Bookshop Interview with Author Esther Jantzen (Episode #110)

In this week’s episode of The Bookshop at the End of the Internet, author Esther Jantzen discusses her middle grade novel, WALK: Jamie Bacon’s Secret Mission on the Camino de Santiago. When Esther decided to write this story, she wanted to write it for kids, especially boys, who were hesitant readers. WALK is one of the first books for kids written about the Camino de Santiago, 500-mile walk beginning in France and terminating in the town of Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. The Camino de Santiago has been a pilgrims’ route since the beginning of the 9th century. Esther, who retired from career as an educator, has walked the Camino three times, finding inspiration and gathering research first-hand for the story she would eventually write. Walking the Camino was a life-changing experience for Esther, and she hopes the adventures in her book, WALK, will inspire young readers as well. In this episode, Esther discusses her writing journey, what it’s really like to hike the Camino de Santiago, and the surprising differences she encountered between teaching books in her high school English classes and actually writing a book herself.

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