or borrow it.  Sometimes the leader of the group will pose specific questions about what they have read, in order to structure the discussion:  Were the characters in the book believable?  What did they each experience from reading it?
Some book clubs even morph into mobile libraries, with the members donating copies of the books they recommend to a central source so that they are available for all to share.  
I know people who have belonged to the same book club for thirty plus years, mums who joined looking for company while their kids were at school and found life-long friends.  Joining a book club is a wonderful way of fitting into a community and meeting like-minded people.

What all these members of book clubs have in common is a love of reading, whether it is on their Kindle, a paperback or hardback book, whether they have bought it on the internet or borrowed it from a friend.  Books are their friends and not one of them would ever be without them.