Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started my “travel career” working for the Travel Channel reporting on food and music in the Pacific Rim. I eventually moved to Spain and started writing books, blogs and freelance articles for various publications. Now back home in Denver, Colorado I am writing full time. I have now finished two books and am currently writing a third.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sunrises to Santiago: Searching for purpose on the Camino de Santiago, my current book, was inspired by the people I personally met while hiking 490 miles from St. Jean Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest of Spain. I hiked for 33 days with the intention of finding my purpose in life. I would describe myself as a “jack of all trades, master of none” and I really needed to find some inspiration. The journey was hard. My body broke. But I found the inspiration I was looking for in the fellow hikers I met along the way. Their stories inspired the book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write very early in the morning. I wake up without an alarm around 6:00 AM each day, put on a pot of coffee and start writing. I need total silence to really get into the work and this is the only time of day this works for me. I am a morning person too which helps!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love authors who combine humor, adventure and heart in their work. This is what I aspire to do as well. Bill Bryson’s books make me laugh out loud. I also enjoy Paulo Coehlo’s work.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a book called Frozen Olive Oil: What It’s Really Like to Live Abroad. This is a real life comedy (with heart) of my two years of living abroad in Spain with my wife. It speaks to the expectations vs reality and the power of travel to transform a life.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
GoodReads Giveaways for me have been fantastic. I have gained so many new readers who would have never heard of my books with this tool.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. Don’t be a perfectionist. Be authentic.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This is a great story. A friend of friend who wanted to be an author wrote to a famous writer asking him how to become a famous writer. He wrote a 20 page letter to the famous man. A month later the young writer got the reply, “If you want to be a writer then write, just not to me.”
What are you reading now?
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish my next book, Frozen Olive Oil and my new novel called Finding Tiger.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival by Dave Canterbury, and any book I am currently writing to keep me busy!
Author Websites and Profiles
Gabriel Schirm Website
Gabriel Schirm Amazon Profile
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