Two Steps Forward

December 1, 2017

For centuries, pilgrims have walked the hallowed route called Camino de Santiago that ends in northwestern Spain. Here, they're joined by California artist Zoe, trying to recover from her husband's sudden death, and English engineer Martin, stunned by his divorce and road-testing a cart he has designed. Starting in the same French town, they head, however bumpily, toward togetherness. Rosiemaestro Simsion joins forces with Buist, who writes mystery and romantic suspense under the pseudonym Simone Sinna. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2018
Two unexpected pilgrims find friendship--and themselves--on the Camino de Santiago.Zoe is a recently widowed mother of grown daughters from California who decides to deal with her grief by visiting an old college friend in the south of France, a choice that leads her to spontaneously decide to do the pilgrimage walk. Martin is an engineer from England who decides to road test the prototype of a new cart design on the Camino while avoiding dealing with the repercussions of a messy divorce and its effects on his relationship with his teenage daughter. Despite a rocky start in Cluny, the two find they enjoy walking with each other and unknowingly push each other to deal with the problems they've been running from. Zoe and Martin are refreshing protagonists, written in alternating first-person chapters by Australian husband-and-wife team Simsion (The Best of Adam Sharp, 2017, etc.) and Buist (Dangerous to Know, 2016, etc.) in alternating chapters, both characters comfortably middle aged and dealing with more mature problems than the average 20-something backpacker. Their walk is littered with characters who come and go along the path, Brazilians and Germans and Italians adding pockets of drama as they weave in and out of each other's Camino. The story resonates with authenticity, as the authors themselves have walked the Camino twice before, allowing them to ground the plot with small details and observations that could come only from someone who's lived it. Affection for the experience pours from every paragraph. The feeling of camaraderie between strangers from around the world brings a warmth to the narrative, making it personal, real, and inviting.With wit and wisdom, Simsion and Buist have crafted a novel that will have readers wanting to walk a Camino of their own.

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March 19, 2018
Buist (Medea’s Curse) and Simsion (The Rosie Project) collaborate on this uneven dual-protagonist story about a California widow and a divorced Brit who find one another on the Chemin, a spiritual walking route that winds through France and Spain. After losing her second husband, Keith, to what she suspects was a suicide, 45-year-old mom Zoe Witt takes up her old pal Camille’s invitation to visit her in France. Zoe learns about the Chemin and participates on a whim, despite her aversions to the walk’s religious origins (she was raised Roman Catholic, but has been at odds with her faith since her mother disowned her for taking her friend to get an abortion in college). Martin Eden, 52, is an engineering professor who thinks the Chemin will be a good way to test a new cart design from which he hopes to profit. He is also still smarting from the fact that his ex-wife cheated on him with his boss. Zoe and Martin get the wrong impression of one another at first, and then over and over again. The will-they-or-won’t-they tension grows old fast as miscommunications keeps them from consummating their affections—a shame since their love story is the least interesting part of the novel. Their interactions with fellow travelers from around the world, as well as their own fraught histories—Zoe’s with the Church, Martin with his teen daughter, Sarah—are the true highlights. Though readers may not fall in love with the central romance, they’ll appreciate everything else.

April 1, 2018
Zoe, an American artist, walks the Camino de Santiago to cope with her husband's death. Meanwhile, Martin, a divorced British engineer, tests out his latest contraption?a one-wheeled cart?on that same trail. The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route that guarantees to change you, and as doubtful as that promise sounds to Zoe and Martin, they find it to be true. Separately, they begin their trek?enduring the winter and meeting generous strangers?until they eventually cross paths. Their hesitant friendship blossoms into romance, but they also take the time to be alone and reckon with the bleak pasts they've tried to suppress. Husband-and-wife team Simsion (The Best of Adam Sharp, 2017) and Buist (Medea's Curse, 2016) have collaborated on this heartwarming tale of grief, forgiveness, healing, and determination. The eclectic cast of characters?including rowdy Brazilians and an opportunistic German?adds zest to an otherwise introspective journey in search of inner peace. Like a fictional variation of Cheryl Strayed's Wild (2012), Two Steps Forward will appeal to hikers, travelers, and the downtrodden.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)